Course overview

Selling into the semiconductor industry, whether to device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies or OEMs, is becoming an incredibly complex and confusing process. The sales cycles are long; the decision making process is often obscure to the vendor; and a very large number of account personnel, in multiple locations, are involved in influencing the outcome.

This dynamic two-and-one-half day workshop translates confusing sales scenarios into proactive plans. It teaches a process which surfaces a comprehensive understanding of the account"s drives, challenges and internal decision making roadmap. Such information can open the doors to new levels of partnering, shorten the sales cycle, and create unbeatable competitive positioning.

The process taught in the workshop has evolved and been proven within the industry over the past 20 years. It is taught by senior sales executives with extensive experience in its application. Each participant is provided with a comprehensive workshop manual and licensed strategic account management software. The latter includes tools to speed up the analysis process and industry specific templates to produce and update strategic selling plans for regional or global accounts.

What you will learn

• Understand your account, on both a strategic and tactical level, from an insider's viewpoint
• Determine true decision makers and influencers
• Develop strategies that leverage your competitive positioning
• Determine tactics that enlist support of customer personnel
• Penetrate and manage decision making committees
• Effectively enlist the assistance of other sales team members
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive strategic account plan
• Sustain productive account relationships
• Provid critical account team leadership

Who should participate

The workshop is designed for anyone who is responsible for managing a complex industry sales process, including Global Account Managers, Strategic Account Managers, Regional Sales Managers, Account Sales Representatives, and Vice Presidents of Sales. It will also be of significant value to Customer Support Managers who are charged with maintaining long-term relationships within multi-location accounts. Marketing Managers will find it of value in working with key accounts.

Course outline

1. Account Management
   • Responsibilities of Global/Strategic/Key Account Manager
   • Approach for simplifying account analysis
   • A method for account plan development
   • Developing account Value Proposition that drives success
2. The Strategic Account View
   • Sources of meaningful information
   • Understanding culture and its implication
   • Understanding filters driving decisions
   • Competitive strengths and weaknesses
   • Determining regional & fab variations
   • Developing account objectives
3. Tactical Account Analysis
   • Personality Makeup of Key Players – Decision Styles Model
   • Keys for identifying decision makers/influencers
   • Understanding Account Dynamics
   • Adapting to both the individual and the account
4. Laying Out The Playing Field
   • Gathering data
   • Analyzing decision makers/influencers
   • Searching out real committee power
5. Using Power Charts^TM
   • Determining the real flow of influence in the account
   • The effects of different types of power
   • Learn why the organization chart should be thrown away
   • Creating a "roadmap" for determining sales tactics
6. Dealing With Committees
   • Why initial identification of semiconductor account decision makers is almost always false
   • Surfacing multiple-level committees at multiple locations
   • Finding issues for gaining attention and leveraging decisions
   • Do's and don'ts in dealing with committees – inserting your influence
7. Maintaining a Plan
   • Properly using objectives/strategies/tactics
   • Seeking opportunities for partnering
   • Closing out the competition
   • Using personality to influence leverage
   • Sales team members as tactical resources
   • Analyzing the competition – pushing your positive differentiation
   • Developing background alternative tactics
   • Presenting "one voice" to the account
8. Account Relationships
   • Route to success in the semiconductor industry
   • Changing account relationship basis
   • Evolving and sustaining the relationship
   • When and how to dis-integrate the relationship
   • Working with partners and OEMs
9. Managing The Team
   • Leadership – checking yourself on the Kouzas/Posner study
   • Understanding various leadership activities as a team leader
   • Controlling account activities
   • Strengths, weaknesses, growth directions – personal feedback report