Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)

 

Founded in 1964 and with over 2,000 current members, SAMA (Strategic Account Management Association) attracts the strategic customer management profession’s most influential decision-makers. Over the past 39 years, the association has earned the reputation of being the SAM profession’s knowledge leader, providing members with the high quality resources, training and networking opportunities needed to succeed. We invite you to read the information below and explore our Web site to learn how SAMA’s many products and services can help you exceed your goals as a SAM professional.

 

The Strategic Account Management Association is a non-profit organization devoted to developing and promoting the concept of customer-supplier collaboration. SAMA is dedicated to the professional development of the individuals involved in the process of managing national, global and strategic customer relationships, and to enabling firms to create greater customer value and achieve competitive advantage accordingly.

 

SAMA is the strategic account management profession’s leading source of comprehensive trend and research information. The association provides its members with the training, knowledge and networking opportunities required to successfully manage strategic account programs:

 

     • Conferences / Seminars: SAMA’s conferences and seminars provide strategic

        customer management professionals with unique and valuable training

        opportunities. Please visit the Meetings page for detailed information on these

        and other SAMA events.

     • The Annual Conference, held each May, is the association’s signature event,

        bringing together over 1,000 SAMs to share best practices, learn new tools

        and network with peers.

     • European Conferences are customized to meet the unique needs of strategic /

        global account management professionals working in the diverse European

        cultural environment.

     • SAMA University offers skill-building workshops in an interactive learning

        environment, taught by some of the best trainers and consultants in the world.

        They will deliver practical information and provide tools that you can use

        immediately to improve your program as well as your personal skills.
 

The Annual Executive Leadership Symposium is designed to provide a unique forum for leaders of strategic account programs to discuss common issues, share experiences, debate controversial problems and develop capabilities to improve their own effectiveness. This event is restricted to genuine peers—executives with general management responsibility for key customer initiatives and overall corporate strategy.

 

Knowledge Resources: To provide members with the high quality and cutting-edge information they need, SAMA’s Department of Member Services is constantly scanning the global SAM landscape and making findings available to members. The association’s online library is available 24 hours a day, containing all past issues of Velocity™, Focus: Europe, Focus: Teams, Focus: Account Manager, Research Briefs, Best Practices, Case Studies and much more. Please visit the Knowledge Resources pages for details on these and other SAMA educational offerings.

 

Networking Opportunities: SAMA understands the importance of building a strong peer network to share ideas, challenges and solutions. All educational events therefore provide attendees with many networking opportunities. In addition, the e-mail based Special Interest Groups (SIGs) encourage open discussion in a convenient yet effective electronic environment, and the online Peer Network allows members to contact colleagues who are experts in one of a vast array of topics.