This document provides guidance on developing and optimizing an executive sponsor program to improve relationships with large customers. It recommends that companies match the right executive with each customer, target only the largest accounts, equip executives with customer knowledge, and leverage the program to build strategic long-term relationships. The document also outlines foundational elements such as selecting participating accounts and executives, defining roles, and providing training to executives. It emphasizes the importance of measuring the program's impact through metrics like customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue growth.

1. Filing Information: September 2010, IDC #225024, Volume: 1
Sales Advisory Service: Insight
I N S I G H T
E x e c u t i v e S p o n s o r P r o g r a m : E x c e e d i n g E x p e c t a t i o n s o f
Y o u r L a r g e s t C u s t o m e r s
Irina Zvagelsky Michael Gerard
I D C O P I N I O N
There's no doubt that the technology industry is maturing, competition is becoming
fiercer, and technology vendor budgets remain under pressure. Improving sales
productivity has become the new mantra across sales organizations; however,
improving customer service must be a significant part of this strategy. One
component of this strategy is an executive sponsor program. IDC's Sales Advisory
Service provides the following insight and guidance for deploying and optimizing the
success of executive sponsor programs (specific examples are provided throughout
this Insight):
 Match the right executive with the right customer. This will increase the chances
that the executive will be best positioned to establish that "trusted advisor" role
with the customer and thereby optimize the impact of the program.
 Target only your largest revenue clients and potential revenue prospects for the
executive sponsor program. Although this program can be extremely valuable for
the top line and bottom line, resource limitations and the need for executives to
invest significant time for each customer necessitate limitation of this program.
 Equip your executive with the knowledge and insight required to best engage
with the customer. Technology buyers already indicate that over 50% of vendor
salespeople come to the table unprepared — don't exacerbate this problem.
 Leverage the executive sponsor program to build deep, strategic, and long-term
relationships with your largest customers, in addition to providing the more
tactical role of escalating customers' and sales teams' needs when necessary.
Much of this begins with setting the right expectations for this program, both
internally and externally.
 Establish metrics and targets to gauge the impact of the executive sponsor
program, even if those metrics are simply qualitative. Examples include customer
satisfaction and related feedback, client retention, revenue growth, share of
wallet, and account team feedback.
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I N T H I S I N S I G H T
This IDC Insight provides current trends and key success factors for the development,
execution, and governance of executive sponsor programs for top customers and
high-priority prospects.
IDC defines executive sponsor programs as:
The matching of a vendor's executives with its most important
clients/prospects to improve the ability of the vendor to exceed its
customers' expectations, from a tactical as well as a strategic
perspective. The ultimate goal is to establish the vendor as a
trusted advisor to the customer, enabling business growth for the
customer and greater profitability.
IDC conducted interviews during the second half of 2010 with five hardware,
software, and IT service companies with revenue ranging from $4 billion to $30+
billion that have an active executive sponsor program. These companies included
Avaya, EMC, HP, Symantec, and Xerox. All individuals participating in this study were
directly responsible for the strategy and execution of the program at their companies.
Key findings from these interviews, as well as IDC guidance for optimizing the
development, execution, and governance of an executive sponsor program, are
included in this Insight.
S I T U A T I O N O V E R V I E W
IDC's Sales Advisory Service recently completed a survey of over 200 technology
buyers regarding interaction with their vendors' sales teams. The results were not
good for today's technology vendor (see IDC's Third Annual Buyer Experience Study
— Guidance for Sales & Marketing, IDC #TB20100422, April 2010):
 Over 50% of buyers indicate that sales reps are unprepared for their initial
customer meetings.
 One-third of technology business lost was the direct responsibility of the sales
rep.
 Two-thirds of customers that switched technology vendors in the past year did so
as a result of a poor relationship with their sales reps and related teams, or a
better relationship with their new vendors' teams.
The good news is that technology buyers want to have a deeper relationship with
their vendors, including reducing their buying cycle and gaining greater business
advantages through interaction with their vendors. The fact that so many technology
vendors are struggling in this area should provide greater incentive for companies to
improve these areas, thereby establishing a competitive differentiator. Establishing an
executive sponsor program is one of the key elements to help accomplish these
goals.

3. ©2010 IDC #225024 3
O w n e r s h i p o f t h e E x e c u t i v e S p o n s o r P r o g r a m
The ownership of executive sponsor programs across an organization varies
significantly, including reporting into sales, marketing, a customer service group, or
directly to the CEO. Regardless of where the ownership of this program is located,
the following guidelines should be followed:
 An individual or a team must have direct responsibility for this program on an
ongoing basis to ensure continuity in its management and to ensure that
someone remains accountable for its success (i.e., "one throat to choke").
 The CEO must have direct involvement in the plan's development and execution
to ensure executive support for the effort, thereby communicating the importance
of this investment to the rest of the organization.
S e l e c t i n g a n d M a n a g i n g P a r t i c i p a t i n g
A c c o u n t s
The process of selecting accounts to participate in the program should, once again,
be a team effort and should involve the account team to some extent. Expectations
should be set by the program lead on what accounts would qualify to participate in the
program. IDC recommends that vendors begin this program with a select number of
customers prior to executing a larger-scale program. Participants of the study
mentioned the following of their participating accounts:
 "Accounts must be the most global, largest, and most challenging accounts
worldwide."
 "Accounts need to be large enterprise accounts."
 "Accounts need to meet a specific revenue floor. If the account does not meet the
revenue floor but the account manager feels strongly about including this account
in the program, then they must make a case as to why the account should be
included."
 "If the account is a global account, or one of the top 2000 accounts in our
company, then it would qualify to participate in the program."
Once this requirement is set, account managers should work with their management
to nominate accounts. Once again, if account managers are involved in the account
selection process, they will be more likely to buy into the program, which must
happen for the program to be a success.
After the account has been selected to participate in the program, the account should
be told of its selection. Organizations should not just assume that accounts will
participate; rather, accounts should be asked if they agree to participate. This is an
important step and should not be overlooked. If accounts verbally agree to participate,
then they will have "ownership" in the program.

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One participating company takes this a step further:
 "There needs to be a two-way street. There should be an agreement that the
customer will meet with our executive, interface with us, and agree to have
discussions about their business. This is why we require our account managers
to present the program and get their customers to agree to participate. We also
have a customer-facing brochure that account managers leave with the customer
that explains the program in detail and provides a point of reference."
F o u n d a t i o n a l E l e m e n t s o f D e p l o y i n g
E x e c u t i v e s t o K e y A c c o u n t s
Executive Selection Process
Selecting the right executives to participate is a critical first step in executing a
successful executive sponsor program. When asked what level of executives
participate in their programs, most participants mentioned that VP level and up are
considered. However, above all else, proper "fit" between the executive sponsor and
external account should be the most important requirement when selecting and
matching executives. It may be necessary to reach into the senior director level and
put need and requirements above titles.
Account managers should be a key part of selecting executives to participate in the
program. At the end of the day, the relationship that the account manager develops
with the executive will be a key driver of success of the program in that particular
account. It should be a team effort from the very beginning and thus, the account
managers should have some say in which executive would work best in their account.
In addition to making recommendations, account managers need to be able to clarify
and justify their selection.
Certain traits/determinants should be kept in mind when matching executives to
accounts. These include:
 Common business backgrounds and interests
 Executive style
 Product/industry knowledge
 Span of control
 The physical location of the executive with proximity to the account
 Any common linkage between the vendor executive and the target
customer/prospect executive (e.g., common schools, boards, organizations, and
personal connections)

5. ©2010 IDC #225024 5
When study participants were asked how many accounts each of the executives in
the program covers, the average number was three accounts:
 "Our executives occasionally have three accounts, but our goal is to have one,
possibly two."
 "Our executives will be assigned up to three accounts, including one international
account."
 "Our documentation says no more than three accounts may be assigned to an
executive at one time. However, we make exceptions based on who is currently
assigned or what their current role is. If we have a VP of sales participating, then
he or she may get more accounts since interacting with customers is part of his
or her day job."
Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined and communicated to
participating executives and their account managers. It is necessary for both parties
to have their own set of guidelines, and in the most successful programs, each party's
responsibilities must be in alignment.
Executive Sponsor
Recommended roles and responsibilities established for the executive sponsor are:
 Provide a commitment to that account:
 "Executive sponsors are asked to provide a two-year commitment to that
account at a minimum."
 Evangelize the value of their company:
 Have a full understanding of what the company's values, strategy, and
messaging are and be able to communicate that accordingly to the
customer, focusing on the areas that will be most important and applicable to
that customer.
 Drive revenue growth in the account:
 "Actively participate in establishment of the account strategy and plan." More
specifically, "review and provide input to business plan on a semiannual
basis." (For additional information regarding account planning strategies, see
IDC's Sales Best Practices Series: Account Planning, IDC #223295, May
2010.)
 "Participate in any QBRs that the account team would have with their
customer."
 "Have regular (monthly) calls between the executive sponsor and the
account team leader."

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 Build deeper and broader relationships within the account, including shoring up
weaknesses identified in the account planning process:
 "Expand account engagement to key customer executives; build CXO level
relationships within the account."
 Become a trusted advisor to the account.
 Engage with the customer, serving as direct access to a corporate champion for
the customer's shorter-term, tactical, and longer-term strategic needs:
 "Engage with customer at a minimum of four times each year (guideline is
two phone meetings, one customer site visit, and one briefing center visit)."
Another participant in the study requires executives to "meet with the
customer face to face at least once per quarter."
 "Provide feedback after client engagements to the account team."
 "Drive response to customer escalations as needed."
 Be a client champion and maximize client satisfaction (resolve any internal
issues, become an advocate to knock down barriers that may exist,
represent internal company at customer events, etc.).
Global Account Manager
While many account managers see the clear value of having their account participate
in the sponsor program, not all account managers understand that there is a
significant amount of work that comes with their account participating in an executive
sponsor program. This is where the account manager's buy-in becomes critical.
Having a clear set of account manager responsibilities that are communicated to
them will help ensure that the account manager is fully on board with this large
commitment. Recommended responsibilities for the account manager are:
 Enable the executive sponsor:
 "Orchestrate meaningful and relevant customer touch points."
 "Provide briefing information and ensure sponsor stays current (at least once
per quarter)."
 Engage executive in a TCE initiative:
 "Use sponsor as needed to eliminate roadblocks."
 "Engage executive sponsor in the establishment of account strategy and
solicit input for account planning."
 Provide a progress report on a quarterly basis:
 "Report engagements/results."
 "Execute and track commitments made by the executive sponsor."

7. ©2010 IDC #225024 7
Training, Coaching, and Guiding Executives
Once executives have been selected and matched to accounts, they must be armed
with both the knowledge and the ability to not only represent the company's values to
the clients but also effectively impact the business as it relates to that account. It is
not enough to simply lay out roles and responsibilities to the executives. More thought
and effort should go into this stage of the program.
Formal sessions, whether virtual or in person, can and should be set up for executives
prior to the start of their sponsorships as part of an onboarding program. Organizations
should consider, where it makes sense, having veteran executives of the program train
the rookie executives who have recently been selected to participate. Not only will this
help put their new responsibilities into perspective, but it will also allow for an
environment of sharing of ideas and best practices between peers.
Topics for discussion in these virtual or in-person sessions are:
 Executive sponsor program review: The head of the program should lead this
session and review both the program goals and the expectations with the
executives.
 Life cycle of a deal: This session would be particularly useful to those
executives who have not dealt/do not deal with the sales side of the business on
a regular basis. Consider having the head of sales lead this session (e.g., current
sales process, key internal account team members with their roles and
responsibilities, and other related sales processes).
 Industry deep-dive and market trends: Executives should begin with a focused
training session regarding relevant information to the targeted account as well as
participate in ongoing training sessions for the applicable sales teams.
 Create better awareness about the company product and service offering:
This session would ensure that all participating executives are not only well
versed in the corporate story, strategy, and products and solutions of relevance
to the customer but also fully aware of how to create buzz and awareness about
their current and future product and service offerings.
If these sessions are held in person, they should be recorded and posted on the
intranet for reference later on.
In addition to the peer-to-peer sessions, time should be allocated for the executives to
meet with the account managers they will be working with. Some preparation by both
the head of the sponsorship program and the account manager should go into this
meeting/kickoff call in order to maximize everyone's time.
An overview/account plan should be presented to the executive at this time. This
"packet" should be designed in a way that would provide a breadth of information that
can be used to build relationships and should include:
 General account information (i.e., bios and organizational charts)
 Account business drivers

8. 8 #225024 ©2010 IDC
 Industry information
 Booking reports (showing trending) and other account-related history
 Account plan (created by the account manager)
The materials from the peer-to-peer sessions as well as the account overview/plan
should be put into a toolkit that the executives can refer to throughout their
sponsorships. A hardcopy should be distributed and an ecopy should be posted to the
intranet.
The owner of the executive sponsor program should also facilitate more informal
sessions among executive sponsors as well as between account managers and their
sponsoring executives. This will help ensure that these programs remain on track,
increase sharing of best practices, and more quickly highlight any challenges in
existing relationships.
M e a s u r i n g t h e I m p a c t
Measuring the impact that the executive sponsor program has on the business is a
difficult task, with many companies challenged by this endeavor. There are, however,
several best practice methods that participating companies are executing:
 Quarterly dashboards:
 Measure components such as:
 Penetration of products/solutions in accounts
 Revenue growth — measure percentage of quarter-over-quarter
revenue growth to a target percentage
 Retention
 Reporting:
 Dashboards get reported not only to the executive sponsor program
lead but also to the management of the executives involved, which in
some cases includes the CEO.
 Surveys:
 Vendors survey the account managers who are working with an executive in
the program to understand if objectives are being met. They are asked to
rate their executive sponsors against their responsibilities (referenced
previously). This is usually done on a quarterly basis.
 Another option is to survey customers to see how the relationship is going
with the executive, specifically whether customers believe the executive
relationship they have is good for their business, and what they would like to
see improve.

9. ©2010 IDC #225024 9
 Once the information is gathered from both the account managers and the
customers, one participating company puts the results through a scoring
system. "We do a cumulative scoring. The account is rated based on
interactions with the sponsor and is assigned a color (red, yellow, or green).
If the account falls in the red area, we have a discussion with the account
manager to get further details to determine what is really happening."
None of the companies surveyed have directly tied performance in this program with
executives' compensation. However, some are working on plans to tie executives'
performance in the program to their overall annual assessment by utilizing the
dashboard reports as well as survey data.
Rewards and Recognition
This is an area that could stand to see some improvements. Executives are taking
precious time out of their schedules to participate in this program, and those who do a
good job at it should be publicly recognized. In a time when companies are still
experiencing budget cuts, it is understandable to not have cash or other awards.
However, a simple recognition by peers will go a long way. Companies with executive
sponsor programs should consider publicizing successes so that executives get
recognized by their peers and employees at large. This can be done at board
meetings, company meetings, QBRs, and so forth.
One participating company has plans to begin a rewards and recognition program
next year: "We will have an executive sponsor of the year award that will be
presented by the CEO at our next year's sales kickoff meeting."
Another participating company distributes a quarterly newsletter that highlights
program successes and makes callouts to specific executives and account managers.
F U T U R E O U T L O O K
Establishing and maintaining a successful executive sponsor program can provide
technology vendors with the missing link that is needed to build deeper executive
relationships with their priority customers and prospects. Companies that have an
executive sponsor program in place and are executing it effectively will have a clear
competitive advantage in the market as competition continues to increase and
customers demand more from their vendors.
L E A R N M O R E
R e l a t e d R e s e a r c h
 Key Success Factors for Launching and Best Leveraging Your Sales Force
Automation Application (IDC #224737, September 2010)
 IDC's Sales Best Practices Series: Customer Intelligence for Sales (IDC
#224520, September 2010)

10. 10 #225024 ©2010 IDC
 The Next-Generation Sales Operations Team (IDC #224122, July 2010)
 The IDC Sales and Marketing Automation Framework (IDC #224215, July 2010)
 IDC Sales Leadership Board Meeting Notes: May 25 and 26, 2010 (IDC
#223736, June 2010)
 IDC's Sales Best Practices Series: Account Planning (IDC #223295, May 2010)
 2010 Technology Sales Barometer: Maintaining the Momentum for Productivity
Improvements (IDC #222485, April 2010)
 IDC's Worldwide Sales, Marketing, and Market Intelligence Taxonomy, 2009:
Guidelines for Cost Control and Resource Allocations (IDC #220099, October
2009)
 IDC's Sales Enablement Framework: From Marketing Through to Sales (IDC
#219900, September 2009)
 CMO Advisory Best Practices Series: Sales Enablement — Marketing Content
and Asset Management (IDC #219418, August 2009)
 The State of the Art in Sales Enablement: An Intensive Study of Current
Practices (IDC #219182, August 2009)
 Sales Enablement 3.0: A Transformation of Sales Enabled by a Transformation
of Marketing (IDC #218546, June 2009)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: The Role of the First Line
Sales Manager (IDC #218087, April 2009)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: Global Inside Sales
Strategies (IDC #216773, February 2009)
 Sales and Marketing Organizational Transformation (IDC #213915, September
2008)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: Sales Productivity Metrics
and Key Performance Indicators (IDC #213031, August 2008)

11. ©2010 IDC #225024 11
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