Key account management is about prioritizing your most important customers who contribute the majority of your revenue. These key accounts need to be treated as partners, not just suppliers. To ensure this partnership, regularly audit how the key account feels about the relationship through face-to-face meetings to understand expectations, points of value and areas for improvement. Effective key account management requires a team effort with internal collaboration and shared accountability to maintain strong relationships and meet the needs of important customers.
Many business owners have no exit strategy for their business. Many have given no thought to when they want to retire and have no plans in place to sell their business at the appropriate time. And not every business will be handed down to the children of the owners.
This presentation details the mistakes most people make and gives some ideas how to rectify them. If you want to discuss the content further please email bob.francis@sgba.co.uk
Many business owners have no exit strategy for their business. Many have given no thought to when they want to retire and have no plans in place to sell their business at the appropriate time. And not every business will be handed down to the children of the owners.
This presentation details the mistakes most people make and gives some ideas how to rectify them. If you want to discuss the content further please email bob.francis@sgba.co.uk
Creating Lasting, Productive Partnerships Between Agencies & Marketers-RSW/US...RSW/US
In this webinar, Mark Sneider taps into his 25 years of experience working with agencies and marketers — and working in agencies and as a marketer — to discuss why marketer-agency relationships fail.
He shares survey data gathered from our 2014 RSW/US Agency-Marketer Business Report to explain what marketers (and agencies) can do to best insure that relationships succeed and also discusses the reasons relationships become strained, including the decrease in retainer-based work, rising pitching costs and the increasing tendency for marketers to look for specialty agencies.
How to engage with customers in B2B marketsprofpalekar
For B2B businesses there only a few customers and the order size potential of each is high - therefore the way in which B2B companies engage with the customers is very different from what happens in B2C businesses. In B2B businesses it is possible to have both in-depth and frequent interaction with the customers but in B2C business it is just not possible to even see the customers through the multiple layers of distribution let alone interact with them! ,
With growth slowing and cash getting tighter, now is the time to reduce the working capital tied up in receivables.
In the first of two China papers we focus on reducing trading risk and freeing up cash from receivables. In the second, we suggest that uncertainty can be exploited to grow market share and profitability.
My Money Story Series: Credit Karma Talks Finances, Credit, and DebtKabbage
Visit our SlideShare to learn from our partner, Credit Karma, why you should check and build your credit report, best practices for establishing financial health, and how to recover from debt.
Are You Providing Account-Level Service From The Beginning? You Should!Apttus
From prospect to customer to renewal, treat everyone as a “customer account.” Join Matt Amundson, VP of Sales Development & Field Marketing at Everstring as he shares his philosophy and success on how selling has evolved to focus on “accounts” from day one. Customer expectations have shifted dramatically but luckily technology has adapted to give today’s sellers more tools to satisfy those customer needs.
Social Selling - Trigger Events for salesInsideView
Register here
We are all familiar with the “domino effect”, one domino falls, causing the others to fall in a predictable way, the thing that causes the domino to fall in the first place is the “Trigger”. In sales there are many types of triggers, some simple and visible, others more intricate and not always in plain view.
Events are the simplest and most obvious form of triggers in sales, something happens, and this event sets things in motion, the dominos falling. How well prepared you are in advance will help determine how well you can leverage events when they come to your advantage. Events can include change in personnel in an account, a competing vendor; change in regulation; mergers and acquisitions; regulatory; economic and more. How well you plan, recognize and react to a given event will have direct impact on your success in winning more customers, penetrating and retaining existing clients; all with greater predictability and in shorter time frames.
How do you ensure growth is good growth? How do you build a durable business that can withstand the challenges that come up? Tolithia Kornweibel, CRO (previously CMO) of Gusto, discusses a CMO-CRO working model that works for long-term, durable growth.
Fractional CFO that helps businesses grow exponentially - Technology, Operati...pwhitley100
My name is Paul Whitley, and I help businesses grow exponentially. I am a strategic Fractional CFO and Transformational Technology Leader with extensive experience in creative problem solving, operations management, coaching, mentoring and training. I’m a Servant Leader with a real passion for helping both large and small companies’ setup and implement financial, operational and digital transformation initiatives that improve processes, reduce expense and drive bottom-line profits….
Mantis Funding - Running a Small Business is Hard – Unless you Have access to...Mantis Funding LLC
When I first started my business, I had this one statistic quoted to me all the time – only 50% of small businesses survive past their 5th year in business!
Considering how stressful and daunting it is to start a business in the first place, this statistic didn’t help at all. However, now with an established and profitable restaurant business behind me, I can tell you from my experience how to be in the winning 50% side.
Creating Lasting, Productive Partnerships Between Agencies & Marketers-RSW/US...RSW/US
In this webinar, Mark Sneider taps into his 25 years of experience working with agencies and marketers — and working in agencies and as a marketer — to discuss why marketer-agency relationships fail.
He shares survey data gathered from our 2014 RSW/US Agency-Marketer Business Report to explain what marketers (and agencies) can do to best insure that relationships succeed and also discusses the reasons relationships become strained, including the decrease in retainer-based work, rising pitching costs and the increasing tendency for marketers to look for specialty agencies.
How to engage with customers in B2B marketsprofpalekar
For B2B businesses there only a few customers and the order size potential of each is high - therefore the way in which B2B companies engage with the customers is very different from what happens in B2C businesses. In B2B businesses it is possible to have both in-depth and frequent interaction with the customers but in B2C business it is just not possible to even see the customers through the multiple layers of distribution let alone interact with them! ,
With growth slowing and cash getting tighter, now is the time to reduce the working capital tied up in receivables.
In the first of two China papers we focus on reducing trading risk and freeing up cash from receivables. In the second, we suggest that uncertainty can be exploited to grow market share and profitability.
My Money Story Series: Credit Karma Talks Finances, Credit, and DebtKabbage
Visit our SlideShare to learn from our partner, Credit Karma, why you should check and build your credit report, best practices for establishing financial health, and how to recover from debt.
Are You Providing Account-Level Service From The Beginning? You Should!Apttus
From prospect to customer to renewal, treat everyone as a “customer account.” Join Matt Amundson, VP of Sales Development & Field Marketing at Everstring as he shares his philosophy and success on how selling has evolved to focus on “accounts” from day one. Customer expectations have shifted dramatically but luckily technology has adapted to give today’s sellers more tools to satisfy those customer needs.
Social Selling - Trigger Events for salesInsideView
Register here
We are all familiar with the “domino effect”, one domino falls, causing the others to fall in a predictable way, the thing that causes the domino to fall in the first place is the “Trigger”. In sales there are many types of triggers, some simple and visible, others more intricate and not always in plain view.
Events are the simplest and most obvious form of triggers in sales, something happens, and this event sets things in motion, the dominos falling. How well prepared you are in advance will help determine how well you can leverage events when they come to your advantage. Events can include change in personnel in an account, a competing vendor; change in regulation; mergers and acquisitions; regulatory; economic and more. How well you plan, recognize and react to a given event will have direct impact on your success in winning more customers, penetrating and retaining existing clients; all with greater predictability and in shorter time frames.
How do you ensure growth is good growth? How do you build a durable business that can withstand the challenges that come up? Tolithia Kornweibel, CRO (previously CMO) of Gusto, discusses a CMO-CRO working model that works for long-term, durable growth.
Fractional CFO that helps businesses grow exponentially - Technology, Operati...pwhitley100
My name is Paul Whitley, and I help businesses grow exponentially. I am a strategic Fractional CFO and Transformational Technology Leader with extensive experience in creative problem solving, operations management, coaching, mentoring and training. I’m a Servant Leader with a real passion for helping both large and small companies’ setup and implement financial, operational and digital transformation initiatives that improve processes, reduce expense and drive bottom-line profits….
Mantis Funding - Running a Small Business is Hard – Unless you Have access to...Mantis Funding LLC
When I first started my business, I had this one statistic quoted to me all the time – only 50% of small businesses survive past their 5th year in business!
Considering how stressful and daunting it is to start a business in the first place, this statistic didn’t help at all. However, now with an established and profitable restaurant business behind me, I can tell you from my experience how to be in the winning 50% side.
Buyers want a business with a proven track record of consistent financial performance with solid, growing revenue and earnings. Yet most businesses are rather flabby when it comes to fiscal fitness. Focusing on the top financial drivers of business value will make it easier to sell your business and get you more money - then as well as now. Many businesses are dependent on the owner for success. If you want to add value, be sure you have systems running the business and a great team running those systems. Like financial and organizational factors, operational factors can add or take away value.
With both the individual barristers and Chambers to promote, marketing The Bar has never been easy.
In this special report we look at how barristers, clerks and Chambers can make their BD and marketing more effective ... and more cost-effective.
A quick makeover of my wife's PowerPoint presentation. I tried explaining the 6x6x6x6 rule for text but she cannot relate to that. Shows how a good template and simple pictures can transform a text heavy presentation.
The Experience Audit is one of my favorite tools because it is a completely new perspective in which to look at your customer strategy. In doing the work, you will be better prepared to have more meaningful conversations with your internal teams.
The Experience Audit ask you to look at existing customer behaviors and outcomes because behavior is the end all, be all, of profitable business. Behavior is the proof that your product is meeting needs, that you are delivering meaningful value. Behavior doesn’t lie. It doesn’t say things are worse than they are and it doesn’t sugar coat because they really like the person, but hate the product.
You can have significant financial impact if you focus your efforts on shifting more of your customers toward the attributes and behaviors of your most profitable and naturally satisfied customers. You can create sustainable, measurable results while at the same time reducing the sometimes overwhelming effort involved.
The Experience Audit is one of my favorite tools because it is a completely new perspective in which to look at your customer strategy. By completing the audit you will be better prepared to have more meaningful conversations with your internal teams.
The Experience Audit ask you to look at existing customer behaviors and outcomes because behavior is the end all, be all, of profitable business. Behavior is the proof that your product is meeting needs, that you are delivering meaningful value. Behavior doesn’t lie. It doesn’t say things are worse than they are and it doesn’t sugar coat because they really like the person, but hate the product.
You can have significant financial impact if you focus your efforts on shifting more of your customers toward the attributes and behaviors of your most profitable and naturally satisfied customers. You can create sustainable, measurable results while at the same time reducing the sometimes overwhelming effort involved.
1. 3RD
FLOOR, 82 KING STREET TEL: 0161 929 9553
MANCHESTER FAX: 0161 928 4030
M2 4WQ WEBSITE: WWW.FROSCHLEARNING.CO.UK
The Keys to Key Account Management
Account management is not rocket science. It is hard work and takes a lot of skill, but there is nothing
complicated about it. Because when you think about your business pipeline, sales can only come from four
places:
Suspects: Those Identified, but not yet contacted or visited
Prospects: Contacted/visited but not yet buying from you
Customers: Buying from you on a regular basis
Key Accounts: The 20% of customers producing the 80% of your revenue
While your results will be affected by external factors, your Account Managers are directly in control of the
two things that will have the most impact i.e. the quantity and quality of their work. It is as simple as that.
Clearly, if you neglect your key accounts, you’re in trouble. Thankfully, the golden rule of key account
management is simple: Look after your most important customers before someone else does.
So who are your most important customers and what makes them “important.”?
Are they your largest top ten customers looking back in time? Are they your top
customers of the future? You may choose to define a key account based on
potential future spend. Maybe “size” doesn’t matter. Some key accounts might be
low spenders but with huge prestige or status value. They might be “door-
openers”, clients with the wow factor!
With key accounts, your goal is to become a partner not a supplier. This is achieved
by being brilliant at developing relationships with the key players within the
account and by having a great understanding of the key account’s world. So how
would you know that you are a partner?
We need some partnership indicators – things that you could either see, feel or hear. Here are twenty typical
indicators (but the action point here, of course, is to develop a list that is tailored and relevant to your world).
They tell you that you are a partner
There is clear evidence of added value and
return on investment
You understand their future strategy
They give you pieces of confidential
information
Price resistance drops, over time
They ask for advice – not just on your core
services – they value your opinion
You have a rolling agreement, not fixed term
Reverse hospitality – they pay!
They invite you to shape tenders
There are joint action plans in place
They give you referrals
There are no nasty surprises in the
relationship
Strong multi-level relationships in place
More sales and more profits
They accept your new products and services
They collaborate on case studies and
testimonials
Your logo appears alongside theirs on
marketing material/websites
There is tolerance and understanding in the
event of a problem/issue
Feedback is dealt with openly
They bend the rules to keep you
FIND OUT HOW THE KEY ACCOUNT FEELS ABOUT YOU.
What is the process within your business for proactively auditing the feelings and perceptions of your key
accounts? You may use questionnaires, telephone research and web-based surveys etc. but for your top ten
customers something else is needed.
2. 3RD
FLOOR, 82 KING STREET TEL: 0161 929 9553
MANCHESTER FAX: 0161 928 4030
M2 4WQ WEBSITE: WWW.FROSCHLEARNING.CO.UK
Questions about the past / present
Where do we meet your expectations?
Where do we exceed your expectations?
Where do we fall short?
What unresolved issues are there?
How do we compare to other suppliers?
How do you measure us?
How would you sum us up in a sentence?
How many marks out of ten?
Do you see us as a supplier or partner?
Questions about the future
How is your business changing?
What pressures will you face?
What are you main objectives?
How will you achieve them?
How could we help you?
Where could we add more value?
What could we do that we are not currently
doing?
Where would you be happy to see us have
more of your business
We work with our Clients to facilitate “key account audits.” Think of these as a face-to-face “appraisals”, an
opportunity for a senior-level executive to say “thank you for your business”, to find out how the customer
feels and to identify opportunities for the future. The questions illustrated here are not a script. They are a
“menu” which, once again, would be tailored to your needs.
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT IS A TEAM SPORT!
It is not a job for lone heroes going in pursuit of personal glory. It is something for the whole account
management team. It starts with Directors, of course. Account management starts at the top or it doesn’t start
at all!
Account managers should be working together as “buddies” discussing dilemmas, opportunities and
challenges within their respective key accounts.
Establishing good multi-level contact with all three levels within the decision-making process – the policy
instigators, the policy influencers and the policy implementers.
Removing any interdepartmental friction or friendly fire. The quality of service the key account receives
will be influenced by the quality of service your people give each other!
Internal team meetings to discuss specific accounts.
BUILD EFFECTIVE ACCOUNT PLANS THAT CAN BE SHARED BY THE RELEVANT TEAM.
Key account plans do not need to be complicated. They can be as simple as three questions loosely grouped
under three headings:
Intelligence: What is the current situation within the account? The good old SWOT Analysis works well here.
Where is the relationship strong? Where is it weak? What are the opportunities? What are the threats?
Intentions: What are the plans for the future? (E.g. to add value to the key account, to improve your business
and to develop relationships between the two organisations).
Implementation: Who is going to do what, by when? What action is your Account Manager taking? What are
his/her colleagues going to do?
Although there will always be demands and challenges, business (at the end of the day) is remarkably simple:
It is about making a profit by selling products and services that don’t come back
to customers that do!