Key Account Management

Overview

'Key Accounts' are critical to your organisation's survival.

They are aware of their contribution to your revenue, their impact on your profits and their ability to assist in bringing about economies of scale for your organisation.

They have bargaining power and generally know how to use it.

They also have a greater choice of what they can buy, where and from whom they can buy, and how and when they choose to pay.

They are discerning, demanding and aware of their options.

Your Key accounts are the ones that your competitors would most like to acquire.

Retaining and developing your key accounts, assuring their loyalty and locking out your competition are essential to your survival and success.

What do Key Accounts want from the supplier?

Despite the choices available to them Key Accounts are not seeking just "suppliers" or necessarily "the best deal available" at any given time.

They are seeking 'partners'. They want to form alliances with companies who can in some way add value to their business. People who can save them money, cut their costs, help them increase their efficiency and effectiveness, assist them to make better profits and in some way add to their bottom line.

Key Accounts are not only different in size, they are also different in nature and it is necessary to formulate the correct strategies and employ the right tactics to maintain, defend and grow these accounts.

Selling strategically is the best way to outperform your competition and ensure your position as the preferred or sole supplier.

You have to sell the whole 'package'. The products, services, ideas, quality and skills of your organisation and how they can contribute to your customer's success.

"Key Account Management" provides valuable insights into:

• How to become and remain the "supplier of choice".
• How to maintain, strengthen and grow relationships with existing key accounts.
• How to estimate their future growth.
• How to develop co-operative strategies to ensure maximum profit returns from key accounts.
• How to identify, analyse and capitalise on new business opportunities in the marketplace.
• How to maximise returns by up-selling, cross selling and creating incremental sales of your goods and services.

Topics Covered

Selling strategically…an overview

• Transactional Selling v Consultative Selling
• Selling Goods v selling Services.
• Classifying customers.
• Identifying purchasing channels.
• Types of buys. Reorders, modified re-buys and new and unknown buys.
• Assessing account potential.
• Assessing required service levels.
• The core competencies required by Key Account Managers and sales people.

Understanding Key Accounts

• The Organisational Buying Process
• Understanding the Buying Centre.
• Understanding the customers business.
• Buying and selling….merging the processes.
• Methods of forecasting sales to Key Accounts

Developing Account Strategy.

• Maintaining and defending your current Key Accounts.
• Growing your existing Key Account Business through development and penetration.
• Identifying needs and opportunities through the use of Questioning and Listening techniques.
• Analysing and developing new market place opportunities.

Dealing with the Key Account Buyer/s.

• Buyers are people….people are not all the same.
• Identifying the social styles of the buyer.
• Building the relationship.

Increasing revenue and profit.

• Up-selling, Cross- selling and Incremental sales.
• Increasing sales by becoming your customer’s source of improvement ideas.
• Adding value to the relationship by being a ‘source of innovation’.
• Getting your ideas across by proposal and presentation.
• Developing entry strategies to create new Key accounts.

Who should attend

Salespeople responsible for Major or Key accounts.

Sales Managers and Key Account Managers.