Managing and Developing Key Accounts

Overview

An ideal course if you are an Account Manager looking to acquire the knowledge to enhance the profitability from the accounts you manage. This course will give you the skills to build long-lasting relationships with clients to ensure client retention, repeat business and are open to cross and up-selling opportunities. The Account Management training course is tailored towards sales people at any level who actively deal with relationship building as part of their sales role, managing multiple accounts.

The 2 day course focuses upon building cross-selling and up-selling capability in order to maximise revenue across all accounts, and will be particularly beneficial to those who are not developing or retaining their existing accounts.

Objectives

  • Identify and understand the criteria for key accounts, relative to your company.
  • Begin to construct a strategic account plan.
  • Manage your business relationships to increase your business.
  • Manage yourself and your time more effectively.
  • Complete key documentation that supports account development.
  • Be aware of your own motivational drivers and behavioural techniques so that you create powerful perceptions.
  • Present yourself and your offering powerfully and succinctly to senior key account influencers.

Course Outline

Key Account Management – It’s Big Business

  • Identify what a key account is with reference to your specific business
  • Selling and account management – the difference
  • Key account manager – your role and responsibilities
  • Knowledge, skills and attitudes you require to be an effective key account manager

Prioritising – Who are the Key Accounts?

  • Researching your customer’s profile and position; tools to obtain the sales intelligence you need in order to maximise business with that account
  • Investment versus return – get your priorities right
  • Assessing your strengths, weaknesses and unique advantages

Planning a Key Account Strategy

  • Being clear about the potential of each account
  • How to develop a key account over the long-term
  • Longer buying cycles and their impact on your sales strategy
  • Recognising threats and dealing with them
  • Setting specific goals and objectives for each meeting
  • Developing and maintaining key accounts in tough market conditions

Relationship Management

  • Understanding the organisational structure of your account
  • Influencing and negotiating with multiple contacts
  • Identifying cross-selling opportunities
  • Identifying and gaining future sales
  • Client-centred selling – focusing on the real needs
  • How and when to adapt your account management style
  • Productive meetings and how to achieve them

From Relationship to Partnership

  • Strengthening the relationship through regular contact: how to conclude business with the wide range of contacts you will meet
  • Creating flexibility in your approach using different communication styles
  • Alliances across an organisation to maintain preferred supplier status
  • Understanding buyers’ needs and objectives