Account Management - How to Manage Accounts to Maximize SalesCategory: Business
Article added by: Hossam Abdel-Kader
Congratulations! You successfully sold one or more of your
company's products or services to a business unit, department, or
division of a large organization. Now your manager has tasked you
with "account management". If you are not already familiar with
account management, you are probably asking yourself the
following questions:
1. What is "Account Management"?
2. What skills and talents are required to excel in Account
Management?
3. What activities must be performed to maximize Account
Management return on investment?
Providing answers to these questions is the focus of this
article.
1. What is Account Management?
Account management is a synonym for ACCOUNT PENETRATION. Just
because you have sold one product or service to one business
entity within an organization doesn't mean your job is done.
Think of all the additional opportunities that may exist in the
account! For example:
Does your company offer additional products or services that
might be a "fit" for this customer?
How many other business units, departments, divisions, and
subsidiaries are potential prospects for your company's products
and services?
2. Required Skills and Talents
A critical talent for successful account management is the
ability to build RELATIONSHIPS, as relationship selling is a very
effective way to increase account penetration. Another critical
skill/talent is ORGANIZATION. If you are going to manage large
accounts effectively, you need to be willing and able to keep
meticulous records.
What kinds of records do you need to keep? Picture a three-
dimensional spreadsheet in your mind. In the left-hand column is
a list of every product and service that you could possibly sell
to a customer. Across the top of the spreadsheet are all of the
business units, departments, divisions, and other business
entities that make up your account's entire organization. Behind
each business entity is every contact you know within that
business entity.
Armed with this mental picture, ask yourself the following
questions:
* Which business entities are you doing business with?
* Which business entities are you NOT doing business with?
* Where are the various business entities located?
* Which products and services does each business entity already
purchase from you?
* Which products and services are they NOT purchasing from you?
* Who do you know in each business entity?
* Which of these contacts have you already asked for referrals
and testimonials?
* What referrals and testimonials have they given you?
3. Required Activities
Hopefully your organization has some type of CRM (Client
Relationship Management) software application to help you keep
track of your answers to these questions. If you don't have
access to a corporate CRM system, here are some other options:
* You can purchase a software package like ACT! or GoldMine
* You can subscribe to an online service like salesforce.com
* You can track information using a spreadsheet, database, or
e-mail program
Next, plan your tactics for increasing account penetration by
considering the following questions:
* What process will you use to regularly expose EACH of your
contacts in the account to your company's ENTIRE PORTFOLIO
of products and services?
* Who can provide TESTIMONIALS that will help you win business
in other business units, departments, or divisions in the
account?
Who can REFER you to new contacts in other business units,
departments, or divisions in the account?
Why is it necessary to repetitively expose your contacts to your
company's entire portfolio of products and services? Because they
forget! I can tell you from personal experience that there is
nothing more frustrating than finding out a customer has placed a
large order with another salesperson...and the only reason they
didn't give YOU the order was because they didn't know or
remember that you could fill it!
Is There More to Account Management?
There can be, but activities focused on increasing account
penetration make up the critical core. Account management does
become more complex if a team of people is managing a regional,
national, or global account, but most of the complexity pertains
to coordinating the activities of the team members.
Don't make account management more complex than it needs to be!
The basic goal is to maximize account penetration. Look for
opportunities to sell every product and service in your portfolio
to every business entity in the account. Make maximum use of
referrals and testimonials to help you initiate new
relationships. Regularly remind all of your contacts of the full
breadth of your portfolio of products and services. Be organized
and keep meticulous records. If you do these things, you should
be amply rewarded for your efforts
Posted By: Hossam Abdel-Kader
Web: http://www.pr-inside.com
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat
the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform
and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance,
helps business owners, executives, and managers DOUBLE sales by
implementing The Right FormulaT for building top-performing
sales teams. For more information and more FREE sales and sales
management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com |
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