Tag: Career

Key account management skills for the new paradigm

Account planning has evolved from the wine and dine times to providing strategic solutions – and shows no signs of stopping. The tribal knowledge present in the teams can become enterprise memory with digital KAM and narrate a story of the client’s needs to the Key Account Management team – allowing them find innovative ways of meeting them. This means key account managers can focus on proactively understanding and trying to solve client’s problem, instead of trying to keep the records straight. The changes to working conditions all over the world provide another reason to relook at skills required to manage key accounts – the old ways are not relevant anymore. The changes to the way we work have been so drastic that in a couple of years, organizations that don’t have any sort of key account management practice that relies on structured data – will not be able to succeed. With structured information about clients and insights derived from AI and ML tools, Account Managers can provide the necessary human touch efficiently. The key customer representatives want to succeed in their positions – and are looking for strategic partners who can empathize and help them achieve business goals. By treating key accounts as strategic partners, organizations can see the real value of the business relationship – where the skills of account managers are enhanced by the tools at their disposal.

Key Account Managers are also Key Employees

In most companies where there are hundreds or thousands of employees, it becomes very hard for each employee to link their final output to a significant contribution to the company’s bottom line. This is where I, as a Key Account Manager, really shine!According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of a business’s revenue and profits will come from 20% of its clients. My brethren and I have the privilege to be entrusted with 20% of these clients who are the biggest spenders in our organization. Thus, I am in a position where my success/failure can critically impact the company’s fortunes. Revenue growth Year on Year is my primary goal each year. A simple reason for this is the following: Value of Company at the beginning of Year 1 = $10Mn, out of which 4 accounts contribute to 80% of revenue. Value of my Key Account= $2Mn, Growth = 50%. Therefore, the Value of my Key Account is now = $3Mn. Assumption: None of the other accounts grew. My account is now contributing an additional at the end of Year 1 = 10%. My ability to enhance the portfolio offered to my client by 50% can improve the company’s revenue by a whopping 10%. These are extremely lofty aspirations, so how do I really manage to impact the company’s bottom line? The answer is actually two-fold: Tangible Benefits: These are the benefits that can be measured in monetary terms and contribute to the revenue of the firm. I virtually have a lever by which I can bump up the revenues of the company with effort on my part. 1) Reduce Churn When I am dealing with star clients, I make it my primary purpose in life to go above and beyond the expectations they have from my company. Why do I do that? Because attracting fresh customer costs 5 times as much as retaining an existing one. 2) Increased Use of Products / Services My job is to not only ensure that customers remain with us but to ensure that each year we are able to provide them additional products/services. This requires not only knowledge of my products, but it also requires a deep understanding of customers’ business. 3) Improved Profit Margins Each time I sell an additional product/service to a key account I allow the overall profit margins of my company to rise. The reason for this is the elimination of any acquisition cost we would otherwise have to bear to sell this additional unit. Did you know that existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more than new customers? With key accounts forming such a vast chunk of my company’s revenue it is integral that I also concentrate on profit margins. 4) Maximize Customer Lifetime Value For me it isn’t sufficient to just look at the year on year growth as a key strategist it is very important for me to also maximize customer lifetime value. To maximize this value, it is integral for me to not just look at the short term, but a long-term view. This requires foresight and a deep understanding of the client’s business. Guide: Comprehensive Career Path for a Key Account Manager Intangible Benefits There are some benefits that I can get for my company with concerted efforts but they are immeasurable. 1) Closer Relationships with Clients It is a proven fact that when the client has a single touchpoint there is a marked improvement in the trust endowed in the relationship mapping. As a practitioner of Key Account Management, I am in a position of extreme trust with all of my clients. Building relationships with such corporate executives are not easy, but once I do manage it there is a huge reduction in client-business conflicts and an enhanced ability to understand the problems a client faces. All of this further reinforces the client’s trust in me. 2) Product Development Insight I literally have my ear to the ground the entire time. How do you ask? It’s because I am interacting directly with clients. I am in a position where I know exactly what the market thinks about our products and services and this allows me to give insights to the product team for both iterations and new product development. So not only can I strategize for key accounts I can also develop insights that can help my own company future proof itself. 3) Executive-to-Executive Relationships The friendships I develop with high executives allow me to be their confidante in this cut-throat world. When they shift companies, I often find them still turning to me for business which results in additional clients being added to my roster. The phrase “Your Network is Your Net Worth” resonates with my soul! 4) Increase in Referrals As stated above, I share a particularly strong bond with my clients. My proven results year on year prompt them to refer my company’s services to their powerful friend network. This results in quite a few referrals each year, which further drives down overall client acquisition costs. I am an integral part of my company and there is a whole slew of possibilities through which I can create value for it. My strategic insights can prove to be an asset not only for my clients but also for my own company. And that, my friends, is why I am a key employee of my firm!

6 Attributes of a Successful Key Account Manager

Decades ago, psychotherapist Thom Hartmann proposed two mental models that described how people go about their work. The hunter mindset, based on nomadic societies, suffered from a short attention span but had hyper-focus for short bursts of time. ‍ The farmer, based on agrarian societies, was patient and worked steadily with the understanding that he would enjoy the fruit of his labor in the future. These two mental models have been used to guide hiring. Most recruiters look for hunters to fulfill sales roles and farmers to fulfill account management roles. This clear distinction between the hunter and farmer mindset gets blurred when hiring a Key Account Manager. In the past, hunters were focused on acquisition and farmers were focused on retention. A blend of these attributes is required to successfully fulfill a Key Account Manager role. Traditional Account Managers tend to be too patient and they acquiesce too quickly to unreasonable client demands. This is detrimental to forging a mutually beneficial and strategically viable partnership. On the other hand, a hunter mindset is too short-term focused and will often lose out on larger opportunities because of the relentless pursuit of the sales opportunities immediately in front of them. When recruiting for a Key Account Manager, look for the following: 1. Leadership A KAM should be a visionary. They should help everyone see and be excited by what’s possible. Their customers and their peers should respect them. They should be able to respectfully challenge and direct the customer in the customer’s best interest. This means they must have a degree of comfort with tension. Traditional Account Managers are too quick to cave in when facing tension with clients. Also, when progress needs to happen internally, they need to have the respect of their team. Team members should want to go the extra mile for them. 2. Communication This is a big one. The best KAMs are able to keep all stakeholders informed on all the important issues. They will often have to lead the presentation of project updates or account reviews. Whether oral or written, it is critical that all communications are concise, clear and convincing. Communications must also be highly nuanced for the particular stakeholder or group being spoken to. 3. Business Acumen Many salespeople are far too focused on closing deals and do not understand broader business issues. This approach is fatal when it comes to Key Account Management. A Key Account Manager must be able to see the bigger business issues for the client and help the client manage their business. They must also ensure all business deals are profitable for both sides. 4. Relationship Savvy Today’s Key Account Manager must be able to read people and connect meaningfully with a variety of personalities. They must understand that all progress is made through relationships. They must know when to take the lead in relationship development and when to enable others to take the lead. Their objective is to build a highly intricate web of many-to-many relationships between the client’s people and theirs – the more intricate the web, the greater the partnership and the higher the cost to switch to a competitor. 5. Results Oriented Today’s Key Account Manager must have laser focus on getting results for the customer. This means they must be proactive and not wait for the customer to notice they are not on track to achieving a particular goal. They must have a “no excuses” mindset. They do what needs to be done. They coordinate multiple resources to the achievement of the decided upon outcome. They will take the blame for failures and give credit to the team for successes because they are driven by outcomes not their ego. 6. Appetite for Learning A successful Account Manager recognizes the pace of change we are undergoing. Consequently, they are always open to training and development. They never rest on their laurels. Part of the respect they gain from others comes from the fact that others see that they are constantly growing in their perspectives and abilities. They constantly look for white space opportunities to improve in areas that they have identified as important. All of these attributes require a mix of a hunter and a farmer mindset. There are some things that must be looked after with a short-term laser focus. These short-term issues must be executed while simultaneously understanding how they fit into and accelerate long-term objectives and a long-term vision. It is an unusual mix of attributes as it requires mental flexibility. Those who possess these traits will lead their organizations and their clients too much greater rewards than we have seen in the past from either hunters or farmers.

The 5 Skills Every Kickass Key Account Manager Needs in 2024

We’ve gone over the fact that 80% of your key account revenue comes from 20% of your accounts. Thus, the key account manager who manages this 20 % of accounts plays a key role in the ongoing success of your business. He/She needs to nurture your company’s most valuable customers and build a long-term relationship with them, not just as salespeople but as trusted advisors. This key account manager can have such a huge impact on the fortune of a company is in a very influential position. The responsibilities and expectations may be many, but the time on their hands is very less and hence certain skills are needed to do the job well. Guide: Career progression for key account manager Here are the top 5 Skills that every Key account manager Professional should have to do his job amazingly: #1. Effective Communicator Key Account Managers are in a unique position where they constantly interact with people within the client organization who have extremely powerful roles and positions. Communicating with such high flying corporate executives is not easy. They need training on the specific key account they are handling. Key Account Managers must strive to constantly keep communication flowing to establish themselves as trusted advisors. The client touchpoints should feel that they can reach out to their account managers with any question/concern and that they will receive a helpful and thoughtful response. In order to be a successful key account manager, he/she should be indispensable to the client in every way. It is truly an art to keep clients engaged without being intrusive. #2. Proactive Key Account Management The biggest mistake that Key Account Managers do is thinking that they don’t need to rock the boat too much. They believe that their job is just wine and dine clients and build a relationship mapping through this. A Key Account Manager must proactively glean insights from the customers about how the product model is functioning for them, if there are gaps in product fitment and if there is any reason for them to be unhappy. This description can allow him/her to proactively put out key account management fires, even before they arise. This information can be used for new product development to address any gaping need, as spoken about in this blog. #3. Empathizing with Customers A Key Account Manager must, of course, have research and analytical bend of mind where he/she understands the client’s goals and expectations deeply, but it is also important to understand any problems that they may be facing. Key account managers must collaborate with customers to create a plan of action to work towards business goals. If the KAMs follow through with those plans while adjusting for market conditions they stand to demonstrate the real value of their company. A true Key Account Manager will consistently help clients achieve their end goals while remaining in a fiduciary position. When a client can show its senior management that a Key Account Manager positively impacted their bottom line by putting their blood, sweat, and tears in there is bound to be a lasting collaboration. #4. Challenging The Key Account to Use Optimal Strategies Look for opportunities to educate your key accounts, or even challenge them with a new way of thinking when appropriate. If they’re asking how to do something a certain way, and you know of a better way, use that chance to educate them for everyone’s good. When a key account asks you how to do something, seek to understand why they want to do that. By understanding their motives and reasons, you’ll be able to recommend an alternative course of action. Your job as a key account manager isn’t to make friends with your key account, and not even necessary to “satisfy” them. Your primary job is to push your key account, challenge them, and get them to think, in order to make them generate more revenue. #5. Becoming a disruptive growth key account manager Nevermore has there been a better time for key account managers to reposition themselves by taking charge of the disruptive growth agenda. Such initiatives by managers are often the most creative and have the biggest revenue potential. Key account managers that want to do their job well and reach their potential and move into a disruptive growth role in 2024 can do so by: Breaking the barrier: The manager that can best articulate a disruptive growth strategy will be king of account management. As most companies look to grow, key account managers should be the ones to step forward to create the platforms that will catapult their key accounts forward into new business possibilities. Data Monetization: While traditional key account management activities continue to be important, more focus can be allowed to drive disruptive growth initiatives that present data visualization and analysis. New tools and initiatives in mining data can help the key account managers to take necessary actions towards monetizing it. Competition analysis: The landscape of competitors is always changing. Every day new competitors enter the market. It is necessary to watch out for innovations your competitors are bringing up to stay aligned with the trends in the industry. Only a few key account managers believe defending their key accounts against new competitors that have not traditionally been part of their industry is a priority to their key accounts today. Key accounts can avoid being disrupted, but only if they can see what’s coming. As a Key account manager, you are now at an inflection point in 2024. You have a clear opportunity to step up to the plan of growth and expansion in 2024. So far, most have missed the opportunity, resulting in others being in front of the line for the role. Currently, the plan is ripe for the taking, but opportunities such as this one have a shelf life. With swift, sure action, key account managers can capitalize on their window of white space opportunity.

Sales Representative to Sales Operations – A Good Move?

We understand that this might be a point of view that is subject to argument, but that did not stop us from putting this down, as we believe that this might prove to be a good move. Let’s see why. The Sales Representative has seen, lived, breathed, tasted, every bit of the sales process himself. He has tasted rejection and success, pain and pleasure, respect and denigration; he has seen it all in his role as a sales representative. He knows the process inside out and stands a good chance of knowing what works and what doesn’t. The Sales Representative will understand the challenges and pain points of the sales team and the weak links in the process and systems and process as he has experienced them first-hand. So simply put, he will know how to address them. He will be able to put an operations department in place that takes the routine work off the sales team’s shoulders so that the team can focus on their core strength, sales. The Sales Representative will have an all-around view of the sales-marketing- customer triangle of love and will do his best to keep it in the love mode and not allow it to deteriorate. He will add more value to the sales team’s role and ensure he keeps smoothly running operations so as to enhance the performance and productivity of the sales team. On the other hand, many times, organizations opt for external administrative heads or specialists. Let’s find out why this might not be a good problem to have for the sales team. The non-sales person will never know how the sales organization or department works and the nitty-gritty involved. He will never know the sales departmental processes inside out or how they work, as much as a person who has lived with these processes would know. He would not be able to relate to the real world challenges and problems and the aspirations and inspirations of the sales team. He may be more focused on tactics and not results. He may be more reactive instead of being proactive, which is more a result of not knowing fully how the sales system works. He would still be an outsider to the sales department and may not be readily accepted as one of them soon. Sales and Operations are not being two separate things, and being intricately intertwined, needs a sales representative, a hands-on guy to perform sales operations well. Sales operations are perhaps one of the most important roles in the sales organization and on the sales floor and the person who heads it needs to be chosen from one among the tribe if it were to work smoothly without too much friction.