Tag: KPIs

Account Management Reinvented: The Role of Digital Mindset in Accelerating Sales Enablement

Consider these scenarios: Scenario 1: Before: “Good morning, Mr Brown. Thank you for meeting with me last week. Based on our discussions, we’ve created a proposal. It has just been mailed to you and you should receive it in a week. I look forward to continuing our discussions then!” After: The phone dings and announces “You’ve got mail!” A notification pops up – “Your proposal from The Good News Company needs your attention!” Scenario 2: Before: “Yes, Sarah! We’ve done business with Xtreme International for years, and that sparse file is all we have to show for it. Jacob, who handled the account for us was terrible at filing reports and updating records. When he left last month, he took everything he knew with him. If you need information, I’m afraid you’re going to have to start from scratch!” After: “Yes, they’ve been an important client for years. Everything to do with our dealings has been carefully recorded and stored in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Here, let me show you how it works so you can extract the data and information you need to service this account.” Scenario 3: Before: Brendon is trying to find the best contact within an important clients organization. He shortlists several people from previous reports filed. He must now call and find out if any of these stakeholders are still relevant to the task he needs to do. ‘There must be a better way to do this’, he thinks.  After: Brendon logs into his company’s Org Chart software. He is so pleased to be able to see, at one glance, all the key stakeholders in his key account. He knows immediately who can best influence the decision he will need when he presents them with a great growth opportunity. Any information he needs about his key accounts contacts is now at his fingertips. And it’s all up-to-date! Scenario 4: Before: “We’re sorry! There seems to be a recurring problem with this download. Check your internet connection and try again later.” After: Dear Ms. Johnson, we notice you’ve been having problems downloading our most recent whitepaper. Here’s a link that lets you have immediate access. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We’d like to offer you a $50 discount on your next purchase with us. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar? Of course, they do! We’ve all been Brendon or Sarah or any of the others to some degree or another. But wait! Before and after what?? For those of you who haven’t guessed, the right answer is digital transformation.  Building a Digital Mindset Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into various aspects of an organization. It has created a fundamental shift in how businesses operate and deliver value to their customers. It has become a strategic priority for all businesses, intending to stay relevant in the ever-evolving marketplace. One of the critical elements for successful digital transformation is creating a digital mindset within the organization.  A digital mindset is an approach to thinking that focuses on embracing change, adapting to new technologies, and constantly seeking innovative ways to solve problems and improve business processes. It’s about understanding the opportunities and risks associated with digital technologies and using them effectively to optimize business performance. In today’s competitive business environment, a digital mindset is no longer optional for businesses; it’s essential for staying relevant and competitive. As technology continues to evolve rapidly, sales teams must use modern tools and strategies to stay ahead of the curve and drive business growth.  Let’s explore how a digital mindset is powering the next wave of growth in account management and its subsequent impact on sales enablement. Watch Now: Prasad Varahabhatla (Senior Director, Sales & Data Operations at Philips) shares about Digital transformation within sales function  Understanding Key Account Management and Sales Enablement Before understanding the role of a digital mindset, let’s take a look at the fundamentals of key account management and sales enablement. Key Account Management: It’s a strategic approach to managing and nurturing relationships with a company’s most valuable customers or ‘key accounts’. These clients typically bring in the most revenue or have strategic value. Effective Key Account Management involves building strong relationships, understanding customer needs, and delivering exceptional service.  Sales Enablement: It’s the process of providing sales teams with the necessary tools, resources and training to sell more effectively. It includes everything sales teams need to better understand their customers, communicate the value of their products or services, and close deals successfully.  The Role of Digital Mindset in Key Account Management Check out our Masterclass to level up your Key Account Management on the topic ‘Making Account Plans Actionable, Measurable and Sustainable’  A digital mindset can transform Key Account Management, enabling sales teams to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing B2B landscape. Here are some ways in which a digital mindset influences Key Account Management: Embracing Technology: A digital mindset encourages sales teams to make the best use of technology to improve their account management processes. By employing digital tools, teams can streamline their workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and focus more on high-value activities, such as relationship-building and strategic planning.  Information-led decision-making: A digital mindset emphasizes the importance of decision-making based on the data available. Sales teams can draw on data analytics and AI-powered tools to gain insights into their key accounts, identify new opportunities and make more informed strategic decisions.  Personalization: Digital tools and strategies allow sales teams to offer a more personalized experience to their key accounts. By leveraging data and AI-powered tools, teams can better understand their customers’ journeys, preferences, needs and pain points. This allows them to tailor their offerings and communicate more effectively. Agility and Adaptability: A digital mindset creates an agile and adaptable approach to Key Account Management. This means sales teams can quickly adapt to changing market conditions, customer expectations, and technological advancements. This ensures they stay ahead of the competition.  Impact of Digital Mindset on Sales Enablement The

Key Metrics To Measure The Success Of Your Digital Key Account Management Program

A recent study has shown that B2B companies that prioritize customer experience generate higher revenues and profits than those that don’t. One key way to improve the customer experience for your key accounts is through a Digital Key Account Management (DKAM) program. With a well-designed digital Key Account ManageKey Performance Indicatorsment program, you can provide customized and seamless online experiences that drive growth got your business.  However, simply launching a digital Key Account Management program isn’t enough. To truly reap the benefits, you need to measure the effectiveness of your program and optimize it for better performance. But what are the key metrics that B2B companies should be measuring to determine the success of their digital KAM program? As a sales leader or sales enablement leader, if this is a challenge you’ve been facing you’re in the right place. You’re about to discover actionable insights and key metrics to determine the success of your digital Key Account Management program. By tracking the right data and analyzing it effectively, you can optimize your program for business success.  Download Whitepaper: The Impact of Digital Key Account Management on Sales Enablement Understanding Digital Key Account Management  Digital Key Account Management is a strategic approach to managing your most valuable customers using digital channels. The main goal of digital Key Account Management is to improve customer experience, build strong relationships, and increase revenue by identifying and satisfying customer needs in a personalized manner.  One of the biggest benefits of digital Key Account Management is that it allows companies to create a more effective and efficient communication channel with their customers. This type of relationship management enables businesses to identify and address customer pain points proactively and deliver customized solutions that meet their unique needs. This not only helps businesses retain their existing customers but also helps them generate more revenue by upselling and cross-selling products and services. However, implementing a digital Key Account Management program comes with its own challenges, one of the biggest challenges is identifying the right digital tools and strategies to implement the program successfully. Another challenge is ensuring that the Key Account Management team has the right skills and expertise to manage digital channels effectively. Despite these challenges, digital Key Account Management programs have been successfully implemented in different industries. For instance, a B2B manufacturing company can implement digital Key Account Management by leveraging digital channels to deliver timely and relevant content to help its customers improve their manufacturing process. Similarly, in a healthcare company digital Key Account Management can be successfully implemented to provide personalized healthcare solutions to its customers – specialized clinics and hospitals – based on the health profiles of the patients they treat and care for.  Advanced digital health tech solutions are increasingly being integrated into these key account strategies, allowing healthcare providers to offer remote monitoring capabilities, personalized treatment plans, and data-driven insights that significantly enhance patient outcomes while creating stronger business relationships with institutional clients. Technology plays a significant role in enabling digital Key Account Management. There are several tools available to Key Account Management teams to help them manage their relationships with customers effectively. For example, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools help Key Account Management teams manage customer data, track customer interactions and create personalized customer profiles.  Other tools such as marketing automation software, social media monitoring tools, and analytics software help Account Management teams deliver personalized content, track customer behavior, and measure the effectiveness of their digital Key Account Management program.  Key Metrics to Measure Success in Digital Key Account Management Digital Key Account Management can boost revenue and profitability for B2B businesses, but measuring its effectiveness is critical.  Here are some key metrics you should be tracking to evaluate the success of your digital Key Account Management program: 1. Revenue growth: The primary goal of Key Account Management is to maximize profitability from key accounts, therefore tracking revenue growth is a critical metric to measure success. Sales leaders can monitor revenue growth by tracking the percentage of revenue generated from key accounts over a given period. By setting revenue targets and analyzing the progress of each account towards that target sales leaders can identify areas that need improvement and take action to optimize sales strategies. 2. Customer retention rate: In the B2B sector, customer retention is critical to long-term success. Sales leaders can track customer retention rates by measuring the percentage of key accounts that continue to do business with the company over a given period. This metric provides insight into the effectiveness of the company’s overall sales strategy. It also serves to measure the effectiveness of the Key Account Management program in particular. By identifying accounts that are at risk of churn, sales leaders can take proactive steps to address challenges and retain the account.  3. Customer satisfaction: This is another important metric to measure the success of a digital Key Account Management program. Sales leaders can track customer satisfaction by using customer feedback surveys, Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and other relevant metrics.  By analyzing the results, sales leaders can identify areas where improvements in the overall customer experience can be made. They can then work with their Key Account Management teams to make necessary changes.  4. Account Engagement: This measurement of this metric is crucial to the success of a digital Key Account Management program. Sales leaders can track account engagement by monitoring the frequency and quality of interactions between the Key Account Management team and key accounts.  After a thorough analysis of the engagement data sales leaders can identify areas where Key Account Management teams need additional support or training to improve their engagement and overall effectiveness.  By tracking these key metrics and analyzing the results, sales leaders and sales enablement leaders can gain a comprehensive understanding of the success of their digital key Account Management program. They can thus use the data to make better decisions for business success.   Learn More: 6 Key Takeaways for a Successful Key Account Management Transformation Journey Key Challenges in Implementing

11 Crucial Account Management KPIs that Dictate Success

Key Account Management can be a difficult process. The biggest challenge to selecting the right account management strategy is focusing on too many things too soon. Ideally, the focus should be on only a few impactful components or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can set you apart from your competitors. This has the potential to grow your key accounts exponentially. What are KPIs in sales? Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, in sales, are measurable values that demonstrate how effectively a sales team is achieving its key business objectives. By using KPIs, organizations can assess their sales performance, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions to drive growth. KPIs can cover various aspects of the sales process, from lead generation to closing deals, and provide valuable insights that help teams strategize effectively and gain customer retention. Sales KPIs can vary widely based on the specific goals of the organization, but some common examples include: Sales Revenue: The total income from sales, which reflects the effectiveness of the sales team in generating profit. Conversion Rate: The percentage of leads that are converted into actual sales, indicating the effectiveness of sales tactics. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The total cost spent on acquiring a new customer, which helps in understanding the return on sales investment. Average Deal Size: The average revenue earned per deal, useful for setting sales forecasts and targets. Sales Growth Rate: The rate at which sales revenue increases over a specified period, providing insights into business health and market demand. By carefully selecting and monitoring relevant KPIs, sales teams can enhance their performance, optimize processes, and achieve greater success in their endeavors. Take a look at the top 11 Account Management KPIs that require focus for long-term success. 1. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Customer Lifetime Value is the total revenue that a business can generate from a single account in the entire course of the arrangement. It is calculated by: Customer Lifetime Value = (Customer Value) x (Average Customer Lifespan) Importance of Customer Lifetime Value Instantly tells your most revenue-generating buyer personas. Gauges the potential of individual key accounts. Identifies common factors that drive the most profitable customers. Analyzes the ability of account managers to engage existing clientele. Lowers customer cost per acquisition and maximizes profitability. 2. Referenceable Clients How likely are your clients to refer you to their professional network? When quantified, this is directly proportional to the performance of your account managers. There are three primary ways to track this KPI: Monitoring social media mentions to understand the consensus about the performance of account managers. Directly asking current customers by including a question in key feedback surveys Adding a field like “how did you hear about us?” in inbound contact forms. 3. Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction scores (CSAT) is one KPI that can explain a lot about the performance of account managers. They can be easily captured via customized surveys across multiple channels. Net Promoter Score (NPS), is one of the best ways to calculate Customer Satisfaction. NPS asks clients about how likely they are to recommend the services and products to their colleagues and quantifies the result. Clients are then divided into Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. 4. Customer Outcomes Customer Outcomes is a function of customer-centricity. It involves tracking the achievement of customer goals to analyze and arrive at the performance of the account managers. Such tracking can be achieved by looking at: Leading Indicators: Forward-looking indicators that look at and anticipate future outcomes and events. Lagging Indicators: Backward-looking indicators that analyze whether the desired outcome was achieved. If any discrepancy exists between the inputs and outputs of Key Account Managers, the problem can then be diagnosed accordingly. 5. Customer Interaction Customer Interaction provides valuable insights into the amount of time that account managers dedicate to engaging with their customers. This engagement is crucial for building and maintaining strong relationships. Long gaps in customer interactions can signal inadequacies in relationship mapping and management, potentially leading to decreased client satisfaction and loyalty. Measuring this engagement effectively requires a thorough tracking of both inbound and outbound touchpoints. This includes monitoring phone calls, emails, meetings, and any other forms of communication. An ideal scenario involves a high frequency of reaching out to key account managers coupled with a low resolution time for any issues or inquiries. Such practices are essential as they foster increased trust from clients, contributing to a stronger relationship. Furthermore, these efforts are instrumental in driving the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), ultimately benefiting both the client and the organization in the long run in terms of business relationship. 6. Organic Growth When clients are satisfied with the product or service, they are more likely to scale their engagement, even when it comes to premium offerings. This satisfaction can lead to increased trust and loyalty, Customer Retention Rate, encouraging clients to explore more advanced or additional options provided by the company. Key indicators here can include the percentage of sales generated through references, which often signifies client satisfaction and trust, the percentage of repeat customers, showcasing ongoing client loyalty, the percentage of customers likely to engage in cross-selling or up-selling opportunities, reflecting their willingness to invest further, and the ratio of new to repeat sales, indicating the balance between attracting new key clients and retaining existing ones. These metrics are crucial for understanding client satisfaction and potential business growth opportunities. 7. Client Acquisition Rates This KPI represents the number of customers that account managers actually reach out to. This is the first step of a client relationship and may explain the discrepancies between your highest and lowest performers. Acquisition rates can differ for different outreach methods such as cold calling, emailing, or face-to-face interactions. It is imperative to find the ideal number of touchpoints beyond which conversion rates begin to plummet. 8. Employee Satisfaction This might seem an odd KPI, but it makes sense considering how demanding the role of an account manager can get. Internal surveys and interviews to ensure employee satisfaction translates to satisfied customers.  A happy team ensures that a robust account management culture

Will Real Time Reporting for KAM Help Sales Ops Breathe Easy?

Real-Time Reporting won’t just help; it could power Key Account Management model to success. A veritable game-changer, possibly. The DemandFarm Blog has consistently argued how Key Accounts are latent revenue drivers. The hourglass metaphor neatly sums up the growth potential Key Accounts hold. Unfortunately, these opportunities are not evident to the extent that they become compelling. Thus, most of the time, the Key Account Management strategy is fraught with a ‘business as usual’ approach. The absence of real-time reporting plays a little role in accentuating this problem. The sales operations team entrusted with the reporting function recognizes this challenge. But what can they do? Reporting on Key Accounts is saddled with complexity. On one hand, we have the overwhelming business of the Key Account and on the other, the way organizations manage Key Accounts internally – endless Excel files sitting at various locations, PPTs whose templates keep changing, not to forget the occasional paper memos and thesis emails, and ultimately some closed-door meetings that may not have been minuted. The sales operations team has its task cut out. Why anytime reporting? Because, why should it be any other way? Ok, that was the short answer. The longer one starts with the status quo and ends with transparency. Diagnostic Status QuoToday, Sales Ops teams prepare reports by collecting data from various sources. Some of the data sources are within their control and mostly a click away. However, some, including financial metrics and sales team activities, require coordination and repeated email requests. This adds ‘point of failures’ to the workflow. Even if things work out on time, manual reconciliation issues, omission commission errors and ‘Acts of Man’, make reporting one BIG job. What this means is that the reporting process takes a couple of weeks or more? This lead time runs the risk of depreciating the value of any reporting insight if derived. What may be needed is a real-time, insight-driven report that Spurs necessary and relevant business action. Not a diagnostic that just presents what happened. Transparency to the C-Suite Key Accounts are core to an organization’s strategic plan. Their performance gets attention not just from the Head of Sales, but also from the CEO. The C-Suite, especially, is well-positioned to make a material difference to Key Accounts, by virtue of existing relationships and scale. The current diagnostic approach to reporting compromises the leveraging power of C-Suite in 3 ways. Reactive: The C-Suite has a dependency on reporting teams for insights. Thus, their reactive response. Additionally, review meetings become clarification/ correctional sessions instead of collaborative engagements designed to move forward. Optimistic Dressing: A manual approach to reporting, inadvertently, encourages optimism, and to a great extent when it comes to C-Suite reporting. How do we correct this? The big picture: the C-Suite gets reports from various Key Account teams at various times and may miss out on the BIG PICTURE of multiple Key Accounts and what that may mean to the overall organizational strategy or health. It also helps track several Annual Plans and how they are faring compared to the projections. A real-time accessible report can make the C-Suite an integral team member of the Key Account Management process. Sales Ops leaders realize this potential of any time reporting but have their own problem of plenty. The Tough life of Sales Ops An article from Harvard Business Review cleverly presents the hardships of Sales Ops by jotting down some job descriptions (JD) for the role of Sales Operations. Here is what one of the JD looked like: ‍Strategy Contribute to the 1- and 3-year business vision as a member of the executive leadership team. Evaluate sales force strategies, plans, goals, and objectives. Contribute expertise to optimize sales force and territory sizing, structuring, and alignment. Operations Oversee sales performance analyses and reporting, territory alignment, and customer profiling and targeting activities. Administer quarterly sales incentive compensation plans and the goal-setting process. Manage sales force automation and CRM systems and processes. Provide data, analyses, modeling, and reporting to support sales force quarterly business reviews. This 85-word excerpt from a JD had just ‘one’ word for ‘reporting’. Beat that. The good folks at SalesLoft in one of their eBooks dedicated to sales operations leaders broke down this role into three. Process Data, and Implementation As you guessed correctly, reporting falls under Data and is just one of the functions executed by Sales Ops. So without automation, there is a good chance of reporting becoming a distraction. In addition to this, Sales Ops are also burdened with technology and account planning tools. These days, the best sales teams are empowered by technology solutions, tools, and data. These technology solutions and tools have enabled many organizations to create sales force effectiveness and sales growth. This flow towards technology has indeed made Sales Operations a vital part of the sales by uniquely positioning them to leverage data and technology. All this requires Sales Ops to put strategic time into sales enablement, warranting the need for automated reporting. After all, we are talking about expensive salesman hours. KAM Technology to the Rescue A Key Account Management tool can surely help organize data better and enables sales leaders and indeed all stakeholders to have access to reports and data anywhere anytime. Leverage Existing Data – Leverage existing CRM data to populate analytics rather than depending on the managers, SDRs, and KAMs to fill it out for you. Collate all the data into a single format and store it in a single place so everybody can access and interpret it consistently and in real-time. The platform for Collaboration – It can provide a platform for collaboration between the many stakeholders involved in managing and growing the most strategic customers by making reports and actions shareable and interactive. Insights Like Never Before – Deliver the right customer-centric insights for clarity and action. The landscape, whitespace, opportunities, relationship ‘type’, ‘health’, and ‘attractiveness’ everything to make strategic decisions about key accounts. KAM Technology empowers Sales Ops teams to service and drive business focused