Strategic Account Plan Template
※ Download: Key account planning
When creating performance metrics, be sure to assign projects to each member of your team so that everyone is on the same page and everyone is working toward the same goal. How many of your accounts are buying everything they should from you, across all of your capability areas? Key accounts are than new ones, plus spend 33% more on average.
After the initial onboarding and laundry list of checklist items, we set on our way to understand, brainstorm and find solutions to gaps in each account. The right metric for a key account manager is the lifetime value of their customer the customer bottom line , not top-line revenues. As , key account programs often lead to increased costs and lower margins. Gerald Bullock Managing Director, Bullock and Company LLC We have been live on DF for 3+ months now.
Strategic Account Plan Template - While a salesperson focuses on the short term -- by necessity -- a key account manager KAM prioritizes the future. Strategy Map Align your approach with your customer's goals By understanding and mapping out your client's issues, challenges, and departmental initiatives, you can easily identify and position potential expansion opportunities based on what is top of mind for their key decision makers.
One thing that all great key account managers have in common is that they take a proactive a pproach to account planning. Instead of reacting once a problem has arisen, they brainstorm ways to head trouble off early on; they create open lines of communication to position themselves as a partner and ally who is available and willing to help at any time. As a key account manager, it is imperative that you get out there and get your hands dirty, interacting with your team and with your clients to build strong supplier-client relationships. When implemented early, the following pieces of advice can help you to drastically improve your account planning strategies and, thereby, your key account relationships. Suppose your client needs quicker response time on your end. Instead of immediately taking the situation into your own hands and feel stressed about moving more quickly, form a strategy that distributes the work among the various members of your team. When doing this, always keep your team informed of the details regarding the overall strategy and allow them to contribute ideas. Communicate With Your Clients Just as it is important to communicate with your sales team, it is also important to communicate with your clients. Conduct meetings with your team members and clients both present. Trust your clients to know what they need, and make it clear that you and your team are listening. When creating performance metrics, be sure to assign projects to each member of your team so that everyone is on the same page and everyone is working toward the same goal. This also allows you to take advantage of the varying expertise of each person on your team. Observe the Competition This is where it is important to be on the lookout for better or more organized ways of getting things done. In addition, by learning what the competition is doing at any given time, you will know how to respond with your own strategies and to familiarize your team members with why you are pursuing certain goals. This will keep you on the cutting edge of your market, and you will know what strategy to implement next. Provide Leadership At every turn, both your team members and your clients will look to you for leadership with regard to each key account and its operation. For optimum results, provide this leadership by listening and showing your understanding of what has been said. Assign tasks according to speciality, and involve the client in evaluating the finished product. Account planning is one of the most important aspects of key account management, one that requires a forward-thinking and strategic approach. When you strategize, communicate, lay out efficient plans, observe the competition, and provide leadership you will be able to manage and collaborate with your key accounts more smoothly than ever before. This will allow you to enjoy stronger, more productive relationships with both your team members and your key clients. Curious to see how you can take your Key Account Management skills to the next level? Download this helpful ebook on how to create or sign up for a demo of Kapta. Kapta is an enterprise Key Account Management platform designed for the accounts that matter most. Kapta powers trusted relationships between key account managers and customers through the use of joint success plans and clear expectations. Kapta is a Techstars company and a proud member of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado EFCO , which gives back 1% to the community.
A well-planned, comprehensive key account management strategy won't just keep your best customers satisfied -- it will also provide opportunities to exponentially grow the relationship. Learn the key differences between selling and strategic account management here:. One way is by moving new key accounts into the program and occasionally moving former key accounts out if they no key account planning match up. Download this helpful ebook on how to create or sign up for a demo of Kapta. For example, maybe your sales engineering team is responsible for getting a meeting with the CTO by January. This is a eight stage process. In fact, there are technical people and project managers who can make great KAMs. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. That way, KAM gets onto the top team agenda and the champion gets the support they need to make changes. This approach is doomed to failure.
