Everything we purchase has an intrinsic value. Whether it’s a new lawn mower that will reduce your mowing time, a new TV that has better clarity, or a SaaS solution that improves efficiency, everything has value.
Do you know what your clients care about the most? No, it’s not the holiday card you send them every year, it’s the value that your organization’s solutions bring them.
More specifically, they care about reducing the “time to value” for your product or service. You don’t want to wait months for your new lawnmower to reduce your mowing time, you want it to bring that value now, not later.
The same is true for your clients. They want to start seeing results and value from your organization as soon as they start working with you. Reducing this time to value is tricky, and you need to be strategic so you can adequately communicate this value to them.
We’re here to help! Here are some pro tips to help you get your clients to value sooner than before.
One of the core attributes of an excellent key account manager is their organizational skills. You should be able to manage multiple moving parts in any given account and tackles any challenge with ease.
In this same vein, you’ll want to have a plan in place to lead your customer to success. If you just provide them with a solution and say “There you go. Make that work.” You aren’t doing your job to the fullest.
Every account should have an account plan, and you should also map their customer journey from start to finish. The first step will likely be probing their problems followed by a proposed solution.
From there, you need to think about how they will implement your solution into their organization to achieve ultimate success. Since you know your products and services inside and out, you should have a clear understanding of how they will use the solution along with any hiccups they might have during the beginning.
With a map in place, you’ll be able to anticipate these minor obstacles that slow the time to value down. Ask yourself how you can help them as they implement the solution and propose shortcuts, so these hiccups are minuscule.
You can’t assume that you need to do a month’s work of work in a few days. Instead, you should formulate your plan and make the customer journey a series of small steps.
For example, step one could be asking about the client’s problems. The second step could be to ask about the solutions they’ve tried in the past. The third step is to look through your catalog to find a program they could use.
These are small steps that are easy to accomplish in one meeting or in a few days. By taking these small steps, you can avoid making the mistake of glossing over issues the client could run into.
By taking these small steps, you’ll ensure that every base is covered, and you understand your client’s goals, needs, wants, problems, and more in their entirety. If you can fully understand your client, you’ll be able to provide advice and solutions that will work much sooner rather than throwing them to the wolves to figure out your product or service.
You can’t just offer your clients a solution and then disappear. Instead, you need to generate and maintain this momentum. You are, after all, the key account manager and trusted advisor, so you should plan to check up on your client multiple times a week and even more frequently during the initial stages.
Generating this momentum and keeping it is relatively easy. It can be as simple as giving them a quick call after you provide the product or service to see how it’s working out for them. If they are experiencing problems, you can work with them and help them as they get used to the new tool.
Even if everything is going swimmingly well on their end, taking the time to call them to ask how they are doing with the new solution will not only differentiate you from other vendors they work with but will also make them see real value in your service.
They’re not just subscribing to a software solution, but an expert that will help them for years to come. The more that you can be present for their needs, the stronger your bond with their organization will be.
Providing value to your clients is no easy feat, and every win should be celebrated. No, we don’t mean breaking out the champagne every time your client compliments you or your product, but you should keep these wins in mind and celebrate them internally. This will help you stay motivated and will be validation that you’re doing your job as a key account manager well. Keep these wins, big or small, in mind as you move forward and remember the correct steps that you took to lead you to victory.
Communication is crucial to your role as a KAM. Without proper communication, one side of the relationship will be in the dark, and confusion and unanswered questions only lead to problems and potentially failure (i.e., churn) in the end.
You need to make sure that you’re communicating the progress of the account to the customer and the sponsor of the solution. Everyone needs to be in the loop, so they know where the account stands and which stage of the account plan and customer journey they’re on.
Hold weekly meetings with everyone that is relevant to the account to keep everyone in the loop. Don’t hold meetings that will only waste time, but make sure that you are letting everyone know what has been done, what’s currently happening, and what you plan to do in the future.
Kapta is a KAM platform that is unlike any CRM that you’ve used before. It goes further than just storing contact information (although it’s excellent at that too) and features powerful account management tools to help you in your daily work. Try it today and request your free demo here.