When it comes to Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) most teams are not taking full advantage of the opportunity these meetings present. The opportunity to work with, have a conversation with and build a joint vision of the future with their key customers. Most people are not putting their best foot forward to engage the customer or get what they really want out of these quarterly reviews. As a result, they’re leaving themselves open to risk.
Kapta did some research by speaking with senior executives in various industries. We asked them what they think about the QBR meetings their vendors are doing with them, how it’s going, and what they’d change about these reviews. We found that only 28% of your customers think QBRs are a valuable use of their time. The other 72% told us it’s a waste of time, these meetings are too long, too much information is presented, and the meetings are too tactical. Based on our conversations with these customer executives, they said that vendors talk a lot but don’t listen, don’t do their homework, and don’t ask the right questions. They also questioned the structure, frequency, and format of these meetings.
So, to really excel as account managers and be the trusted advisors or strategic partners you want to be with your customers, you’ve got to bridge this gap. You need to understand why there is a disconnect causing you not to be aligned with your customers. To do so you must change your mind by not using the wrong mental models within your QBRs. You have a set of false assumptions or dysfunctional beliefs about QBRs. They’re outdated and need to be updated so they’re aligned with current customer expectations of how you engage with them, work with them, and build partnerships with them. Let’s look at four dysfunctional beliefs around QBRs, how we can reframe them, and what actions we can take to change them.
Dysfunctional Belief #1: A QBR is a presentation
If you believe this you think you’ve got to show up with X number of PowerPoint slides, walk through all the slides one by one with the customer, and present all the information. You may also think you need to include things in your presentation like a photo of your office building, a product roadmap, or org charts. This only serves to crowd out the message you’re trying to deliver while causing you to simply show up and throw up during the QBR.
Reframe this belief so you think of a QBR as a fantastic opportunity to connect with your customers for a conversation about what matters most to them. So, you’re not showing up, just presenting, going through slides, and overwhelming your customers with data. You need to think of quarterly reviews as a huge opportunity where teams from both sides get together. A chance to talk, share ideas about what could be happening in the future, how things are going, and all the things that matter to the customer in a detailed conversation.
Actions to take to move away from this dysfunctional belief include rethinking how you spend your time with the customer. Whether you have 30, 60, or 90 minutes for the meeting, you want to make sure you’re making the best of that time. Start by having an agenda. Then share your agenda and slide decks with your customer 48 hours ahead of the meeting. This helps the customer prepare for a meaningful conversation. Then you and your team need to write down your questions as well. You can use the time to do a Voice of Customer (VOC) interview and learn more about your customer’s goals, needs, and initiatives so you can align behind them effectively. This is using the time in a more effective and strategic way.
Dysfunctional Belief #2: I have to do all the work myself
You may believe that as the account manager or CSM you need to do all the work yourself since it’s your account. You feel that you need to work with the customer, build the presentation, put on a show during the review, do all the talking, and run the meeting all by yourself.
Reframe this belief by thinking about the QBR as an opportunity to co-create or partner with your customer to create a meaningful conversation.
Actions to take to move away from this dysfunctional belief include getting your client more involved in preparing for the meeting. Ask for their input on the agenda. Have them contribute data and insights. Ask them to co-run the meeting with you to encourage a balanced conversation with both sides speaking equal amounts of time. The result is deeper engagement during a meeting that’s more productive and meaningful for all involved.
Dysfunctional Belief #3: QBRs are about playing defense
Believing this means you think you need to justify your existence to your customer because you’re a lowly vendor compared to your huge key account customer. And you feel you have to show up and do the QBRs to remind your customers of who you are, so you remain relevant to them, and so they don’t drop you. This means you don’t have a proactive offensive plan and wind up feeling reactive, leading to less effective results.
Reframe this belief by remembering that you’re a strategic partner for your clients, you’ve earned a seat at the table. They’re working with you and your company for your insights, expertise, and the value you provide. You help them meet their goals and focus on bigger picture items. So, don’t be defensive when it comes to QBRs. Be proactive about how you work with customers. Don’t play not to lose—play to win.
Actions to take to move away from this dysfunctional belief include going into the QBR ready to share points of view, big ideas, insights, benchmarks, and comparisons—all the things your customers hired you for. And remember the sales adage that ‘you get sent to who you sound like.’ So, in these meetings with executives on the customer’s side, talk like an executive. Be strategic by talking about big ideas. Lead the brainstorm, really showing up as a strategic partner or trusted advisor to your customer. When you do this, you’ll no longer feel the need to play defense.
Dysfunctional Belief #4: QBRs are backward-looking
You may believe that QBRs are called reviews because they are designed to look back at what has happened during the last 90 days, but they are so much more than that.
Reframe this belief by remembering that QBRs are an opportunity for a conversation co-created with your customer from a strategic place. So, these meetings can be future-focused as well and what transpired during the past quarter can be the starting point for that conversation about what’s next or where we go from here.
Actions to take to move away from this dysfunctional belief include preparing forward-looking, open-ended strategic questions to prompt great discussion while preparing for these meetings. These questions should be about working and partnering on mutual goals, ideas, and milestones. And getting a commitment from both sides as to who’s doing which activities to work toward these shared targets.
Conclusion
Reframing these dysfunctional beliefs will lead to better QBRs and the following results:
Your clients will see you in a whole new light–not another vendor, but as a strategic partner.
The meetings themselves will be more impactful. You’ll get more out of them, your customer’s executive team will show up, and everyone will be engaged during these reviews.
You’ll get to know your customers better. You’ll understand them, what’s working, and what’s not working. Plus, you’ll see risks and opportunities sooner so you can create a plan to address them earlier.
You’ll differentiate yourself by being the ones taking this approach, so you’ll stand out from the competition by having meaningful, engaging, and productive QBRs.
Kapta has all the tools to help facilitate the QBR preparation process. Interested in making QBR preparation easier? Learn more in our KAMGenius online training course.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screen-Shot-2021-03-15-at-1.53.10-PM.png531950Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2021-04-19 12:53:252021-04-09 15:03:244 Dysfunctional Beliefs of Quarterly Business Reviews
2021 began, for most of us, as a year that didn’t feel very new at all. The pandemic wears on, unrest in our country persists, and our post-holiday days looked a lot like they did pre-holiday. Yet there are signs that 2021 will be a year of positive change.
Regardless of how not-new it feels, the start of the year is a good time to take pause and put structure around what you want the next 12 months of your career to look like, and we’re recommending three great books to get you started.
While they’re not sales books exactly, these authors have all done a brilliant job illustrating the basics of what it takes to be a better strategic account representative. So take advantage of this quiet, not-so-starting-with-a-bang time of year while we have it, and dig into these books that will surely set you up for success in the months ahead.
1. “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi
First published in 2005 and updated and expanded in 2014, “Never Eat Alone” explores an enduring topic: the power of relationships. Author Keith Ferrazzi explains how networking shouldn’t be a passive collecting of names and contact info, but rather, an active, ongoing exercise in connecting. Using personal stories from his own life, Ferrazzi demonstrates how we can and should add value to every networking connection, by sharing knowledge, resources and genuine emotion, so that connections become a two-way street in which everyone wins. Ferrazzi’s practices of strong foundation building within your network, coupled with cultivating your personal brand, will help you get more value out of the limited client interactions you’re already having; they’ll also help you connect with new and even hard-to-reach people to ultimately expand your network into new accounts. This book is a valuable read for beginners and veterans alike—as one Amazon review points out: if you are already good at networking, this book will help you become better; if you’re nervous and don’t know where to start, it will help you there as well.
2. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
“How to Win Friends and Influence People”, incredibly, was first published in 1936, so it’s no wonder that Dale Carnegie is known as a pioneer of self-help. Even more incredible is just how relevant this book still is today. Simple and straightforward, “How to Win Friends” walks through techniques for interacting with people, and how to “win” people to your way of thinking. Concepts like “be a good listener” and “try to see things from the other person’s point of view” aren’t groundbreaking, but they are invaluable and abiding in their effectiveness. Enacted with a client focus, the tactics outlined in this timeless bestseller will ensure your customers walk away feeling good after every interaction they have with you.
3. “Great on the Job” by Jodi Glickman
The full title of this book is “Great on the Job: What to Say, How to Say It. The Secrets of Getting Ahead”, and it focuses on the art of communication. The book is based on a consulting program developed by the author, who, as a former Goldman Sachs exec and EPA policy analyst, knows a thing or two about professional greatness. Especially useful for those planning (or hoping) to move up in their career in 2021, “Great on the Job” provides the building blocks needed for every conversation you’ll have at work. From things like “how to ask for help without sounding dumb” to perfecting your elevator pitch, “Great on the Job” will give you tips for getting your boss to like you, and building a better network inside your organization overall. The book posits that the ability to communicate well is the most important precursor to success in the workplace, and we agree.
Conclusion
Looking to level up as a key account manager in 2021? These books are just a start. To see how Kapta can help support, accelerate and mentor your efforts, schedule a personal demo today.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Screen-Shot-2021-01-15-at-3.49.17-PM.png533952Jennifer Pinterhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngJennifer Pinter2021-02-08 12:45:192021-01-26 19:58:39Three Books Every Strategic Account Manager Should Read in 2021
If you have been following me for some time, you know I always say that the best Account Managers, the ones that you want to hire, are the people who are focused on self-growth. They are the self-starters who invest in their education and career growth.
Unfortunately, most Key Account Managers rarely get thorough training on the art and science of account management (I am talking more than just a few segments during sales kickoff). Account Management often becomes a figure it out as you go profession. Sadly, this lack of job training means that customers are left without the strategic partner they are looking for, and Account Managers don’t deliver account growth for the business.
After years of working with literally hundreds of Account Managers on their strategies and processes, I’ve put together a course that puts the best of everything I know and teach about Account Management together.
While our Key Account Management platform at Kapta is still reserved for companies who want to optimize their strategy as a whole, KAMGenius offers a place for driven, individual Key Account Managers to learn Account Management soup to nuts. Our process is based on real fieldwork across industries worldwide that have successfully implemented the tools and techniques outlined in KAMGenius.
Strategies and Tools You Can Learn Over Your Morning Cup of Coffee
The course includes Our KAM Process, as well as access to downloadable exercises to help you practice and implement the skills you learn in the course on your accounts. We’ve broken up KAMGenius into bite-sized content so that busy professionals can utilize and implement strategies immediately. Account Managers can invest in their development over a morning cup of coffee or during a lunch break. You can take this course for 30 minutes a day or 1 hour a day – whatever works for your schedule.
I designed this course knowing that most Account Managers haven’t gotten the training it takes to excel in this profession. KAMGenius includes everything from basic strategy and segmentation to writing smarter, actually actionable account plans for your most valuable customers. Even seasoned Account Managers will be able to use this course to build on their foundation and revisit the basics.
Strategic Account Plans for Your Most Valuable Customers
What separates the average Account Managers from the great? The quality of their account plans.
At the end of the course, we will walk you through how to build account plans for your most valuable customers. By the time you start the account planning process, most Key Account Managers will be surprised by how much productive information they could gather from their customers during the course.
One of the most common mistakes I see seasoned reps making is starting their account plans too early in the year before building enough report or having the necessary conversations with customers. In our account planning segment, we will walk through what information your manager and customer want to see included, how to get that critical information from your customer, and how to revisit and validate that information with your customer throughout the year.
Didn’t learn that during sales kickoff? Don’t worry – you are not alone!
Training That Matters
The best account managers are investing time and energy into their own self-development and growth. KAMGenius will help you optimize your strategy and expand the tools in your toolbelt to build better relationships with your customers, increase engagement, and most importantly drive business results. These are the defining skills that top companies want to see from their Key Account Managers, and the best way to ensure a profitable career.
Whether you have a strategic account that you have to expand this year, or you want to move up the ladder in your career, KAMGenius will help you get to where you need to go.
KAMGenius Details:
A KamGenius subscription gives you 3-month access to all the course videos, downloadable exercises, and additional reading so that you can complete it on your schedule. The course includes:
KAM Strategy Fundamental Videos: This is the meat and bones of the KAM process. If you don’t understand the basics inside and out, you cannot successfully implement the strategy. We will talk you through the purpose of the KAM position, why it matters to the business and the customers, and common mistakes in the profession.
KAM Tool Essentials: These are the tools and tactics you will use to gather important information with your customers so that you can position yourself as a strategic partner, collect necessary information for your account plan, and drive engagement and growth.
Advanced Tips: We will walk through segmentation and setting yourself up for success throughout the year. These should be completed after you have mastered and successfully implemented the KAM process within your accounts.
In addition to the videos, you will have access to exercises you can download and complete. These are the exact exercises I have my Account Managers fill out and complete as they practice these skills.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Colour_logo__black_text_Web.png253600Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2021-02-01 12:55:322021-01-26 20:09:53Introducing KAMGenius – the Best Tool for Account Managers to Grow in Their Career
Do you know what goes into a strong account plan? If you already have account plans for each of your key accounts and spent more than five idle minutes creating them, congratulations – you’re already one step ahead of most account managers in your industry.
Account plans are crucial components of the KAM process and serve a variety of purposes all with the end goal of growing, nourishing, and maintaining your key relationships. The thing is, many people don’t give them any second thought and the ones that do know the true value of an account plan are using the wrong tools to create them.
At Kapta, we take our account planning very seriously, so much so that we dedicated an entire webinar to account planning recently. However, if you are more of a visual learner or are short on time, this article will go over everything covered.
So, to start it off, what are the four pillars to creating a strong account plan?
We count them as the following:
Co-Creation Conversation
Designing a Win-Win Relationship
Cornerstones of Building an Effective Plan
Managing and Utilizing AP’s
Individually, these four pillars function both as features of an account plan and also as steps in the process of building a full-fledged, detailed account plan that you can use for each of your clients.
Why All This Matters
So, why does all of this matter? Why did Kapta spend so much time to create an account planning feature in our platform? It all comes down to what most organizations can’t afford to lose: their key accounts.
Your key accounts (also called strategic accounts) are the top 20% of your customers that do more for your company than any other clients. These are the people that have purchased extensively from your organization and make up 70% of your revenue. Can you afford to give up 70% of your revenue? If you’re in the profit business, absolutely not.
Typically, most organizations have five to ten accounts that they can’t afford to lose. It might seem like a small number, but in actuality, bad interactions or mistakes with just five clients could send the organization into a tailspin. For this reason, it’s crucial that you not only focus on your relationships with these customers but also that you have a plan of action in place through strong account plans so you can protect these relationships at all costs.
What a Great Customer Relationships Look Like
Whether you call it Global Account Management, Strategic Account Management or Key Account Management, all of these positions serve the same purpose: to build relationships and keep the top 20% of clients happy. KAMs are not your ordinary sales reps.
They go above and beyond and are the Trusted Advisors their clients can depend on. Rather than going for the quick sale, they care more about the value they can bring to the relationship that will ultimately lead to revenue growth for not on their organization but for their clients too.
If you’re wondering where you stand and how strong your KAM program is, here are a few qualities to consider in a great account manager:
1) Creates Long Term Relationships
Building relationships takes work, but it’s worth it in the end. Organizations more concerned with making quick sales without attention to the relationship fail to grow in the long run. Consider how frustrating it is to put in so much time to working with a client only for them to leave when their contract is up; a great KAM can change that.
2) Builds and Increases Trust
Are you a vendor or a Trusted Advisor? Vendors rely on offering the best price or convenience, but selling based on product alone won’t help your accounts grow in the long run. The relationship is everything, and when you can become your client’s Trusted Advisor, they’ll wonder how they ever operated without you. With a “seat at the table” with your clients, you’ll have a leg up on competitors and can uncover new growth opportunities.
3) Meets Growth and Retention Goals
Great KAMs are continually striving towards improvement which means they are consistently hitting their individual goals that ultimately benefit the company. Typically, this means hitting growth and retention goals with existing accounts. When those individual goals are met, KAMs will make an impact on organization-wide goals such as reducing churn rates and landing larger deals.
4) Develops Consistent and Repeatable Process
In many organizations, we find that there is a lack of consistency in the KAM process. Everyone is essentially doing their own thing. While one person uses PowerPoint for their accounts, another might use a spreadsheet. When everyone is doing something different, it’s hard for leadership to manage and determine where the team could improve. In addition, a fragmented process also stunts individual KAM growth since you won’t know what’s working for the team and what isn’t. Consistency is a key attribute of a great KAM.
What’s In It for Me?
So, the big question that many new KAMs might ask is “What’s in it for me?” It’s an understandable question because when you put in so much effort to nourish and grow a relationship with strategic accounts, it can be easy to lose sight of the end goal.
When you focus on your relationships starting with a strong account plan, many different areas within your position and organization are enhanced. With a more formal and dynamic account planning process, you can expect benefits across the board.
Here’s some research from Miller Heiman detailing the various performance levels companies are at and how KAM affects the organization:
When you look at the left-hand column, you can see some important areas that affect the individual and the organization as a whole. According to this research study from Miller Heiman, they found that as organizations developed more formal account planning processes, a lot of areas began to change. Click here for our take on this research.
For one, as companies move up the performance levels, quote attainment goes up along with win rates of forecast deals. An important decline is in loss rates of forecast deals.
Perhaps the two most important trends from this chart are voluntary turnover and involuntary turnover. When a company has a formal account planning process in place, and KAMs can grow and enhance their skills, then they have the ability to stick it out at their job for longer and really get to know their companies over the years. On the flip side, when a KAM knows how to do their job well from a formal process, they won’t have any trouble finding a new position if they want to leave.
This goes to show that account planning is more than just a document and it is really a pillar to success for everyone from the individual KAM to the organization and the customer also.
Score Your Processes
Think about the relationships that you have in your life – how strong are your bonds with mismanaged people? You know the ones. The people that are always late, can’t be counted on to show up when you need them, and can disappear off the face of the earth for a time. Whether you want to admit it or not, if your processes aren’t on point, your key accounts might be suffering because of it.
It’s hard to develop a strong relationship with someone if they are never there and aren’t dependable. Even with the best intentions, if your management processes aren’t aligned with your clients’ goals, then you’re missing a huge opportunity to scale and grow the accounts. We recommend that you audit your processes and give yourself an honest score based on how you interact with clients.
Are you doing things in a random fashion, putting out one fire after the next? How often are you talking with your key clients? Is it only every quarter during the QBR or is it monthly? These, along with other factors, can greatly affect your KAM performance and as you start to develop a formal process for account management, the results will soon follow.
Where Many Organizations Stand
A lot of companies live in level two and aren’t making great headway. Many of those are likely you but also your competitors. If you can step it up, you have an advantage.
With your own processes into perspective, it’s important to consider where you stand in comparison to your competitors and other players in the field. If you take a look at the graphic below from Miller Heiman, they chart where organizations stand in the sales-relationship matrix.
Along the x-axis, the researchers list the different sales process types beginning with Random Process and ending with Dynamic Process. On the y-axis, you’ll find different relationship levels. As organizations begin to advance their sales process, the stronger their relationships are with clients.
As you can see, a little over 50% of organizations are at level two; somewhere between Informal and Formal processes, achieving Strategic Contributor at best. What would it take to become a Trusted Partner? Well, it all starts by improving your process into a dynamic one. This means that if you could become a Trusted Partner through a dynamic sales process, you’d be in the top 28.9% of organizations. How could that affect your revenue?
What Does a Dynamic Relationship Look Like?
So, what does this Dynamic Process look like? Let’s first understand the stages along the way that lead to it.
It starts with the Random Process. This is where you’re using the bare minimum, basic applications to keep track of your accounts but it’s incredibly difficult. You might be using the contacts app, writing down notes in a separate program, and then using email primarily to talk to clients unless you’re absolutely forced to pick up the phone.
Then you move onto the Informal Process. At this stage, you are still using ad-hoc technology that isn’t nearly efficient as it should be, you’re identifying new opportunities, landing some contracts, but you’re still not much more to your clients than a Preferred Supplier.
In a Formal Process, you’re doing more research and strategy based around the client’s organization. You’re conducting a SWOT analysis, creating an Action Plan (although not entirely consistent) and through your work and attention, you’re a Strategic Contributor and well on your way to becoming a Trusted Advisor with a few tweaks to your processes.
Finally, in a Dynamic Process, you’re using Custom Action Plans and executing on strategies that you create based on frequent Voice of Customer interviews. You’re also closely monitoring metrics that demonstrate real value to the client. When you provide this value, you’re pushed over the top and become the Trusted Partner.
The Four Pillars of Building a Strong Account Plan
So, with all of this information in mind, let’s discuss the four pillars of a great account plan.
I) Co-Creation Conversation
Establishing and building upon your connection with your clients is the goal of co-creation. You want to drive and grow customer engagement but to do this, you need to have the correct approach and creating an account plan through real interactions and engagement with the customer rather than guessing at it and filling in the blanks with what you assume is their goal.
For starters, just “checking in” won’t get you very far and the best account managers will schedule meetings and calls with their customers on a regular basis complete with an agenda so the conversation can go deeper. Next, you can’t think of yourself in this conversation – that comes later. Instead, you want to focus 100% on the customer and address POWNS (Problems, Opportunities, Wants, Needs) for the customer individually and the organization.
Finally, if you research their industry beforehand or have a constant approach, you can share little tidbits of information with the customer either in the meeting or in an email to reach out saying, “Hey, I saw X was happening in the markets today – how do you think this will affect Y?”
II) Designing a Win-Win Relationship
As a primary goal of key account management, establishing a win-win relationship with your customer will enable you to scale and grow the account much faster, and they’ll stick with your company for the long run as well. You want to serve your customers to the best of your ability which will help them serve their customers too.
To establish this, focus first on listening with the intent to serve rather than sell. If they want to buy something, they’ll order it from a sales rep – they’re talking to you because you tell it like it is and provide useful insights.
You need to continue being a resource of information for your clients, so they are comfortable and excited to come to you when they have a question or need to solve a problem. This means going above and beyond, but the extra effort is worth it in the end.
Finally, you need to establish and build trust through honesty and transparent communication. You must be proactive in your approach and pick up the phone rather than waiting for an emergency. When you can get all of these down, you’ll start to spot new opportunities to provide value to the customer which can lead to a sale.
III) Cornerstones of Building an Effective Plan
Some KAMs make the mistake of looking at an Account Plan like a boring document they have to do. Once they complete it for the first time and show it to the customer, they shove it in a digital drawer, and it never sees the light of day again.
In actuality, an account plan is a living, breathing document that you should check on regularly to update it with your customer’s ever-changing goals. It tells the story of your customers and their journey using your products and should be forward thinking.
You also want to get the account plan endorsed by the key players. This means the contacts at your client’s organization along with anyone applicable at your own too. The more people in the know, the better so you can put your heads together and solve problems down the road if needed.
IV) Managing and Utilizing Action Plans
The fourth pillar is perhaps one of the biggest missteps that account management teams make, especially those with a formal process in place. Managing and utilizing account plans can feel tricky at first, especially when everyone is too tactical. Your account plans should be long-term, and thus meetings shouldn’t be focused on old data like the history of the company and rather values and actions that have real impact on the customer’s account.
Creating impact should be your focus and with everything you do, consider how it impacts the account. Is it a positive or a negative? Is there something more that you could do? Even something as small as sharing some industry insight with them can make a real impact on the account.
You also want to consider how internal meetings with the team are scheduled. Typically, companies will have two main areas of focus: strategy and account reviews. One of these, strategy, is very left-brained, while the other is more right-brain focused.
If you try to cram both of these meetings into one, it can become a mess and more times than not, strategy doesn’t get the attention or time that it deserves. Schedule these meetings separate with the team and your clients so you can get more done and really get the most out of your account plan.
What to Ask to Drive Engagement
Now that we’ve covered the four pillars of strong account plans, let’s take a look at a few probing question examples that you can use to help drive engagement and get to the root of your customers’ problems, wants, and needs.
1) Discuss Impact Rather Than Features
“Can you help me understand the impact A and B had on C?” is a better question than a general “How is everything?” because it is more specific and focuses on the impact of your work and industry factors rather than a vague question that could quite simply be answered with a “Good.”
2) Discuss Individual and Organizational Goals
“What are your goals for the next X months?” and “How can I help get you there?” are direct, specific questions that can’t be answered with a “yes” or “no.” These questions also show your commitment to their success and that you’ll do everything in your power to find them new solutions to reach both their organizational and individual goals.
3) Focus on Leading Indicators
You should know where your clients stand using your product and how it’s helped them. Related to Impact, you should look for leading indicators that have numerical values to them so you can adjust your strategy or continue going in the same direction if it’s delivering their desired outcomes.
Share Information
As a part of your role as Trusted Advisor, you need to be your customer’s reliable source of industry news. You can’t wait for them to ask about this, and instead, it’s on you to research on your own time, whether in the morning while you’re reading the headlines or in between meetings. Ask them “We have noticed that A, B, and C are happening in the market – how has that affected your business?”
Final Thoughts
Building a strong account plan is just one part of the KAM matrix, but it’s a crucial component to every KAM’s success. If you fail to modernize your processes, use fragmented technology, or don’t focus on outcomes over sales, you’ll struggle to have real impact and become a Trusted Advisor for your clients.
Remember: people buy from people that they like. The relationships that you have with clients comes above anything else. If you can put these principles into practice and start enhancing your account plans, you can start making an immediate impact for your clients.
Kapta makes account planning easy with built-in templates and relationship-scoring features so you can tell at a glance where your account stands and what you can do to improve the relationship. Rather than getting bogged down in ad-hoc technology or mismanaged processes, Kapta brings everything that an account manager needs into one platform. If you’re ready to improve your processes and build your relationships with key accounts, request your free demo today.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Building-a-Strong-Account-Plan.jpeg40556950Lesley Poladskyhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngLesley Poladsky2019-04-29 13:12:382019-08-18 17:19:22The Four Pillars of Building a Strong Account Plan
As a Key Account Manager, you know how important it is to develop good rapport with your clients. Personal connections improve our client relationships since we tend to want to do business with those we trust. But are we neglecting our bonds with own teams?
The personal and professional connections we make with our colleagues improve our ability to perform at our peak. Office friendships improve our well-being, help us reduce work-related stress and keep us looking forward to each day. Collaborative relationships empower us with reinforced customer support, as we feel our colleagues “have our backs” when we need assistance or inspiration in caring for clients.
Here are four ways we can strengthen our relationships with our colleagues and support teams.
Ask for advice
While KAM’s share similar attributes which allow us to excel in our fields, we’re still individuals. Each of us has our own personal style and approach when handling issues. Sometimes, a fresh perspective will get us through those “stuck” moments. Being comfortable asking colleagues to be our sounding boards has a number of benefits:
Enhances our ability to serve our key clients by providing well-rounded insights
Strengthen bonds with colleagues through ongoing communication
Encourage mutual respect, by acknowledging one another’s expertise
Keeps others in the company in the know about your clients
How do you feel when someone asks you for advice? Let’s be honest. It makes you feel good. People love to know they are valuable. You may even realize that you feel more open towards the advice-seeker. Psychiatrist Sue Varna, in an article for NBC, writes: “I frequently hear from my clients that they don’t feel appreciated at their job or at home on a daily basis. Asking for advice makes them feel “in the know” and it makes you appear humble. People love humble people.”
Varna acknowledges that it can be difficult to show vulnerability, especially to coworkers, but insists that the end result paves the way for mutual trust.
Cut loose outside of work
You’re driven, and that’s usually the side you show when you’re in the office. How often do your colleagues and support teams see the other side of you? You know, the “you” who has a crappy golf swing, can sing “99 Luft Balloons” in German without looking at the words on the karaoke screen, or who wants a buddy with whom to brave a rock wall climbing class. Get out of the office with your colleagues and team once in awhile, on an individual or group basis, and help them get a more well-rounded view of you as a human being.
Don’t initiate activities in which you are an expert. Try to find a somewhat level playing field outside the realm of the office, or even better, put yourself at a disadvantage. As with asking for advice, showing vulnerability improves relationship bonds, but in this case, you’re engaging in a fun environment.
Stay informed of your colleagues’ projects
You should already have a colleague or two with whom you play “backup” when one of you needs assistance with a client. Check in with these fellow KAM’s once in awhile to ask if they need a hand, or if they’d like to brief you on current developments. Be an empathetic and discreet sounding board to colleagues who need to vent. Keep their client industries in your news feed, and forward articles you feel may help your colleagues.
By reminding your colleagues that you’re in tune with their projects, you’re reinforcing their trust in you to be there for them when they need you. In turn, they are more likely to keep your clients in mind as they go about their business, and each of you will feel better about asking for help—professional or otherwise—when the need arises.
Is relationship building difficult for you? Use relationship mapping techniques to help you determine how your actions can benefit your colleagues’ goals, and to help keep you from neglecting relationships you know are important to your own.
Show gratitude
Did a colleague field your client calls while you were out of the office? Did one of your staff dig up data that had a huge impact in improving your key account service strategy? Thank these people individually, but find a way to sing their praises in front of their superiors and other office staff, such as at a meeting or in a brief.
Giving credit where credit is due establishes you as trustworthy and confident. By showing your appreciation of your coworkers, and encouraging others to do the same, you’ll become that person for whom others will walk through fire. Be genuine and specific in your praise, and back it up with a token of appreciation. Anything from a thank-you card to tickets to a hockey game will go a long way to showing you’re serious.
The takeaway
Relationship building is not a one-and-done activity; it requires ongoing attention. Making genuine, empathetic connections within your team is as important as nurturing relationships with your key clients. As a successful KAM, you are a polished professional, but you’re also a human being. Focus on relationships beyond just your clients, and you might discover over time that this will improve your overall KAM skills.
Curious to see how you can take your Key Account Management skills to the next level? Download this helpful ebook on how to create powerful account plans for your key customers or sign up for a demo of Kapta.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/key-accounts-team.jpeg57928688Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2017-07-05 20:33:132021-04-19 17:28:254 Ways to Build Better Relationships with Your Team to be a Better Key Account Manager
Key Account Managers are above and beyond the ordinary. When you are interviewing potential talent for your team, be sure to ask questions specific to a KAM’s leadership role at your firm. Why? The best KAMs have qualities of a leader, even if they aren’t one in the company.
Do you interview future KAMs in your company? Learn five questions that could help you determine if a prospective KAM is worthy of managing your most valued clients. Don’t make the mistake of asking generic interview questions. Those are too predictable, and thus will only produce predictable answers.
What are three emerging trends in (your firm’s) industry?
If you stump your candidate with this one, the interview is already over. A solid KAM is an ardent researcher and meticulously prepared. Your ideal candidate should leave you coming away from the interview better informed about your industry. Bonus points if the candidate is familiar with your key clients and the trends making news in their market environments.
How do you manage stress while at the office?
This is a fairly broad question, yes. Short of the candidate telling you about her collection of engraved flasks, there are few wrong answers, and many angles from which to approach the topic. The bottom line with this question is that your future KAM needs to have a way to manage stress that works best for him. For the job, it’s not a matter of if they will endure stress, but when.
The following are a samples of responses that indicated healthy self-care and self-awareness skills:
“I’m not afraid to take a deep breath and excuse myself for a moment to cool down.”
“Sometimes stress is due to a misunderstanding. I’ll reach out to the other person, state how I interpreted the situation and ask if that matches their perspective.”
“I might review my strategies and organization practices and find out what isn’t working. For me, stress is a byproduct of chaos.”
When is it wrong to put others before yourself?
You want to know if your potential KAM has healthy personal boundaries and is savvy with time management. You don’t want your new team member to burn out from going overkill in his first few months. This question will likely put the interviewee off guard for a moment, but his comeback should not make you regard him as a doormat with a tie. An ideal candidate will convey aptitude for balancing client needs, your firm’s goals, and his own ability to be realistic about his limits.
With what personality types do you find it difficult to share an office, or to do business?
No sane or honest person will ever answer, “Oh, I get along with everybody.” As the interviewer, you are responsible for finding a candidate who is compatible with your company culture and with your Key Account contacts. A confident KAM candidate will be honest and open with her answer because she knows that “difficult” doesn’t mean “impossible”, and that her candid response will ensure that, should she be hired, she is matched with compatible clients.
What are your three favorite productivity tools, and why?
Organization skills are paramount to the success of a KAM, and the candidate should quickly be able to identify at least three methods of keeping track of customer accounts. Ideally, the named tools should be applications or software. Wall calendars and bound day planners are nice, but a good KAM should be able to share information with associates and backups at the touch of a button.
Does your candidate mention metrics? Analysis? Market research? He should indicate that his toolbox allows him to stay informed of both your firm’s markets and your clientele’s industry and overall goals.
Takeaway
When interviewing a new KAM, you should act like a KAM. Use your listening skills to get a sense of how the candidate is responding to questions. His answers will tell you as much through body language and demeanor as they do with words.
Be sure to humanize the experience. A more casual approach to the interview will help you determine what drives the candidate in his career and in his personal life and will encourage a dialogue that helps you explore the potential KAM’s personality. The more you know about the candidate—as with your Key Account contacts—the better you can position him for success as a strategic partner.
Finally, as with your clients, you reap what you sow. Diligence in asking the right questions of your candidate, and listening for the entire spectrum of their answers, will help you find the right fit for your firm and your Key Accounts.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/account-management-interview.jpeg33284992Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2017-06-19 05:19:152019-08-18 19:43:265 Interview Questions to Ask Your Future Key Account Managers
If you perform well as a key account manager, you can be handsomely rewarded. You might receive great referrals, accolades from your superiors, and solid reviews from delighted clients. There’s much more to your client relationships than a few messages back and forth here and there.
It’s not enough, as a KAM, to simply show up each day. Perhaps you find yourself wondering how well you do your job. Below are six signs that you’re doing a good job as a key account manager.
1) Regular Flow of Referrals
If you find yourself receiving phone calls and e-mails from new customers who tell you that they were referred to you by one of your key accounts, take that as a good indicator of your performance. Referrals are significant because 54% of executives and sales professionals consider customer referrals to be the best source of leads. Conversion is more likely to occur because the referring source has provided a trusted testimonial. In other words, your efforts have impressed your clients enough for them to go out on a limb to recommend your firm. This doesn’t happen every day.
2) Your Key Accounts Proactively Renew their Contract
Some KAMs are reactive with their duties, especially when contract renewal time rolls around. They might even wait until after a contract expires to then contact clients to try to convince them to renew their contracts. If your customers are proactively reaching out to you in advance of their contract renewal date, then that is a good indicator that you are doing an excellent job of managing their accounts. They want to keep the relationship with you going. On a side note, if you are a high achiever, there stands a chance you might even beat them to this step – as being proactive on your own part is what quality that makes you a cut above the rest.
3) Ongoing Recognition and Awards
Recognition by colleagues and executive staff does not occur by accident. Awards and recognition are earned by KAMs who consistently exceed the expectations that have been set for them. They are proactive, efficient, professional, and are experts at solving problems. If you are being recognized for your hard work, then you are performing well.
4) Clients Seek Your Advice in Other Areas
Much the way referrals work for you from you key accounts, the same can apply to your clients the other way around. How so? If you are a software specialist who frequently receives calls from your clients asking for recommendations on phone systems, laptops, and other items you do not handle, you can interpret these requests as a sign that you are doing a good job. Requests for recommendations of other goods and services your clients know you don’t manage, means they trust your expertise and view you as a valuable resource. Think about when you last went to purchase a vehicle or a phone. Did you ask someone who has never driven a car what they’d buy? Probably not. You likely asked the neighbor or friend who has driven many automobiles and seems to know a little bit about them.
5) You Don’t Create Fires Others Have to Put Out
If others on your team rarely have to get involved with your key accounts due to mismanagement, then you are likely doing an excellent job. Sometimes, no news is good news for your executive team. It means that you are proficient at finding creative solutions to problems and become a master at preventing them from occurring. This is likely due to your consistent ability to follow up at the right times, anticipate client needs and provide creative solutions for when things start to turn south. Even if there are misunderstandings or missed deadlines, your ability to stay calm, collect, and professional might be what keeps your client from becoming a squeaky wheel.
6) Your Peers Look to You for Advice
When your fellow KAMs and your superiors turn to you for suggestions and guidance, they are conveying their confidence in your job performance and want to take some of your best practices and implement elsewhere in the company. They recognize you as a leader and trust your decision-making prowess. In short, they see the outstanding job you are doing and want to follow your path to success.
Takeaway
In the world of key account management, it is not sufficient to simply perform your job responsibilities with an average level of execution. Being an above-average KAM requires you to want to be good at your job. The presence of the six signs above is a reliable way to measure how well you are performing in your position. Even if you can check these off with ease, it doesn’t hurt to review them from time to time. After all, it’s consistently striving for excellence that got you to where you are today, not complacency and mediocre actions.
Curious to see how you can take your Key Account Management skills to the next level? Download this helpful ebook on how to create powerful account plans for your key customers or sign up for a demo of Kapta.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Doing-a-good-job-at-a-Key-Account-Manager.jpeg38405760Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2017-06-12 05:26:052021-04-19 17:29:266 Signs You're Doing a Good Job as a Key Account Manager
Key account managers (KAMs) carry a very big responsibility. They are tasked with protecting the business of an organization’s most valuable customers. KAMs achieve this in two ways: They use their expertise of their own company’s products and services to show how they will deliver the results the customers need, and they build relationships with their customer contacts.
Strong relationships are built on confidence, trust, and satisfaction. Strong relationships are a barrier to competitors and a glue that keeps thing together when there is a problem.
A Key Account Manager’s Skills
Key account managers use specificskills to generate the sales and to build those relationships. One of the most-used skills is questioning. This creates a huge need for one obvious skill: purposeful listening.
Listening, on its own, is not always purposeful, so it does not always support the business relationship or advance a sale. Skilled key account managers understand and apply purposeful listening. They know what to listen for and what to do with the information they hear.
What is Purposeful Listening?
To state the obvious, it is listening with a purpose. The purpose is to support the two primary KAM objectives: to bring in more business and to strengthen the relationship. Most, if not all, contacts with key accounts help to advance one or both of these goals—more business, stronger relationships.
Sometimes the key account contacts the KAM. They do that for certain reasons. To keep it simple, the reasons are usually to help achieve a goal or to help solve a problem. The KAM’s role is to understand the reason, listen to the details associated with that reason, focus on the keywords they hear, and then agree on what they will do to help remove the problem or achieve the goal. The KAM must, of course, listen for the contact to confirm the agreement.
The alternative is for the KAM to contact the key account. This time, the KAM owns the reason and needs the contact to agree with it. Few people agree by being told to agree or by being persuaded to agree, which is why talking too much rarely advances a sale. Human beings prefer to persuade themselves. This is where asking questions, listening to what you hear, and then giving out useful follow-up information become the KAM’s most powerful tools.
It boils down to asking the right question and listening to the most important parts of the answer.
Effective Questions Direct Purposeful Listening
Questions engage the mind and direct the thinking. When a key account manager asks a pertinent question, the listener automatically pays attention and tries to come up with a sensible answer. KAMs must understand enough about their own role and the key account’s situation to be able to sell, solve, or support. The questions they ask, therefore, typically have to do with one of the following objectives:
Opening a sale, advancing a sale, or closing a sale
Solving a problem
Enhancing the business relationship
Effective questions provide useful information that the KAM can use to further one of the three points above. The questions give them answers to listen to. To achieve all of this, KAMs set goals. Those goals provide the framework for the questions and the answers. The goals are:
Ultimate, long-term goals for the key account
Goals for the next sale
Goals for the current conversation
When a KAM is clear about those three types of goals, the questions become obvious and logical. The answers give them everything they need. The questions they ask in their conversation or sales presentation, therefore, often focus on six things:
The key account’s goals
The account’s problems and pain points
The needs that come out of those goals, problems, and pain points
The implications for the account of not fulfilling those needs
Exploring the value of potential solutions (products and services offered) that will meet those needs
Confirming the practicalities (quantity, price, delivery, etc.) that the KAM and the contact agree will meet the needs to achieve the goals or solve the problems and remove the pain points
The Takeaway
Successful KAMs know their goals and know the six things that make up a conversation or presentation. They, therefore, know they must ask questions to get their contact to talk about them. They know that some of the details and specific words in the answers will be critical to advancing the sale or strengthening the relationship. They know that is what they listen to, so they can use the detail in the answer to frame their next question and guide their contact closer to a decision. The questions, and the answers they produce, advance the relationship.
Curious to see how you can take your Key Account Management skills to the next level? Download this helpful ebook on how to create powerful account plans for your key accounts or sign up for a demo of Kapta.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/active-listening.jpeg30394200Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2017-03-24 06:39:102021-04-19 17:30:36Critical Skills for Key Account Managers: The Power of Purposeful Listening
We have turned the topic of key account management inside out, upside down, and backwards, trying to understand exactly what it takes to be an effective key account manager. We’ve discussed the importance of account planning, proactive strategizing, goal tracking, and Voice of Customer. However, we have rarely discussed the underlying interactions that drive a successful and solid key account relationship.
As with any customer-facing role, there is so much more to building relationships than strategic planning and proactive account management. Although those aspects are critically important to managing key accounts, the long-term success of a key account relationship often boils down to the rapport felt between the key account manager and their contacts.
So, what’s the key to building a stronger rapport with your customers? Empathy.
The Empathy Index
Recently, we ran across a news piece on the Harvard Business Review blog that suggests the importance of empathy in the workplace. The article ranks companies by their score on the Empathy Index, which measures a brand’s ability to understand its emotional impact on others and make changes accordingly.
The top five most empathetic companies included Facebook, Alphabet (Google), LinkedIn, Netflix, and Unilever—all leaders in their respective industries. The five least empathetic companies were Bharat Petroleum, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, ICICI Bank, Severn Trent, and Bharti Airtel.
This study used different metrics across the categories of ethics, leadership, company culture, brand perception, and public messaging through social media. Interestingly, the authors found a direct link between the Empathy Index, as calculated in the study, and a company’s profitability.
According to the article, “The top 10 companies in the Global Empathy Index 2015 increased in value more than twice as much as the bottom 10, and generated 50% more earnings (defined by market capitalization).”
As intangible as it may be, empathy can and does have an impact on the success of a business. As a key account manager on the front lines of your organization, empathy could be the secret ingredient that enables you to build stronger and more successful relationships with your most valuable customers.
Key Account Management and the Link to Empathy
Though key account management and business branding are two very different things, this concept of using empathy to build trust and strengthen relationships applies to nearly every aspect of a business. Key account customers want to feel like you are their ally, someone on their side, listening to their concerns and advocating for their needs. And this is where empathy comes in.
One of the most important parts of building and sustaining long-term relationships with key accounts is good communication, rooted in empathy. This means actively listening, thoughtfully answering, and considering the emotional context of your conversations with your customers.
Did they seem agitated when talking to you about missed goals? Did they seem hesitant to switch strategies or test a new product? Or, perhaps, did the news of a new feature leave them excited and grateful for your help? Looking beyond a customer’s words and focusing on their emotional cues can give you deeper insight into your key account relationships and enable you to change your strategy accordingly.
Empathic communication allows you to demonstrate to your key account contacts that you genuinely care about their business and its success. This type of communication makes your customers feel heard and demonstrates that you’ve gone out of your way to understand things from their perspective.
Key account managers are in a unique position to positively (or negatively) affect customers’ perceptions of your company. Therefore, key account managers need to be excellent listeners; they should be models of empathy and responsiveness. They should take pride in easing customers’ pain points and working to find solutions to their problems. By taking a more empathetic approach to KAM, key account managers will foster more meaningful and trusting relationships with their customers.
https://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Empathetic-key-account-manager.jpeg28674300Alex Raymondhttps://kapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/logo340x156-300x138.pngAlex Raymond2017-01-24 03:13:072017-10-05 16:42:15How Empathy Makes You a Better Key Account Manager
Key account management requires handling the accounts of priority customers who are a long-term asset to your company. However, identifying, cultivating, and maintaining those long-term relationships requires specific skills and a thorough knowledge of the resources available throughout your organization.
Below, we’ve listed five of the skills that are necessary for successful key account management.
Have the ability to prioritize key accounts.
Take stock of all your accounts. Identify which ones are more strategically important than others. Sometimes it’s just a few, and not all of them merit equal attention. Once you’ve identified your key accounts, further prioritize those, so you know how to best delegate your time.
Demonstrate strong research skills.
Read and regularly update your files on all your key clients. Talk with them, and determine which ones require a personal visit. Keep detailed notes on what your key clients’ short-term and long-term expectations are, and respond accordingly when those expectations change.
Regulate the perception of your key customers within your company.
As a key account manager, you need to be a barometer that accurately measures how department heads and the C-suite view your key customers. Ensure that everyone throughout your company treats your key clients with the same high priority.
This task requires superb interpersonal skills and consistent, positive communication. Essentially, everybody involved in helping you deliver exceptional service—now and down the line—needs to be kept on the same page.
Be open to continued learning.
As a key account manager, you’ll need to be willing to learn how to work with certain key customers and better understand their needs. For example, in cases where key clients come from a completely different background or country, you may need cultural coaching. Or, perhaps, you’ll need to take steps to learn more about a specific key account’s industry. Be willing to go the extra mile to show you’re committed to the success of your key accounts.
Cultivate strong relationships with your team.
Being a successful key account manager doesn’t just require the ability to build strong relationships with your accounts; you also need to build strong relationships with members of other departments, suppliers, and vendors. By strengthening the relationships that ultimately impact the success of your key accounts, you will continue to satisfy and delight your customers.
Suppliers and vendors: When one of your key clients needs an upgrade, a replacement, or a totally new product or service, you’ll have people you know you can count on to expedite the process.
Sales: Members of the sales team can benefit from the knowledge you have on your clients, so that they can bring in future revenue. In return, for example, you may find that the client needs additional services, which means more sales. Communicate your key customer’s needs to the sales team. Work together to get the products or services that your strategic client requires—before the need becomes urgent.
Customer success: Work with your customer success team throughout the lifecycle of any product or service that your key clients have already purchased. If customer success team members need to concentrate more on developing a product or service rather than dealing directly with the customer, your input may help them see that.
Customer service: Likewise, keep in touch with customer service in case your key customer experiences a problem. The role of the customer success team is actually different from the role of customer service. Here’s a blog that discusses those differences.
Your supervisor: You’ll need authorization from your supervisor for additional time, expenses, or other resources that some key accounts require.
Heads of other departments: Get to know the heads of departments, as well as their employees, to ensure that resources are available when you need them. Always keep the communication lines open.
The C-suite: Keep communications open with the C-suite. In some companies, the clients of key accounts receive visits from top-level executives at crucial times.
In short, handling key customer accounts means being proactive, having access to organizational resources, and above all, maintaining strategic professional relationships, both with your key clients and your organization. By honing these five important skills, you can provide better service to your key customers and solidify those relationships for years to come.
Ready to dive deeper into account management strategy? Try our new account management training course to watch in-depth instructional videos, and access downloadable exercises you can implement within your accounts.
