Account Development Individual - Key Account Development Course

The Essentials For Key Account Development

This two-day account development programme builds on existing sales skills to provide the business acumen and relationship building skills required to successfully develop key accounts both face-to-face and over the telephone. Managing and building key account business has never been such a challenge as it is in the new Millennium. Arguably, customers have never had so much choice, and with that has come high customer expectations – increasing proliferation and commoditisation of products and services, aggressive competition, escalating complexity of offerings and relationships are all demands on the account manager of today who needs to be equipped with the best skills and approaches to achieve business and professional excellence.

This highly interactive and practical programme will refine your skills for developing and delivering value for your key accounts and your organisation, whilst giving you robust tools and processes to manage through the complexity of working with key accounts. Out of complexity comes simplicity, and out of that simplicity comes clear focus enabling you to achieve excellence in your role.

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to add value into the supplier/client relationship, thereby locking out competitors and maximising over time the value of the account.

Who Should Attend

Experienced telephone sales, customer service professionals, and key account salespeople who need to plan and grow their key account business. Sales managers leading new or evolving key account teams. Business development managers who are responsible for building long-term business through their telephone-based sales teams would also benefit.

Programme Objectives

After attending this programme, participants will have the ability to:

Manage their accounts in a way that produces more profitable partnerships
Develop the ability to build stronger business relationships
Gain a clearer insight into the customers’ decision-making process
Identify and assess the key knowledge required and the sources of information and resource that will impact on effectiveness
Protect their accounts from competitors
Add value to the relationship by identifying opportunities that have a positive impact on their customers’ business
Optimise the full business potential from each account
Build and develop account management strategies that produce real business growth
Identify those accounts upon which they can have the greatest impact.

Programme Overview

The Fundamentals Of Account Management
Understanding your customer base
The 4 levels of Customer Insight
How to profile your market-place
Establishing account potential
Categorising and prioritising your customer base
Setting objectives for success

The Role Of The Account Manager
Attitudes to Account Management
The Value-Adding Account Manager
Developing personal and business empathy
The Knowledge Profile

Managing The Relationship
Managing the relationship over time
Identifying different company cultures
Understanding the customers’ priorities
Building customer value
How the company website can support telephone account development
Identifying power, influence and advocacy within the account
Relationship Building Behaviours – a customer perspective
Negotiating in key accounts

Building Long Term Commitment
Strengthening your competitive position
Building personal, corporate and service credibility
Turning regular one off sales into contracted business
Delivering exceptional personal service
Managing the customers’ increasing expectations of service

Successful Strategies For Account Development
Establish the strength of your position
Identify your competitive advantages
Analysing the competitors from your customers’ perspective
How to view the market environment to increase your insight
Using the Internet as a research tool
Developing effective account plans

Structured Solution Selling, or S3™, is a process developed by Structured Training to help sales people deal professionally with more complex or sophisticated sales in today's ever-changing sales environment. It defines a methodology to guide people through the steps of a successful sale. All Structured Training's sales programmes are underpinned with the S3™ process.

Claudine McClean
Customer Business Manager
tel: +44 (0)1789 734300
email: claudinem@structuredtraining.com

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