Working with key customers is a fascinating process that requires certain skills and qualities from a manager. You can get acquainted with the nuances of cooperation with large customers in this article.
Who is a key customer?
A key customer is a customer that greatly affects the company's revenue. They also include image clients, the largest companies in their industry or in a certain area important to the seller.
The share of sales to key customers can be from 30 to 55% of sales. If this figure exceeds 75%, then we are talking about mono-dependence on the client. This is not a simple situation, since in the event of significant changes in the plans and actions of a single client, a co-dependent supplier may suffer significant losses and leave the market.
Key Account Manager Role
Working with key customers is certainly important. According to research, 2/3 of sales success and further effective interaction depends on the manager. In fact, a key account manager is a person who influences amounts up to 50% of the company's total profit. Therefore, in some companies, their powers are close to those of directors.
The key account manager, who is just entering the position, should start by studying the history of interaction with trusted clients and getting to know the team that makes decisions on the part of the client.
A careful study of the materials and analysis will help prepare for the meeting and help with the selection of topics for conversation.
Key Account Manager Competencies
The first competency that a customer service specialist should have is related to knowledge of a company's product. Working with key customers requires demonstrating expert position and strengthening customer relationships. It must be remembered that in case of specific issues related to the product, one cannot do without the help of technical specialists who will provide the client with complete information without distorting the data and facts.
Sales and everything related to them is the second zone of competence of the manager for working with key partners. The ability to sell not only a product, but also the idea of developing cooperation, know-how, pilot projects - all that leads to the expansion of the zone of influence in the client’s company, brings income and satisfaction from joint results. Sales skills are the muscles of a specialist in working with key customers that need to be constantly trained in order to be ready to expand the market and gain new horizons.
An expert position in the client’s business provides additional advantages over competitors. We must strive for awareness of the development of the client’s business, its weaknesses and the designated areas of growth and development. This will strengthen the position of their business proposals, based on facts and figures, speaking the language of profit. This is a significant advantage and an argument in favor of choosing a supplier.
Working with regular customers requires verified sales and negotiation skills, this can be achieved by training on small customers.
Only the main competencies of the key account manager are listed above, personal aspects will be discussed further.
Attraction of new clients
It is believed that all major customers in the market are already occupied.Is it worth it to spend time on active sales to market leaders? Or should you hope only for the generation of the incoming stream?
Of course, it is worth making attempts to win the most eminent and solvent customers in order to turn them into key customers of the company. Large customers are companies that constantly streamline processes and consider new offers of cooperation. Methods of attracting new customers: cold calls, recommendations, visiting exhibitions. The contacts of decision makers are usually fairly easy to find on the Internet, which makes it easier to find customers. Cold calls, letters with a short and clear description of the benefits of a product or service can help achieve a personal meeting with people of interest. Do not neglect the recommendations of existing customers and forget about the experience of successful sales of customers of this scale.
There is a chance of encountering denials and objections. Therefore, one of the essential personal qualities of a specialist in working with key clients is the spirit of a fighter. Making attempts is the most important thing in attracting large customers. Finding customers is a great way to insure if one of your existing customers chooses a different provider.
Tenders
As a rule, large companies purchase goods and services through a tendering system. Preparation for participation in the tender begins about 9 months before it. It is no secret that a supplier who has recognized or shaped the needs of the client, identified key factors for the success of the implementation, and established high-quality communication with all participants in the process have a greater chance of winning the tender. A key role in winning the tender is played by the key account manager and his ability to build relationships, influence the situation and manage the expectations of key clients. If KAM (key account manager) performs its tasks well, quickly solves current issues and knows how to properly mobilize the team of its company to fulfill the requests of a key client, that is, there is every chance to become a major supplier and consolidate its position for many years.
Key Account Management
Unlike working with small and medium-sized customers, working with key customers requires increased attention to detail. It is important to differ from competitors, even in small ways, be half a step ahead, and to be well-versed in the client market and the market as a whole.
A customer service specialist must be able to competently manage projects. This allows you to bring many processes to automatism and simplify transaction support.
The head of the department for work with key clients should not only monitor the implementation of the plan of the department by numerical indicators and forecast sales, but also monitor the quality of work of service managers for leading customers.
Recording full information about all members of the decision-making group should be displayed in the dossier on the key client. The easiest way to standardize it within the department. Not only business analytics should be taken into account, but also personal data: dates of birth, information about hobbies, family members, values. This expands the possibilities for communication.
Preparation of a commercial proposal
Suppose that new customers who could become key in the future were asked to prepare a business proposal. What are the nuances to consider?
When preparing a commercial proposal for a key client, it is important to remember the correct presentation of the benefits of cooperation, the uniqueness and exclusivity of the offer.
Since the proposal will be considered by a group of experts on the client’s side, this fact should be taken into account and the arguments should be grouped based on knowledge of the participants in the approval process, previous experience of cooperation, and criteria evaluated by the client in the first place.
The typing skills of the members of the decision-making group on characterological features are useful.
Managers are often domineering and like to buy on exclusive terms. This should be taken into account in the proposal, emphasizing the understanding of the status of the client company and knowledge of the specifics of the business.
The HR Director involved in the discussion focuses on people, recommendations, and relationship building. Therefore, in KP it makes sense to make references to the practice of implementing similar projects in significant companies and make contacts with people who can and are willing to recommend the use of a product / service.
Financiers and technicians are extremely attentive to numbers, details, and details. It’s good if the proposal contains statistics and a digitized financial result of cooperation.
The gradation presented above is conditional, an individual approach to each decision-making group is necessary. This is easy to implement, subject to the use of dossiers on the client and analysis of all information obtained during the negotiations.
Perhaps, for the preparation of a commercial proposal, the key account manager will need help and advice from specific specialists of the company. Adding information that the proposal has been prepared by the group with the positions and contact details will increase the importance of the document and emphasize the ability to work in the project team.
At the end of the proposal, you must specify the expiration date. This is a common practice and in large transactions does not look like pressure or coercion. Often, services are a complex product that requires the involvement of external human or material resources. The market is mobile. Therefore, the validity period is a guarantee of maintaining the conditions for a specified period.
Closing a deal with large customers
When closing a deal with key customers, it is important to avoid two polarities: indifference and need. New clients in this situation need increased attention on the part of the manager, since there has not yet been a positive experience in cooperation.
Young and inexperienced key account managers sometimes sin by sending an offer and just waiting for an answer. The reasons for this behavior are different and individual. But often the root is the fear of customer status, the fear of seeming incompetent or intrusive. Less often - indifference to obtaining a result.
The manager’s behavior algorithm may look as follows:
- sending offers by e-mail or letter;
- if there is no confirmation answer, then a call in a day to clarify information about receipt;
- the question of next steps;
- the question of the source of urgency for considering the proposal;
- an agreement on the date of the call or meeting to discuss intermediate results.
Need is a demonstration of increased interest in a deal. The client should not feel like prey. As soon as the client understands that the seller is interested in cooperation and the transaction is too important for him and the company he represents, there is a chance of attempts to obtain more favorable conditions, deflection on the price offer, terms and volumes. This should be considered when closing a deal with key partners. Collaboration is good, but the main purpose of the presence of companies in the market is to make a profit.
Confidence, control over excessive non-verbal reactions, lack of fuss are the components of the competent behavior of the key account manager, who is achieving good results.
Escort
Supporting a transaction with a major client after signing the contract is the main part of the manager’s work. Customer service must be carried out competently and promptly. All possible complaints, wishes and misunderstandings, resolved as soon as possible and with minimal losses, show the supplier's loyalty to the customer.You need to understand that errors are normal. If a controversial situation arises, it is important to listen to the client, show your emotional involvement in the process and do everything to achieve the planned result. Turning into a client’s lawyer is not worth it. Adequate perception of the situation, coupled with professional actions help to manage the situation and customer expectations.
Attentiveness and correctly asked questions in the process of carrying out work on a signed contract can become the basis for cross-selling and transmitting successful experience to other branches or divisions of the customer company.
Requesting feedback in a dialogue with a client is an important aspect in building successful communication. Summing up the intermediate results of work with the involvement of specialists from the supplier and the customer, flexibility and the possibility of making adjustments that do not contradict common sense and do not infringe on the interests of the parties, are appreciated by customers and strengthen cooperation.
Recommendations
Proper customer service ensures stable implementation of the sales plan. In addition, key customers who are satisfied with the cooperation are an invaluable source for recommendations and, as a result, the expansion of the client base and the business as a whole. If the delivery or the project was carried out efficiently, on time, met or exceeded the expectations of the client, you should ask for a letter of recommendation for posting on the company's website. Also, in a personal conversation, you can contact the client representative with a request to recommend colleagues and partners who may be interested in cooperation in this direction. A call from a recommender to a potential partner significantly increases the likelihood of a meeting and further transaction.
It can be concluded that working with key customers and the position of the manager accompanying such transactions are an interesting and promising activity.