Account Management Training
In this period of economic downturn Account Management Training is a resource that may well be the key to survival. Now more than ever, your client companies are aware of their own need to provide extra value to their customers and they also know your sales are shrinking. So it is natural that they will try to take advantage of this. They will be looking to turn the screws on your product pricing. Whether you are able to reduce your prices to keep their custom or not, now is the time to reinforce the training of your account managers. They need to be reminded of the importance of their own individual service to the company and the value each of their clients add to the economic life the firm.
Because price will be the issue foremost in their clients mind it will also feature negatively in your account managers minds. They should be retrained on the basic features of your company's products or services with emphasis on the benefits that create value for money. Now is the time to gather them together for some team collaboration. Pareto's Law will undoubtedly apply to the production of your account management team, i.e., 80% of the total sales will be managed by 20% of the team.
Because selling is a relationship business the relationship skills of your top salespeople are the ones that make them the top producers. The way your top team relate to their individual clients should receive the closest study as it is not by accident that they are producing more sales.
The top 20% of your team should be encouraged prepare in their own words all the ways they use to develop their relationships within their client companies, then they should be asked to present these strategies to the team so that a large pool of ideas are gathered and made available for the benefit of the whole team. This will also have the effect of stimulating the top producers on two counts,
1) the self esteem they gain from the recognition you are giving them as top producers,
2) the act of teaching their skills to the rest of the team will re-motivate your top people.
As a top producer and trainer of many years experience I know that the sharing of the pooled knowledge of top salespeople is a valuable asset, so much so that it should be harvested regularly, documented and made available to all the salespeople as an ongoing part of their training.
The old adage "When the going gets tough-the tough get going." has never been more relevant than today, which is why all your team should be toughened up now to face the difficult trading period ahead.
Because price will be the issue foremost in their clients mind it will also feature negatively in your account managers minds. They should be retrained on the basic features of your company's products or services with emphasis on the benefits that create value for money. Now is the time to gather them together for some team collaboration. Pareto's Law will undoubtedly apply to the production of your account management team, i.e., 80% of the total sales will be managed by 20% of the team.
Because selling is a relationship business the relationship skills of your top salespeople are the ones that make them the top producers. The way your top team relate to their individual clients should receive the closest study as it is not by accident that they are producing more sales.
The top 20% of your team should be encouraged prepare in their own words all the ways they use to develop their relationships within their client companies, then they should be asked to present these strategies to the team so that a large pool of ideas are gathered and made available for the benefit of the whole team. This will also have the effect of stimulating the top producers on two counts,
1) the self esteem they gain from the recognition you are giving them as top producers,
2) the act of teaching their skills to the rest of the team will re-motivate your top people.
As a top producer and trainer of many years experience I know that the sharing of the pooled knowledge of top salespeople is a valuable asset, so much so that it should be harvested regularly, documented and made available to all the salespeople as an ongoing part of their training.
The old adage "When the going gets tough-the tough get going." has never been more relevant than today, which is why all your team should be toughened up now to face the difficult trading period ahead.
