Designing an Account Management System

Most sales jobs include both cold selling (selling to brand-new prospects) and account management (selling to existing customers). Often salespeople approach cold selling with a carefully designed process in an attempt to maximize those sales. Yet they pay little attention to existing customers, despite the potential for wallet share growth that goes with those customers.

The trick to managing your existing account well lies in having the same kind of structured approach that you might use for new prospects. With existing customers, you have the advantage that they already like you and your product. That makes them ideal candidates for cross-selling and upselling additional products and services.

When B2B Cross Selling Goes Bad

My new book, Account Planning in Salesforce, is due to be published at the end of March 2013.  I am excited about it.  As you would expect from anyone book on account planning it dives into the benefits of generating more sales from existing customers. Selling to an existing customer is easier than acquiring a new customer, and there is much research to support that.  But as I researched the cross-selling and up-selling activities of the ‘average’ B2B salesperson, I noticed some behavior that I think merits comment.

Voicemail Tips for Sales Prospecting, Account Management and Overall Selling…

If your customer or prospect can’t understand your phone number, why would you expect them to return the phone call?

Make it easy for people. Leave your phone number twice on every voicemail, and when you say it, say it slowly to allow people to remember it.

This sounds simple, but it still seems to trip up far too many salespeople.

Account Management

In Sales, there is definitely a difference between hunters and farmers.  My experience includes work in both roles, so I believe I can speak as to the importance of each role to the success of the organization.

Business Development managers or “hunters” have a difficult assignment.  As I have written in the past, they are change agents and no one likes change.  On the other hand, the Account Manager does not deal with change primarily.  They deal with conserving revenue and finding new opportunities within existing accounts.  The hunter must be aggressive and at times force the line on persistence.  The account manager on the other hand focuses on growing existing relationships, and on maintaining a line of communication.  This difference in roles and missions can cause conflict, especially if the “hunter” is brought into the Account Manager’s client to, “sell new business.”   The Account Manager can find the Business Development manager too aggressive, while the latter finds the Account Manager is too passive.

Key account selling: The unwritten rules

(MoneyWatch) Selling key accounts is like baseball: Both have their codes of unwritten rules.
Baseball fans and players know the game has an informal code of conduct worthy of a samurai. One former player said it is a game played by human beings and governed by unwritten laws of survival and self-preservation.

These rules are largely unofficial and aren't written down on clubhouse walls. But they are well-known. For instance:

• Don't slide into second with your spikes high and try to injure the infielder (that went out with Ty Cobb)
• With runners in scoring position and first base open, walk the number eight hitter to get to the pitcher (don't get me started on the designated hitter rule)
• Don't bunt with a home run hitter at the plate
• If there is a fight, everyone must leave the bench, and the bullpen has to join in (but no bats -- just fists)
• In cities that have two baseball teams, any given fan can only root for one of them (President Obama roots for the Chicago White Sox, for instance, not the Cubs)

Διοίκηση Περιοχής Cοαching

Διοίκηση  περιοχής  πωλήσεων (Territory management) Coaching και Διαχείριση μεγάλων πελατών ( key account management)