Key Account Management

A company’s biggest potential which can be realised the fastest is with 20% of the customers who already generate 80% of the turnover. Therefore the first priority is customer care and acquisition of new „key customers“. Effective extension of these customers needs strong focussing and enormous expenditure of time. For the Key Account Manager it is not only a challenge to develop his/her own business, but principally to put him-/herself into the customer’s environment and to develop common strategies. Refined conduct of negotiations and good knowledge of human nature are the basic conditions for this special kind of sales.

The participants will know how major customers are to be taken care of, how strategic extension of potential is carried out and how detailed customer development plans are handled. Furthermore they will get to know how to acquire important contacts and which continuative possibilities of acquisition derive from this.

The 1 - 3 - 7+ principle - Systematic processing of a sales area

ABC-analysis – Prioritising in sales

Sector portfolio – Classification of customers

Customer development plan – Detecting customer potentials and developments and targeting

CRM - Customer Relationship Management

Customer win-back management

Advisory/ presentation phase
Communicating the performance of the products
- Example: Communicated performance“, „Why shall I buy“-exercise
- Methods: ´Sie´-forms, negations, characteristics and benefit
- Target-oriented questionnaire – The target determines the questions

Strategic conversation technique – Who asks in the correct way will lead!
Visual communication – Creating images in the customer’s head
Positive presentation of market values

Creating conviction by pointed questions

Brand identification – Visual backgrounds of the brand

When the customer does not decide on his own – Including all decision makers into the argumentation

Conclusion techniques – How can I encourage the customer to be forthcoming?
Question focussing on the opinion
Control question
Practical for you – practical for us
Professional uncertainty
NOA®

Price scales – Selling the performance not the price

Price conferences
Price psychology: Why does your customer want a discount?
Good preparation of price and discount negotiations
Selling and arguing – not via the price: customer-value-argumentation
Defending one’s price
Selling of competence instead of price

Bid proposal management
Team selling – New tasks of the office staff
Pre-offer conferences
More turnover with additional salesmen: up-selling, cross-selling, sales promotion
Priorities in sales
Quotation tracking
Confirmation of repurchase – Conveying the good feeling to your customer having taken the right decision