Key Account Management Archives

You don’t have to make Negotiation a part of every sale

By Sue Barrett / 02/02/2009 / Business Acumen, Key Account Management, Negotiation, Sales Relationships, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Value Proposition & Value Add

I often get requests by sales mangers for negotiation skills training for their sales people when in fact upon further investigation their people usually need consultative selling skills training first. You cannot negotiate effectively if you cannot sell effectively first. Both are processes which need to be learned and applied in the correct order. However over 90% of sales people follow no logical process when selling or negotiating leaving their sales at risk.

So to clear up the confusion between selling and negotiation I thought it might help to examine when you sell and when you negotiate.

It’s important to note that …

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Account Planning, Management & Development

By Sue Barrett / 10/09/2008 / Key Account Management, Sales Consulting, Sales Forecasting, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Sales Pipeline, Sales Planning, Sales Relationships, Sales Strategy, Sales Tips

As markets tighten and market competition increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to achieve product differentiation in their market place. As such, businesses will find it harder and harder to optimise their profits unless they develop effective strategies to achieve differentiation. One way to accomplish this is through the enhancement of customer intimacy.

Account Planning, Management & Development is the process that organisations adopt in order to prioritise their customers in terms of value to the business. In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies where 80% of current and/or potential revenue comes from 20% of the customer base. However, …

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Client Buying States

By Sue Barrett / 04/07/2008 / Business Acumen, Competition, Emotional Intelligence, Key Account Management, Procurement, Sales Planning, Sales Skills, Sales Strategy, Up-selling & Cross Selling

Selling can get quite confusing sometimes. Prospects or clients saying one thing and doing another. It’s hard enough that you put in all that effort and have your sale go nowhere.

It might help you to know, if you don’t already, when selling that there are mainly four different Buying States. They are classified as :

Opportunity

Problem

Static

Blinkered

Two Buying States show that a sale is possible.

Two Buying States show that a sale may be difficult or unlikely.

Opportunity: Your prospect recognises there is an opportunity to move forward or progress to a goal. This is a powerful motivator for the …

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Territory Management vs. Account Management

By Sue Barrett / 15/11/2007 / Key Account Management, Role Clarity, Sales Forecasting, Sales Management, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Sales Planning, Sales Strategy

Terms such as Account Development, Account Management and Territory Management are often interchanged indiscriminately by many a sales people and managers thus creating confusion when it comes to sales planning, portfolio allocation and recruiting the right kind of sales person for your business.

I thought it might helpful to define these terms and give you a little more perspective.

All sales people involved in developing long term viable business relationships with the right kind of customers should be doing Account Development: Here is our definition of Account Development taken from the BARRETT Sales Competency Dictionary.

Account Development: Develops account profiles …

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You don’t have to make Negotiation a part of every sale

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Territory Management vs. Account Management

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