Evolve Blog

Jul 2009

Financial Services Special Report: Is your brokerage built for success or failure?

“Good times shield us from the truth about the limitations of our sales organisation. However when the financial services marketplace gets tougher those limitations can threaten your brokerages very survival” so says David Malone, Executive Director of Evolve Consultants.

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Jul 2009

I know what you did last summer!

I know what you did last summer. In fact, I know what the majority of sales professionals have been doing every summer for the last five or six years. What am I talking about? The great corporate Ireland summer wind down. Quarter three is an odd time for doing business in Ireland. 

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Training Programmes - Selling Suite

List of Programmes:

Customer Account Management

Overview

This account development course builds on existing sales skills to provide the business acumen and relationship building skills required to successfully develop and manage key accounts.

This highly interactive and practical course will refine your skills for developing and delivering value for your key accounts and your organisation, whilst giving you robust tools and processes to manage through the complexity of working with key accounts. Out of complexity comes simplicity, and out of that simplicity comes clear focus enabling you to achieve excellence in your role. 

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to add value into the supplier/client relationship, thereby locking out competitors and maximising over time the value of the account.
 
Who Should Attend 
 
Experienced key account salespeople and customer service professionals who need to plan and grow their key account business. Sales managers leading new or evolving key account teams. Business development managers who are responsible for building long-term business through their sales teams would also benefit. 
 
After attending this course, participants will have the ability to:
Manage their accounts in a way that produces more profitable partnerships 
Develop the ability to build stronger business relationships 
Gain a clearer insight into the customers’ decision-making process 
Identify and assess the key knowledge required and the sources of information and resource that will impact on effectiveness 
Protect their accounts from competitors 
Add value to the relationship by identifying opportunities that have a positive impact on their customers’ business 
Optimise the full business potential from each account 
Build and develop account management strategies that produce real business growth 
Identify those accounts upon which they can have the greatest impact.
 
Programme Content
 
The Fundamentals Of Account Management

Understanding your customer base

The 3 levels of Customer Insight

How to profile your market-place

Establishing account potential

Categorising and prioritising your customer base

Setting objectives for success
 
The Role Of The Account Manager

Attitudes to account management

The Value-Adding Account Manager

Developing personal and business empathy

The Knowledge Profile
 
Managing the Relationship

Customer Perception Ladder
Managing the relationship over time

Identifying different company cultures

Understanding the customers’ priorities

Building customer value

How the company website can support telephone account development

Identifying power, influence and advocacy within the account

Relationship Building Behaviours – a customer perspective

Negotiating in key accounts
 
Building Long Term Commitment

Strengthening your competitive position

Building personal, corporate and service credibility

Turning regular one off sales into contracted business

Delivering exceptional personal service

Managing the customers’ increasing expectations of service
 
Successful Strategies for Account Development

Establish the strength of your position

Identify your competitive advantages

Analysing the competitors from your customers’ perspective

How to view the market environment to increase your insight

Using the Internet as a research tool

Developing effective account plans