It is very easy to become complacent as an account manager, not in the hunger for sales, but in terms of what we know, or rather what we don’t know about the account. When we build a good relationship with a client we can come to expect that they will tell us of any impending changes on the horizon. This they may do, but it is too important to leave to chance. Here is a useful tip to ensure we don’t become complacent in what we know about the account.
Work with one your colleagues. Ask them to ask you any questions they like about the account, present performance and future changes. Ask them to ask searching open neutral questions, to challenge your knowledge.
As we interview each other we discover what we don’t know. Understanding what we don’t know then forms an agenda for the next conversation with our client.
Why is this so important? Think about your client. Will they be prospected by hungry sales people from your competition? Yes. Will those sales people secure meetings with your client? Quite possibly. What will the sales people do in those meetings? If they are any good they will ask very open questions to explore the needs, wants and future challenges of the client. And in doing so they may well uncover opportunities or threats you are not aware of.
So getting one of your colleagues to quiz your knowledge about your client can be a really good way to find out what we don’t know, but perhaps should know about our clients.
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Tip for Account Managers to avoid complacency