Monday, May 16, 2005
Successful Large Account Management
Successful Large Account Management
© 1993 by Robert Miller
Ford operated with a strategy of resource concentration. 5% of your customers bring in 50% of your business.
What other orders do we want? What orders do we not want?
Charter Statement: define your field of play: what portion of your client's business can you manage? Review your sales history in field of play. Define what you will sell them. Define the contribution you make to their business. Draft your charter statement.
If you can help reduce the logjams in your customer's internal affairs, if you can help their ships sail smoother, day to day, they will consider you as much an external asset as you consider them.
As you move up the hierarchy, competition decreases, there is less sensitivity about price, importance of features decreases.
Stop investment scenarios: You're on the "outside" track, it's not your real business, and you’re flying blind in the Large Account, new products/new market.
Solving customer's problems: What actions can we take to remedy a customer's service problem? What can we do to solve a customer's product problems? Is there a problem on the horizon we can help head off? What activities could we pursue to position us higher up the buy-sell relational hierarchy? How can we help this account increase sales revenue from its own accounts? How can we improve the account's own productivity? Can we do something to help reduce its costs? Can we have positive impact on profit?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961907320
© 1993 by Robert Miller
Ford operated with a strategy of resource concentration. 5% of your customers bring in 50% of your business.
What other orders do we want? What orders do we not want?
Charter Statement: define your field of play: what portion of your client's business can you manage? Review your sales history in field of play. Define what you will sell them. Define the contribution you make to their business. Draft your charter statement.
If you can help reduce the logjams in your customer's internal affairs, if you can help their ships sail smoother, day to day, they will consider you as much an external asset as you consider them.
As you move up the hierarchy, competition decreases, there is less sensitivity about price, importance of features decreases.
Stop investment scenarios: You're on the "outside" track, it's not your real business, and you’re flying blind in the Large Account, new products/new market.
Solving customer's problems: What actions can we take to remedy a customer's service problem? What can we do to solve a customer's product problems? Is there a problem on the horizon we can help head off? What activities could we pursue to position us higher up the buy-sell relational hierarchy? How can we help this account increase sales revenue from its own accounts? How can we improve the account's own productivity? Can we do something to help reduce its costs? Can we have positive impact on profit?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961907320
