Selling to Major Accounts: A Strategic Approach

You can no longer afford to expend energy on account development without a plan or focus. Major account selling requires a long cycle and a big investment of resources. That’s why today’s successful sales professionals are more than just tactical pros…they’re strategic experts. Now, in this account management training seminar, learn how to develop a strategic selling plan that will save you time, money and hassles by identifying the right account and project, why your offer matters to them, what it takes to assure their long-term relationship and how to move them along the pipeline quickly.

Who should attend

• Sales professionals, including account managers, sales representatives and sales executives—as well as sales managers and vice presidents and directors of sales and marketing who are seeking account management training that offers best-practice techniques used in major account selling today. 
• A minimum of three years of sales experience is recommended.

How you will benefit

• Enhance sales performance while expending less energy
• Gain customers’ loyalty by understanding their needs
• Increase the business from existing accounts
• Shorten the sales cycle by identifying and removing internal and external bottlenecks
• Hone in on prospects predisposed to buy from you
• Become more efficient at account maintenance
• Create a clear sales plan that keeps you organized
• Learn ways to get referrals from existing customers

What you will cover

• The changing environment: the salesperson as strategist
• Developing the strategic plan: thinking “big picture”
• Establishing goals, objectives and indicators to enhance major-account performance
• Skills needed for selling to major accounts
• Qualifying your best opportunities: your likeliest sources for RTEM (Return on Investment of Time, Effort and Money)
• Managing and tracking pipeline performance

Course Outline

Learning Objectives

• Identify Your Best Opportunities and Persuade More of Them to Take Action More Quickly
• Spot Prospects with a Poor Prognosis for Success, and Avoid Them
• Shorten the Sales Cycle
• Earn More with Less Effort
• Improve the Sales Process to Improve Results
• Apply the Concept of RTEM—Return on Investment (of Sales) on Time, Effort, and Money—to Get More Out of Your Activity
• Manage Your Performance to Improve It Continuously

Thinking Strategically

• Address the Challenges Associated with Selling
• Differentiate Between Strategy and Tactics
• Apply the Concept of RTEM to Your Efforts
• Know the Four Elements of Your Selling Strategy—What, Who, Why, and How

The Major Account

• Define What Constitutes a Major Account
• Differentiate Major Accounts from Other Types of Customers
• Understand Your Role as a Major Account Manager
• Develop a Strategic Approach to Managing Your Major Accounts

What Have You Got to Sell?

• Sell the Strengths of Your Offerings
• Define Your Ideal Customer and Find Prospects That Match the Profile
• Define the Ideal Project and Invest Resources to Secure It

The Selling Process

• Manage the Sales Process More Effectively
• Create Process Milestones Based on the Five Key Prospect Actions
• Define Results Indicators to Improve the Sales Process

Identifying High RTEM Opportunities

• Improve Your Ability to Qualify Opportunities
• Choose Opportunities with the Best Prognosis and Invest in Them
• Identify “Non-Starters” and Avoid Them

Managing Relationships

• Manage Internal Relationships
• Manage Customer Relationships
• Distinguish Between Business Development and Account Maintenance

Managing Your Pipeline

• Understand Mathematical Assumptions About Your Pipeline
• Spread Your Risk By Managing the Pipeline
• Manage the Non-Sales Demands on Your Time
• Use Leverage to Produce Referrals
• Emphasize Results Over Activity

Tracking Performance for Continuous Improvement

• Use the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle to Improve Continuously
• Develop Meaningful Performance Targets
• Manage Account Performance Strategically
• Create and Maintain Action Plans That Keep You Focused

Committing to Action

• Know What Elements of This Program Work Best for You
• Plan a Course of Action to Adopt the Learning
• Develop Habits to Lock in New Skills