Key Account sellers create competitive advantages for more efficient relationship marketing.
Key account seller is one who works in key account management.
In fact, he is more than a salesperson, as he interacts with the customer, seeking to exceed their expectations and align with their values.
The concept of KAM – Key Account Management – is known among most companies.
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We know that it is more advantageous to keep and retain current customers than to attract new ones, and for that, betting on the formation of key account salespeople is one of the best options.
If you are looking to be or hire a key account seller, it is imperative to know what they can do and how they do it.
Therefore, in this article, we will address some characteristics that this type of professional must have or develop.
Objectives of key account sellers
1. Working with key customers
Vendors who specialize in KAM focus their efforts on a few specific customers, the key customers. Key customers are those that are important to the company and cannot be lost.
They represent a great opportunity for innovation and must be treated differently.
It’s easy to identify the key customers in your company using Pareto’s law, which says 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes.
Taking this to your business, 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers; average and see who your company’s key customers are.
With Pareto law, you identify 20% of your customers responsible for 80% of your company’s revenue.
For key customers, the offer will never be just the product/service that the company offers, but rather a differentiated treatment that results in personalized service, almost like a partnership that adds value and experience to your business.
Large customers can drain a lot of effort and time from an organization, and it is important that these efforts are controlled in a way that benefits the company.
Knowing the client’s business in a deep way and creating a lasting relationship with him makes him so loyal that it is costly for the client to change the supplier company.
A key account seller:
- Shifts the focus from sales to experience and added value through an excellent relationship
- Anticipates customer solutions
- Know the customer more and more, deepening relationships
- Allows for interdependence and joint development
- It becomes the single point of contact and customer support in the company
A good key account seller transforms business sales from “push” format to “pull” format.
The difference is that in the “push” format, products are offered to people, showing off their benefits (for example, with posters in local supermarkets).
In the “pull” model, a loyal following is established between consumers and the product/service, and they are naturally attracted.
Key account seller is one who works in key account management.
When creating a true partnership with the customer, both the key account seller perfectly understands the customer’s segment and activities, and the customer also clearly sees the value that your company can add to them.
Through the key account seller, this becomes possible, and the “push” becomes a “pull” in these strategic relationships.
2. Deliver a strategy
It is part of the key account seller’s role to predict and follow market changes while leading the customer in this process.
Key customers are close to the company and can provide insight into the market that is extremely helpful.
A great skill that key account sellers develop is to align the company’s vision and strategy with the client’s vision and strategy.
If we offer value to the customer at the same time as we deliver profit and benefits to the company, we are creating a lasting “win-win” relationship.
3. Skills and attributes of a key account seller
The company also has its role to play and needs to see the key account salesperson as a professional who contributes to the company’s strategy, and not just as a sales employee.
In addition, he must have all possible resources to carry out his work in a way that meets the needs and expectations of the customers he deals with.
Each company has a specific need, and when it comes to KAM, each customer does too. Knowing how to deal with each of these requirements is an essential skill for a key account seller.
A key account seller must:
- be analytical
- Able to influence people
- Be great at interpersonal relationships and communicate well
- Being a good listener and interpreting signals in conversation
- be inquisitive and negotiate
- Be financially aware
- Have a broad and strategic vision
- Solve Problems Efficiently
- generate credibility
- Be excellent at delegating tasks
- Be considerate and note details
- Be creative
To choose a Key Account Manager, you must identify all the competencies and skills needed for that type of position.
4. Skills needed to work with clients
For key account sellers to be successful in consumer relations, it is important that they develop some skills (and if possible, attributes), such as those listed below:
- Be friendly
- be emotionally intelligent
- know how to work in a team
- have something conciliatory
- have integrity
- know how to listen
- Build and inspire confidence
- be assertive
- be persuasive
- Don’t give up easily
5. Skills needed for the strategic role
For the key account seller to understand the strategic vision of both the company and the customer, he must be proactive , intelligent, have a good personal presentation, be innovative and creative.
It is important that he knows how to take calculated risks, and that he has complex financial knowledge, as well as knowing how to trade accurately.
We’ve already talked here on the blog about how important it is for a salesperson to be able to listen carefully and interpret details.
For a key account, this is even more true. As he has been dealing with large and loyal customers for a long time, understanding them is the first step in his job.
And to understand someone, listening carefully is essential. Having an open mind and being ready to accept changes are also characteristics that will help a lot in the process.
Having a good network is also crucial. The key account seller has to create true alliances with its customers, having a deep knowledge of both the company and the consumer.