Skills blog

Barack Obama speaking at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service said “And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be a better man”. What a fantastic example of Mandela’s ability to inspire.

Inevitably you will find it necessary to have a tough conversation with one of your reports at some stage. Either because their performance has slipped for some reason or their attitude is not as positive as you expect.

Here’s an exercise you can use to come up with useful probing questions. Think of one of your current customers and brainstorm the potential problems/issues they might have (and the opportunities they would like to realise). Choose areas you know your product or service can help solve. Make a list of them.

I remember how hard it was to make those initial calls early in my career. I used to sit there staring at the phone. I’d pick it up and think, ‘No way, I can’t call. He won’t want to speak to me. I’ll feel an idiot.’ So I’d put the phone down again.

Successful Key Account Managers know the importance of building a wide network of contacts within their accounts. Part 1 looked at the financial buyer who will sign off the funding for the purchase, let’s now look at some of the other key players:

To succeed in key account management we must make lots of contacts and talk to lots of people within the account. One of the ways customers reduce risk is to ensure that as many of their people as possible are in favour of the decision.

Sometimes a buyer will deliberately deadlock in order to lower your aspirations. She will take you to the edge of the cliff and see how tough you talk then.

Let people sense your strong will to succeed. You communicate with your words, your appearance, your manners, but especially with your sense of purpose. Certainty is more persuasive than charm. In business as in sport, the person who wins is usually the one who wants it the most.

Love them or lose them. As the economy brightens engagement is hugely important. You need to make sure each of your people think ‘this is the best place for me to be’.