So, it’s crucially important that your clients understand that your own company has an impressive set of values, ethos and image which distinguishes it from the competition.
Your company may already have these attributes which are well documented and used in the sales process. Alternatively, your company may have such values and ethos but they are not documented or possibly not even thought about or realised.
Or, they just don’t exist in any form! In which case this subject needs to be given swift and careful thought, and debated/workshopped/brainstormed by key members of your organisation.
So, a clearly defined set of values needs to be established and conveyed to all colleagues & clients. They will also need to be incorporated into the sales process. In time, these values will become part of the fabric of your company, part of its culture. However, such values must be meaningful, you can’t just make them up!
Nevertheless, it can’t be overstated just how important it is for your clients to be aware of your values & ethos which will be the foundation for all that you do for them.
These are some examples of what you might consider:
- individual mentorship scheme for all new joiners or change of role
- promotion from within wherever possible
- demonstrate pride in all that is done
- prompt payment of suppliers unless good reason not to
- always convey bad news at the earliest opportunity
- proactively strive for continuous improvement
- respect for the client’s culture, values & practices
- strive for a track record of delivering real business benefit
- strive to make client organisations & individual contacts (more) successful
- identify areas where any form of value added (freebies) can be provided without difficulty
- rigorous qualification of sales opportunities throughout the sales process
- strive for every client to become a reference site
Some of the above ‘values’ will be integral to your own company which help distinguish it from the competition. They will also provide the foundation for high quality deliverables, services, people & products which in turn will make your clients more successful.
As a consequence, never feel awkward about what you charge or profits made providing, of course, you have supplied the required level of quality ‘deliverable’ on time and within budget; particularly if you’ve also provided ‘added value’ where the client was not charged for something beneficial which was over and above what was contracted for.
People (your company’s biggest asset), consistent quality output (pre-requisite for repeat business) and openness (earning colleague & client trust) will always be the critical success factors regarding future progress in Client Account Management.
The term ‘people’ is used in the broadest sense when referring to your own company and means anyone who is working for, or representing, your organisation including consultants, contractors, temporary staff, external partners, associates and so on.
So, it’s vital that wherever your resources come from it remains seamless to your clients. Indeed, any differences in work practice, values, dress or attitude may seriously jeopardise the client relationship and damage your profit margin & prospects for future business.
Therefore, it is imperative that all 3rd parties are made fully aware of the above before they are taken on. In addition, there must be adequate and consistent induction (which includes values & ethos) for anyone representing your company on the client site; permanent staff are no exception.
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Best Practice Quote 3 of 13:
“your company’s values, ethos & image will be the foundation for business excellence”
NEXT BLOG: Supplier Account Manager
A complete set of account management components can be found at accountmanagementgold.com, all of which aim to significantly improve supplier performance and block the competition.
As an introduction to these components, I’m writing a series of blogs which I hope will be of value and appropriate for the type & size of your client, prospect and target organisations:
- What is Account Management?
- Understanding Your Clients
- Values, Ethos & Image (today)
- Supplier Account Manager
- Relationship Management
- Client Contact Management
- Sales Propositions & Opportunities
- Sales Opportunity Qualification
- Balanced Scorecard
- Risk Management
- Account Performance Reviews
- Satisfaction Surveys
- SWOT Analysis
As these blogs will be geared to anyone engaged in developing new business with clients or prospects, and for ease of context, I’ll regard all readers as account managers as everyone has the same endgame, no offence!
I really hope you, your colleagues & business associates find value in these blogs; please let me know either way. Please also get in touch if you think there might be potential for our businesses to collaborate.
ASPIRE’s MISSION
– to enable businesses to minimise risk in all that they do with particular focus on developing long-term revenue streams
– to increase productivity/profit/margin, client/people networks, trust/integrity, reputation/market standing & morale/pride
Richard Wright
Managing Director
ASPIRE Account Management
accountmanagementgold.com