IN THIS EPISODE:How well do you empower your people to reach their own full potential, supported along the way with good, timely, and accessible coaching conversations? Now sure how to go about that? Then this episode is for you because I’m joined by a friend of the show, Lisa Brice, NLP Master Trainer and Coach and author of a new book called: “Choose to be a coach - the be quick guide to coaching in the corridor, at the coffee shop or on the computer.” - - - 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗔 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Lisa is a...

IN THIS EPISODE...Sales and Marketing is like stealing your neighbour’s cat…and in this episode, I talk to Bryony Thomas at Watertight Marketing to find out why. Bryony is the creator of the Watertight Marketing methodology, captured in her best-selling book of the same name which acts as the hub to a suite of thinking tools that have been designed and refined over two decades and across over 2000 organisations. - - - 𝗕𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Bryony is an award-winning speaker, author, marketing...

IN THIS EPISODEHow strong is your account management team when it comes to the skills of closing new business? I’m not talking about taking repeat orders from happy clients here. I’m talking about applying the art of winning new business, creating opportunities, and closing deals, with existing customers. In this episode, I am joined by Nashville-based David ‘Ledge’ Ledgerwood, Managing Partner at Add1Zero, a business that provides lead-to-close sales execution for tech-enabled B2B service...

Do you tell your clients that you work in partnership? What evidence do you have to reassure them that the statement is, in fact, true? What are the qualities of a good partnership? Does your team possess the skills required to forge strong win:win relationships, built on trust, transparency, transparency, comfort with change and interdependence and a focus on the future? In this episode, I invite Fred Copestake, a sales consultant and trainer specialising in complex B2b sales environments,...

In this solo episode, I take a dive into an important topic in the world of building customer relationships: how well do you adapt your communication style with different customers? I am going to challenge you to consider, for a moment, that rather than thinking of yourself as a classically labelled sales person… what if you were called a sales practitioner. In that vein…you could say: rather than being an account manager you were an account management practitioner. How does that sit with...

Do you have LOYAL customers? What does loyalty mean to you? Is it a destination where happy customers, who love what you do, gather to bathe in the success that your product or service has brought them? Or is it more than that? Rather than a destination, is it an on-going journey of moments that inspire your loyal customers to commit to you, time and time again, whilst shouting from the rooftops to all who will hear their recommendation to work with you? How often do you find yourself telling...

When was the last time you had a conversation about racism? Perhaps, like so many, these conversations are triggered, within your circles, by high-profile cases of injustice in the media or by your own personal experiences on the receiving end of overt or covert prejudice. Or perhaps… like so many, you have NEVER had a conversation within your circles, about racism. What about at work, in your business, with your team, or with your customers? This episode is a conversation about race in KAM....

IN THIS EPISODEHow much attention are you paying to the customer experience with your Key Accounts? Do you surprise and delight your clients on a regular basis or, have you fallen into the trap of leaving this up to marketing at the front end of the sales cycle? With customers experiencing thousands of ‘moments’ every day in all areas of their lives, what are you doing to ensure the moments they share with you, exceed their expectations? For me, the thing about experience is that it is too...

Do you deploy an intentional methodology to maximise the impact of your interactions? Or are you winging it along the way, relying on personality to build those relationships with key contacts? The evolution of an account manager, over the decades, has taken us on a bit of a journey from the gossiping entertainer of the 70s (who liked talking about others) morphed into the boring informer of the 80s (who liked talking about themself) and then evolved into the consultative problem solver of...

Do you have a team whose hearts and minds are 100% invested in your business goals? What are the levels of motivation across your account managers and sales team? How ENGAGED are they? For many businesses, the working world has changed and for most - it’s still changing. The concept of remote and Hybrid working is no longer uncommon, and sales leaders are battling the ongoing challenge of managing performance and inspiring excellence in teams that are no longer sat every day in the office,...

How successful is your key account management team? What is the definition you have for what success is, for your business? How do you measure the performance of your key account managers? If you find that the answers are all to do with growth, you’re probably looking at it TOO LATE and you are running a massive risk with your most important accounts. Whether you talk about KPI’s, goals, objectives, or metrics – we are looking for early warning signs and alerts that tell you clearly...

Key account management is a beautifully simple business basic…one that isn’t that easy! If it was, we’d all be doing it brilliantly wouldn’t we? There are a handful of common, or typical reasons why a KAM culture struggles to get off the ground in an organisation. In this episode, I seek to shine a glaring light on the assassins of good KAM practice. I’m a big believer in shining a light on vulnerabilities in a business – it serves as a wonderful opportunity to mitigate risks, develop...

Are you 'ready' for getting back to normal? And…what is normal? For many of us, the effects of the pandemic have been going on for so long that we can’t quite remember what normal is anymore. So, as we start to 'unlock' society, here in the UK, and begin thinking about how we will reengage with our key accounts, many of whom we won’t have seen for over a year, how ready do you feel to 'hit the ground running'? Have you thought about who you need to see first, what you want to achieve...

Have you ever found yourself struggling to understand, or get along, with people who are older or younger than you? Perhaps a clash in communications style, working preferences, belief systems, values or motivational needs? Many of the business leaders that we talk to in our work at KAMGuru tell us how difficult they find driving higher levels of motivation and engagement from younger sales teams. They say that age is just a number… except it isn’t, is it? When you listen to this episode...

How has the last 12 months been for you and your business? At the time of recording this episode, it’s been a year… to the day…that I delivered my last ‘in person’ seminar for a group of Chief Executives in Leeds. By then, we had already stopped shaking hands with people and we were pouring copious amounts of antibacterial gel over our hands at every opportunity. The juggle struggle has been real and balancing work, family, home-schooling, friendships and our own mental health has often...

Do you wish your team members were having more strategic conversations with your key accounts? Do you have a clear understanding of what strategy is? Does your team have a clear understanding of what strategy is? It’s fair to say that the S word – strategy – gets bandied around a lot in business - we even talk about it as one of our guiding pillars for success in KAM. And with words that get so heavily used, it’s common for the waters to get muddied and the definition to become...

How often do you put aside time to reflect honestly on the learning you have gained following the closure of a deal, whether you won or lost it? Do you pause for a moment to celebrate the victory or commiserate the loss? Or do you go deeper than that, in pursuit of feedback that can be fed forward into future pitches? Creating a learning culture in an account management team is hugely beneficial and requires us all to embrace feedback, even the painful stuff. This episode’s guest is...

What is the toughest question you have faced from your most important customers? What is the toughest question you have faced from you team? How did you handle those questions? Did you answer with confidence and finesse? Or did you crumble under the pressure and end up blurting out more that you would care to share? As a business leader, you will have undoubtedly faced some really tough questions over the years. Your ability to answer them will have played a really important role in the...

(Part 2 of 2) See Part 1 in EP009. We continue our discussion with jaybaer.com, Hall of Fame Keynote speaker and the author of SIX best-selling books which all point to the importance of the customer experience. One of those books is ‘Talk Triggers’ which delves into creating intentional mechanisms within the day-to-day carrying out of your business which spur your customers to CHOOSE to talk enthusiastically about you to their friends, colleagues and networks. This is without being prompted...

How many of your Key Account contacts have a story to tell about their (customer) experience of you? I am not talking about a prompted testimonial packed with marketing quotes, engineered to pitch your products and services to a new audience. I am also not meaning a review of the features and benefits they enjoy from using your solution or engaging in your service. I am rather referring to the kind of story that arises only from a truly REMARKABLE customer experience. One that… ensures...

How well have your client relationships faired against the almighty test that was 2020? With research suggesting that 68% of customers citing ‘perceived indifference’ as their top reason for leaving a supplier - have you lost customers by not remaining close enough to them? Or, by not fully understanding what they really needed from you, during the stormy waters of the pandemic. Perhaps you were led by political rhetoric and generalisations, which suggested that EVERYONE was facing...

In today’s world we could categorise organisations into two camps: those that add value, and those that add COST. • Why type of organisation are you? • What is your definition of value? • How will you know when you are adding & creating value for your customers? • Do your most important clients know the extra lengths you go to provide them with unexpected, relevant and personalised value that is ultimately useful to them? With value being undefinable to many and different to each of...

Picture the scene… You’ve just asked one of your top account managers to meet you and walk you through their account plan for your most important customer. You want to know: what we know, what we don’t know, what we are planning to do and how we are going to achieve it. Sounds like a simple ask right? And now you stand back and watch as your account manager battles with half a dozen spreadsheets, a PowerPoint slide deck, an underutilised CRM System and overwhelmed email inbox. Where is...

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States “By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison, Inventor & businessman Even the creative genius Pablo Picasso knew that planning was key when he said: “Our goals can only be reached...