HARDISON’S TIPS – MARCH 25, 2021 – Sell More to Existing Accounts – 2
- Be Proactive: We can’t tell you how many times one of our clients has shared a story with us about how a competitor swooped in right under their nose, taking business that they were well equipped for. This was always because their customer either didn’t know that you offered that particular product or service or because they simply forgot.
The best targets to market to are your own customers. You cannot over communicate with your customers about the value and capabilities your company offers. This does not mean you should send endless product sheets and pitches to them. Instead you want to stay top of mind by building strong relationships with your customers and bringing them valuable insights and ideas.
- Know the Full Suite of Products and Services You Offer: Sellers know what they sell and sell what they know. Too often individual sellers know too little about your company’s full set of products and services to be able to uncover need and speak as a credible expert.
This does not mean you need to know the ins and outs of every product and service you offer. You do need to know the triggers and questions to ask to uncover needs in the areas where your company can help. Once you do this, you can bring in a colleague who works in this particular area. But it’s up to you to uncover the need and to be able to speak enough about the particular area to pique the customer’s interest.
- Implement a Process: Success with growing accounts requires a process. If you don’t have a process in place for growing accounts systematically, you’re leaving it to chance and you won’t capitalize on the vast majority of opportunities.
In my research I found that “having an effective strategic account management process” was one of the top challenges faced by average and below-average performers. In fact, they were 2.7X more likely than high performers to report this as challenging.
