WHAT IS ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT?

As most of us believe the business world will never be the same again after Covid-19 we speculate different scenarios as to what might be. However, there's little doubt that the pool of clients and prospects will inevitably be smaller and winning new business much harder and more competitive.

Hence the need to work with greater productivity, delivering on time to the required level of quality with consistency across all clients and performing risk management activities throughout. Failure to do so will be disastrous, resulting in clients lost to the competition; clients who’ll have much greater 'value' post Covid.

However, although the business environment is likely to change significantly over time, the basic principles & processes of account management will always remain, being more important than ever before.

So, the first priority will clearly be for suppliers to retain existing clients and prospects even if they’ve been a pain to deal with in the past, damaged your profit margin or put you under unreasonable pressure - conversely, they may now be very pleased to hear from you, maybe they used to take the credit for your efforts and now feel vulnerable.

Also, as Client organisations have become more and more knowledgeable about how and what their Suppliers are delivering to them, the importance of the relationship between the two parties has become crucial in modern business. Strong and healthy business relationships and maximising financial performance & growth invariably result from adopting Account Management & Development best practice.

In order for suppliers and clients to develop compatible business relationships, it’s absolutely vital that the client’s culture & psyche, and the supplier’s values & ethos, are understood and accepted by both parties.

In addition, the need for consistency across all Clients and Prospects is particularly important regarding continuity of working practices when there are changes in personnel (especially if there is a change in Account Manager).

So, what is Client Account Management really?

I think it best to have two levels of definition for each of the 3 long-term mission objectives:

LEVEL 1

to retain, expand & manage Client business in a controlled & measured way in order to maximise revenue & profit growth.
to develop & maintain business relationships at all levels of the Client organisation based on co-operation, trust and personal integrity.
to proactively demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement in all areas of Account Management.

LEVEL 2

to ensure every output is delivered on time & to the required level of quality and that Client satisfaction remains paramount at all times.
to develop & maintain teamwork where both sets of people (Supplier & Client) work together with openness, commitment & pride.
to ensure standard working practices & procedures are followed wherever possible and that all areas of performance are regularly reviewed and improvements made as appropriate.

The heart of your Account Management & Development process will be the Account File. This File accommodates all the information associated with your Company's activities for a particular Account in addition to comprehensive information regarding the Client. A summary of Account File components makes the scope easier to understand:

Mission Statement
Account Manager
Account Background & History
Client Overview
Client Profile (inc market, business, structure/organisation, people, procurement, suppliers & their own Competition)
Current Position, Scope & Objectives
Account Blueprint (inc strategy, goals/targets, the Competition & SWOT analysis)
Delivery Performance (inc financials, balanced scorecard & issues)
Sales & Marketing (inc orders won & lost, current opportunities, qualification, propositions & pricing)
Account Progress Reviews with the Client (of the Account, not deliverables)
Satisfaction Surveys
Reference Site visits
Risk Management
Contracts, Service Level Agreements, etc

Critical Success Factors

nothing is more important than the Client relationship and understanding their culture
teamwork, commitment & pride are the keys to Client satisfaction
the Account Manager is pivotal to success or failure; their appointment is the most important decision
your Company's values, ethos and image will be the foundation for business excellence
the Balanced Scorecard is the only tool which enables you to establish exactly where you are and what needs to change in order to stay on course
Client Contact Management is the vehicle for developing key business relationships at every level throughout the Client organisation
anyone engaging with the Client must be absolutely clear on what is expected of them regarding knowledge, professionalism and output
inadequate qualification of sales opportunities can have disastrous financial consequences and a very damaging effect on morale

Best Practice Quote 1 of 12: “as nothing is more important than the client relationship, everyone must understand, accept & comply with the client’s culture at all times”

To explore the key components of Client Account Management, 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? (today)
Understanding Your Clients
Values, Ethos & Image
The Account Manager
Client Relationship Management
Client Contact Management
Sales Propositions & Opportunities
Sales Opportunity Qualification
Balanced Scorecard
Client Account Performance Reviews
Client Satisfaction Surveys
Risk Management

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.

NEXT POST: Understanding Your Clients (& vice versa!)

20+ components of Client Account Management can be found at ASPIRE Account Management together with over 300 free checks & tips - all of which aim to significantly improve supplier performance and block the competition.

ASPIRE Account Management

25 modules, 1500 checks & tips - best practice at its practical best

ASPIRE Mission Statement: "As the new business world emerges, enable suppliers to minimise risk in all that they do with particular focus on client retention, increased productivity & business growth”