The choice between "bottom tier" selling and "top tier" selling is likely to determine future sales strategies. Investing most money, time and human resources at the top tier of management decision makers, where key account selling takes place, seems to be the obvious choice.

Bottom tier selling is price selling. It is high-cost, low margin selling. It is adversarial selling, fielding the persuasiveness of (potentially aggressive) sales specialists, against the defensiveness of purchasers. A 'win for one' scenario - not an ideal situation for any one.

Approximately 80 percent of most companies' sales volume takes place in this bottom tier of the sales process. Yet it only accounts for as little as 20 percent or less of all profits, quite disproportionate to the effort expended.

The top tier is another world. Here, around 20 percent of a company's total volume can contribute as much as 80 percent of profits on sales. This is the arena of key account selling. Usually, the make-or-break part of the sales function.

In an increasing number of industries, the combination of increasing sales costs and shrinking margins has made selling in the bottom tier a 'cost-ineffective' exercise. Sellers can no longer afford complete market coverage with comprehensive product lines, selling volume products or services to anyone and everyone at break-even prices. The sales function can no longer afford to work for the manufacturing process. Nor can the sales function continue to subsidize armies of ' old time' sales representatives who practice outdated selling methods in an attempt to establish distinctions between their commodity-type offerings and the very similar offerings of competitors.

Top-tier selling is value-based selling. The value of products, services, or systems that are sold make a positive impact on a customer's business, measurable at the bottom line. Asking price is directly linked to the customer's added value, enabling margins to be high when customer value is high. Sellers and buyers consult on how the values can be implemented. They share their common knowledge of the customer's business problems that they can solve together, along with the opportunities they can help to create and achieve. They partner with each other. Consequently, both gain new knowledge, new opportunity to implement it, and new profits. Both seek a common objective - to improve their profits. Customer's earnings and seller's margins depend on this mutual collaboration, made possible by a trusting relationship between professionals.

Success of sales organisations today depends on how they manage the 20% of their sales functions that contribute 80% of their profits. They need to train and develop key account professionals, capable of managing this crucial function. Companies who continue to play the two-tier game by applying the traditional selling tactics of the bottom tier and expect sales teams to be effective at both will be doomed to failure.


How can you achieve the results you need?

This new century has seen more and more professional companies concentrating on top tier selling as a corporate growth strategy. We have studied and developed Key Account Management development for over 20 years and recommend and advise upon the creation of a culture for key account selling that is separate and very distinct from traditional selling. We encourage the development of a trained sales force, capable of meeting clear corporate standards, supported by a dedicated customer service team, recruited, trained and managed to implement the culture.

'Consultative Selling'

Consultative selling is essential to successful Key Account Management. Everyone in the organisation has to buy into this culture and meet professional standards of competence to match product and service quality. Sales professionals and their support teams who practice this, regularly demolish competitors who try to compete with traditional selling skills. When they have technically superior products and sell them in a consultative, profit-improving manner they always win. Imagine Accrington Stanley playing against Manchester United, no contest! The professional footballer uses strategy and tactics to get into the goal area and seems to do it effortlessly. Similarly, the key account professional is usually to be found in the boardroom, while the amateurs are operating less effectively in the back office.

It's the ability of key players to understand the customer's business and work alongside them. It's about the personal relationships between customer and supplier. It's about people making things happen. Working together to achieve common goals.

Customers know that it's profit, not products, they must acquire. What benefit is a supplier's technical superiority unless it can be translated into bottom line profit? We don't want your technology, they say. That's your cost. We want its impact on our business. That's our profit. This culture of consultative, key account selling and managing, has evolved through practical application and experience. We have observed and assessed professionals in the field and absorbed their culture. We have taught and practiced the skills, monitored their implementation and audited the outcomes.

Three Major Components

Consultative selling skills is one of three main components of a comprehensive key account penetration system. The second component, of equal importance, is an industry-dedicated key account database. This acts as the Customer Relationship Management partner to the key account professional.

Thirdly, in support of a consultative penetration approach is a key account planning process on an account-by-account basis, treating each major customer as an individual market. Included in the process is a review procedure to make certain that all opportunities are identified and no doors are left open to competitive challenge.

That's it! Consultative selling, customer databasing, and an account penetration and planning process - these are the three interlocking components of a key account penetration system. They provide everything you need to make the maximum penetration into that valuable 'top tier' of customers, where 80% of your profitable sales can be found.

What makes a Key Account Star Salesperson?

But what about the people who make things happen? What common factors, if any, do they share with their successful counterparts? They will always emerge consistently top of the sales leader board. They win the competitions, earn the most commission, and achieve success in every situation = Winners (!) and that's what we create.

Key Account Management for Sales Professionals

Brief synopsis of our in house (off site) workshop contents, tailored specifically to accommodate your organisations objectives and meet your requirements: -

CRM The Most Important Factor

CRM – Customer Relationship Management, a popular buzz term now, but what is it?

This workshop session covers “relationship selling” i.e. how to recognise and respond to customer personality types and communicate in their language.

We use profiling tools to study behavioural styles of different types of customer, enabling candidates to speed up the process of relationship building in key accounts, particularly at senior management level - where they need to be!
This practical approach is supported by real life case studies from diverse Key Account Management experiences.

Effective Strategic Planning

• Where are we now? (with the account)
• Where do we want to be?
• By when?
• How are we going to get there?
• How will we measure progress?
• Practical planning sessions take the form of syndicate exercises in small groups, each led by an experienced trainer.