There is a lot of great business to business sales content available on a weekly basis. I often find that it much of the B2B sales strategy content is targeted at large and medium sized organizations. This was the case with an interesting article from the Harvard Business on Key Account Management. Sometimes articles like these overcomplicate things for growing firms. I have created my own list with tips for B2B key account management for startups.
Set-up review sessions
Set-up semi-annual or annual review sessions with your accounts. Review the good and the need for improvement. Using metrics and quantifiable information is often the best. This is an excellent opportunity to get feedback from the client outside of the regular day to day; it is also a good time to talk about future solutions or features you will be adding. If you have smaller accounts, do it over the phone versus in person.
Connect with your key account contacts
There are often a key or a couple key contacts within the account. Connect with them on Linkedin, Twitter, and with email newsletters. Are they opening your emails? Have they taken a new position? Are they commenting on a business pain? Information from these tools can help update you to what is going on with your key contacts. My blog post from Social Media Week in Toronto has some tips.
Get wider and deeper in the account
Try and connect with other contacts within your key accounts. Wider refers to across to new business or functional areas. Deeper refers to getting higher within the accounts. This could help you find new opportunities and also protect your business if a key contact leaves. If a contact moves to a new organization that could open up opportunity at the existing account if they were a road block or if they were a great ally then there could be an opportunity at the new account.
Use a customer relationship management (CRM) system
A CRM will help organize your contact with the account. The emails, calls, meetings, issues, and resolutions are all important examples of interactions with the account and key contacts. This will allow your organization to be proactive with accounts based on your interactions. A recent blog from VA Partners explains why our organization should be using a CRM.
Often the easiest path to new revenue is with existing accounts. These simple key account steps you should build better relationships with your Key Account. That should lead to happier customers and more consistent revenue. Connect with VA Partners on Twitter to get great B2B sales, marketing, and social media updates targeted for startups.
