A successful key account management strategy should focus on three core pillars:

Relationships. You don’t want relationships… you need influential relationships. Connecting with senior level executives and influential stakeholders is vital to earn credibility and trust, remove roadblocks, secure budgets and get decisions made.

Revenue. Value creation should not come at the expense of profit. White space and gap analysis reveals where your clients challenges are, how your services can solve them and the best way to position an irresistible value proposition.

Retention. 70% of revenue comes from existing customers. Long term strategic plans establish you as a strategic partner and capture planning reduces the threat of competitors and ensures you continue to meet your clients needs long into the future.

Here’s some questions to ask yourself:

How easily are you able to convince your client to make decisions? Do you have a plan to expand the reach of your networks? What would happen if your main point of contact left or a new procurement manager joined your client’s organisation? Any risks?

What’s the return on investment on your client related activities? Are you creating mutual value that also generates revenue and improves profitability? Is your account management solution operating at a loss, cost-neutral or profitable? Are you happy with your level of upsell, cross-sell and expansion?

Are you satisfied with your client retention? How many clients have contracts expiring in the next 18 months? What’s your win rate on RFP’s? Do you know why your clients stay… and why they leave?  Are you certain your clients’ aren’t talking to your competitors? Do you have clear plans to secure your clients not just this year, or next year, but for years to come?

Were there any questions you couldn’t answer?