Key Account Management : Magic portion ingredients to drive successful Account Management

Being a key account manager the most part of my career has made me dwell on what are the key take aways that makes you a successful in an account. Have experiences in varied industries and verticals I would like to pen down my thoughts on what would be some of the key attributes in handling account, be it large or small. In today's volatile business environment, customers are looking towards their partners to find value to shore up their own performance.

So if you have acquired a customer, then Account Management and bringing the right practices would not only enable revenue growth, but also foster partnerships that embed log term success and potential to expand in the existing client account.

Here are a few Account Management lessons I have learnt in my career and I hope it helps the person who is reading this. What are the ingredients in the magic portion to make it work!! Here goes

• KYC – Know your customer in and out. Map hierarchies and influencers in the account. No one is too small or insignificant to be mapped. You never know who can bring you or get you introduced to the next big opportunity in the Account.
• Don’t put off – Never put off a meeting or an interaction because the account is under stress due to some issues. This creates a pile-on effect and you come across as a fair-weather person. Conversations that need to be done, should be irrespective of the situation at hand.
• Personal connect – 90% of up-selling is by having a good relationship. Relationships are built on personnel connect. The personal touch always stand you in good stead in building a conversation that is mutually beneficial
• Reliable and proactive – Always be there for the customer. Covey information proactively to avid difficult conversations afterwards. Your being promote is always appreciated by the customer. If there are things to be addressed, they are done and taken off the table immediately by being proactive.
• Communicate – Communication is key. You must be articulate and concise in your messaging. Nobody like to read long drawn emails which are often neatly written excuses. When talking about delivery always mention timelines.
• Talk to everybody, all the time, about everything – In an account there are different people handling portfolios. We often end up talking only pieces relevant to our stake holder portfolio, but often they may be privy to larger conversations beyond their departments. Having a broader conversation always helps pull in these opportunities which are often outliers.
• Play the person, not the game – Focus on the stake holder behavior keenly. Understand this gives you an advantage on how to manage conversation and expectation. But make sure you never take undue advantage, rather use the understanding to create positive outcomes.
• Be interesting and interested – For the other person to show interest in you, you must take an interest in them. Be engaging by talking not only work but other related topics. Take cues from customer interaction, social media post and share your relatable interest. This magnifies the relationship beyond work.
• It's all your fault – Success has a hundred fathers. Take ownership of both success and failures in your account. You will earn the respect of your stake holder when you do this. Being around in good times and disappearing or hiding behind management during crisis does not bode well for the trust you have built.
• Always tell the truth, or a version of the truth – You cannot get away with blatant lies just to accommodate the situation. But many a times you also cannot give the truth, so stick to a version as close to truth as possible. This makes it easier to get to the truth if you must rather than do a volte-face.
• Always remember it's show business – Account management is also entertainment. You must be at your creative best to keep your stakeholders engaged and hooked on.
• If you know, talk. If you don't know, say so – It is very important that you know when to shut up and when to contribute. Often in your eagerness to contribute to a conversation you tend to opine on subject that you have no clue about, do not succumb to FOMO and get stuck with foot in your mouth.
• Don't ever do an important meeting alone – If you have a meeting scheduled with senior management or an escalation, make sure you do not go alone and involve the right people from your organization. This will show intent and seriousness from your organization.
• You must sell internally too – Account management is not only up-selling and cross selling with your client. You have to do the same thing within your organization so that they service your account with more conviction and interest.
• Pick the battles you can win – Sometimes you do not have to win every battle. You either pick your battles or live to fight another day. You do not need to be on the winning side all the time. On occasions it is strategic to loose.

Let me know your thoughts. Do this help ? Do you think you can add more ingredients here ?