How to hire for a Key Accounts Manager?
Summary:
Key Account Managing implies that you are going to deal with a arrangement of customers who are very imperative to the association. They are
presumably the ones giving the greater part of the income. Giving them their due, by reacting to their questions and understanding their issues ought to be your topmost need.
Standard Job Description:
Key account manager is assigned to a company headquarters to oversee the account team assigned to an account. Key account management
includes sales but also includes planning and managing the full relationship between a business and its most important customers. An account manager who works in this role will engage in a variety of tasks including project management, coordination, strategic planning, relationship management, negotiation, leadership and innovative development of opportunities and keeping record of transaction of sale and purchase goods. The tasks may include working with product design and application, logistics, sales support, and marketing.
Key Job Responsibilities:
1. Develop trust relationships with a portfolio of major clients to ensure they do not turn to competition.
2. Acquire a thorough understanding of key customer needs and requirements.
3. Expand the relationships with existing customers by continuously proposing solutions that meet their objectives.
4. Ensure the correct products and services are delivered to customers in a timely manner.
5. Serve as the link of communication between key customers and internal teams.
6. Resolve any issues and problems faced by customers and deal with complaints to maintain trust.
7. Play an integral part in generating new sales that will turn into long-lasting relationships.
8. Prepare regular reports of progress and forecasts to internal and external stakeholders using key account metrics.
Ideal Candidate:
1. Experience in sales and providing solutions based on customer needs.
2. Strong communication and interpersonal skills with aptitude in building relationships with professionals of all organizational levels.
3. Excellent organizational skills.
4. Ability in problem-solving and negotiation.
Desired Education:
BSc/BA in business administration, sales or relevant field.
Certifications Associated:
Not Applicable.
Key Skills:
Sales & Marketing, Channel Management, Business Development, Key Account Management, Dealer / Distributor Development, Brand Development, Vendor Management, Procurement Management
Common Positions:
1. Client Relations Manager
2. Sales Manager
3. Account Supervisor
4. Business Development Manager
5. Customer Success Manager
Screening Questions/Assessment Parameters:
1. Which industries has the candidate worked previously?
2. Number of accounts handled?
3. Types of audience targeted?
4. Types of products sold?
5. Ticket size of the order (both in quantity and monetary terms)?
Basic Terminologies:
1. BANT. A methodology for qualifying leads in which sales reps confirm that a prospect has the budget, authority, need, and timeline to buy. If any of those factors aren’t in place, it’s unlikely that you’ll make the sale.
2. Bluebird. a bluebird is a lucrative sales opportunity that drops unexpectedly, and without much effort.
3. Deal-flow. The rate at which sales teams or individual reps obtain new leads and sales opportunities.
4. Buying signals. Cues from a prospect that they’re ready to buy. Buying signals can be either verbal (i.e., asking about price) or non-verbal (i.e., nodding and holding eye contact).
5. FAB. An acronym for “features, advantages, and benefits.” Sales reps use this three-part structure to communicate the value of their product or service.
6. Gatekeeper. A gatekeeper is someone who limits access to the decision maker.
7. Intellectual sale. As opposed to an emotional sale, an intellectual sale attempts to appeal to a prospect’s logic, and their need for a quick, affordable solution to a problem. An intellectual sale is more “business” than “personal.”
8. Positioning. Showcasing endeavors planned for characterizing an item or organization in the customer’s psyche.
9. Segment. A bit of a group of people that is focused to get a showcasing effort. You can section dependent on numerous elements including topography, segment, age, sexual orientation, industry, purchaser development and purchaser movement stage.
10. Value Proposition. The useful, passionate, and self-expressive advantages conveyed by item, administration, or brand, that offer some incentive to the client, and the justification for settling on one brand decision over another.
Industry Jargons:
1. Side selling. Selling a complementary product or service to a prospect who is using a competitor for your main product.
2. Smile and dial. Cold-calling with a cheerful, positive tone of voice—and yes, a smile.
3. MQLs. MQLs, or marketing qualified leads, refer to prospects that have demonstrated enough interest or engagement to be identified as potential customers by your marketing department.
4. SQLs. Once a marketing qualified lead has met an organization’s lead qualification criteria to determine if they’re a good customer fit, they become sales qualified leads (or, SQLs).
5. Top of the funnel (TOFU). The start of the buying process.
6. Whale (or, white whale). A prospect that has the potential to bring tremendous sales revenue to an organization.
7. Bottom of the funnel (BOFU). When a prospect enters the bottom of the sales funnel, they’re nearing the point where they will make a purchase. In other words, they have made it through higher-funnel stages like qualification, and they’re ready to be closed.
8. Emotional sale. A selling method that attempts to appeal to a buyer’s emotions, either by generating desire and excitement around the product’s benefits, or evoking negative emotions like fear and frustration—pain points that your product or service can alleviate.
9. Land and Expand. “Landing” a sale refers to the initial close, when you bring on a new customer for the first time. “Expanding” means generating even more revenue from the account by upselling or broadening the scope of the service you’re providing.
10. Sandbagging. Holding off on closing active deals once you’ve already hit your quota/commission for the month, so that you can more easily hit your numbers the following month.
Benchmark Profile:
Benchmark Profile on LinkedIn (1)
Benchmark Profile on LinkedIn (2)
Benchmark Profile on LinkedIn (3)
References:
https://resources.workable.com/key-account-manager-job-description
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Account_manager
https://www.nutshell.com/blog/sales-slang-terms/
Some of the parts have been contributed by Akshay Arora