January 9, 2021 1 minute read
Richard Wright
Managing Director at ASPIRE Account Management
As most of us believe the business world will never be the same again after Covid-19 we speculate different scenarios as to what might be. However, there's little doubt that the pool of clients and prospects will inevitably be smaller and winning new business much harder and more competitive.
Hence the need to work with greater productivity, delivering on time to the required level of quality with consistency across all clients and performing risk management activities throughout. Failure to do so will be disastrous, resulting in clients lost to the competition; clients who’ll have much greater 'value' post Covid.
However, although the business environment is likely to change significantly over time, the basic principles & processes of business best practice will remain, being even more important than before.
So, the first priority will clearly be for suppliers to retain existing clients as well as current prospects for new business even if they’ve been a pain to deal with in the past, damaged your profit margin or put you under unreasonable pressure - conversely, they may now be pleased to hear from you, maybe they used to take the credit for your efforts and now feel very vulnerable.
In order for suppliers and clients to develop compatible business relationships, it’s absolutely vital that the client’s culture & psyche, and the supplier’s values & ethos, are understood and accepted by both parties. If contractual obligations are also being fulfilled, the chances of synergy and harmony will significantly improve.
To explore this and many other aspects of account management further, I aim to write a series of posts which I hope will be of value and appropriate for the type & size of your client, prospect and target organisations. Future posts will include:
Good Client, Bad Client! (understanding your clients)
So, You Call That A Culture! (supplier values, ethos & image)
Have They Really Been Fully Empowered? (supplier account manager)
Do You Really Need That Order? (sales opportunity qualification)
What Sort Of Performance Was That! (account performance reviews)
As these posts will be geared to anyone engaged in developing new business with clients or prospects, and for ease of context, I’ll regard all readers as account managers as everyone has the same endgame, no offence!
I really hope you, your colleagues & business associates find value in these posts; please let me know either way. Please also get in touch if you think there might be potential for our businesses to collaborate.
NEXT POST: Good Client, Bad Client!
Best Practice Rule 1 of 25: “as nothing is more important than the client relationship, everyone must understand, accept & comply with the client’s culture at all times”
Mission Statement: "As the new business world emerges, enable suppliers to minimise risk in all that they do with particular focus on client retention, increased productivity & business growth"
ASPIRE Account Management at manageanyclient.com
25 modules, 1500 checks & tips - best practice at its practical best