There is an unseen natural journey your customers take for to growth. Most businesses and key account managers miss this. Once you understand what your key customers go through, the questions to ask, tactics to use and mindset to develop you will give yourself the opportunity to see unparalleled growth with your Key Customers. I share some simple ideas to help any key account manager, strategic account manager or sales leader wanting to empower your team to get even greater results.

1. The Six Critical key
Account Stages to
Get your
customers to
Growth

2. Identify where your customer is
Discover internal & external drivers
Verify what makes them behave
Develop a KAM success mindset
Agenda

3. Growth and
Greater
Profitability
Key Account Conversation
journey to growth
Action
(Work Agreed)
Preparation
(Ready)
Contemplation
(Getting
ready)
Pre
contemplatio
n (not ready)
Onboard,
nurture and
deliver

4. Stage 1: Pre-
contemplation (not
ready)
You and your client have
not discovered a need or
been challenged to think
about potential
opportunities.
Stage 2:
Contemplation
(Getting ready)
Considered what they need
and have identified a
requirement.
Stage 3: Preparation
(Ready)
Discussing your findings and
your customers desired
outcomes. You have the right
people on board at all levels.

5. Stage 4: Action
(Work agreed)
Agreed on working
together, solution in
progress and set
timeline for delivery. Stage 5: (On-board,
Nurture, Delivery)
Bringing ideas, value based
messages to increase loyalty and
future focused opportunity.
Stage 6: (Growth and
Greater Profitability)
Begin amplifying future
focused value, identified
future needs, challenges and
opportunities aligned with your
customers objectives.

6. Where are you
with your
Customers???

7. What are the
core services
all your
clients need?
How do you and
can you deliver
unexpected
value for your
customers?
How well do
your
customers
know you,
your
business
and
services?
What assumptions
have you made
about your
customers that
maybe preventing
you from asking
different
questions?
What Stage is your client in?
Where are you now? What and how do you move each client to the next level?

8. Criteria questions that will help you move your
customers to a different stage
What questions haven’t you
asked your client that could
help you meet your goals?
Why would your
customer buy from you
now rather than later?
If not now what needs
to change for them and
you? What does urgency
look like for them?
What don’t you know
about their decision
process, the emotion
behind their decisions
and the people that will
move you to the next
stage? How would their
current buying
behaviour impact the
decision process?

9. Criteria questions that will help you move your
customers to a different stage
What other influencers
have I not identified
whether external and
internal that could help me
move things forward? Who
needs to be invited to the
conversation?
Have I determined the extent of their
commitment and interest to buying
from me? How do you know? What is the
best way to do this? (Have you
uncovered all risk to purchase of your
product/service?)

10. Key Account
Customer
Drivers

11. 5 Main Key Customer
Drivers you need to know
Profit (Generate more revenue, reduce cost & increase profit)
Profession (Help them deliver, grow & rise in their role)
Process (Increase their operational effectiveness &
productivity)
Prestige (Help raise their market & customer profile)
Pain (Help them develop strategies to solve present & future problems

12. Discover

13. 4 key customer growth triggers
Areas in your customer relationships that show up for growth?
1
2
3
4
Capacity (Is your customer growing?)
Regularity (Is their healthy & frequent communication?)
Relationships (Do you have trusted advocates,
influencers and champions in key strategic places?)
Value (Do you have acknowledged and superior value that can
deliver greater results for your customer today and in the next 6-
12 months)

15. Business goals
Their position/experiences
Decision making behavior
Buying history and existing opportunities
Education – What have they assumed about your services
Emotion – What is the driving emotion in your customers organisation
Influencers – What people impacts the way your customers thinks
about decisions both internally and externally
Timing – What is happening in your customers world today
Risk – What blocks might there be to decisions today or in 6-12
months
Verify Your Customers

16. MINDSET

17. 1. Think long term but
execute short term.
Eight KAM Success Mindset 1-4
2. Convert all known and
unrecognised benefits to
your customers into business
outcomes.
3. Every
conversation is a
competitive
advantage to deliver
value and grow
relationships.
4. Pay weekly
attention to the
shifting priorities
of your
customers.

18. Eight KAM Success Mindset 5-8
5. Involve your clients
in your value creation.
6. Make friends with
everyone but invest in a
few.
7. Never give an answer
when you can ask
another question.
8. Get obsessed
with the journey of
your customer in
the selling and
nurturing process.

19. What Next?

20. Identify where your customer is
Discover internal & external drivers
Verify what makes them behave
Develop a KAM success mindset
SUMMARY

21. Resources to help you
Strategy
Growth
Communication
Sales
Partnerships
Tools

22. Get all resources
and more to take
your customer
Growth to the
next level
Join my mailing list @
www.jermaineedwards.com