9 Habits of Highly Successful Key Account Managers

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page Send by Email

Habit 9: Succeed

Not surprisingly highly Successful Key Account Managers are customer centric. In their own words they ‘put the customer first’. They want to understand what the customer (stakeholder) is trying to achieve. Their focus is on ensuring the success of the customer, at whatever level that may be (e.g. project, function, facility, etc.).

Key Account Managers are advocates for the customer within their own organization and that sometimes means arbitrating between the internal requirements and procedures of their own organizations and the needs of the customer.

Key Account Managers are acutely aware that ‘suppliers come and go’. They know that you ‘cannot live on their laurels for long’ and that ensuring a high level of service, ongoing innovation and improvement is a continual necessity. They aim to not just meet but exceed the customer’s expectations. Moreover they are continually looking for ways to increase their value to the customers – this is key to their strategy for up-selling and cross-selling.

Key Account Managers review performance with their customer and solicit feedback on an ongoing basis. They are not content to wait for the customer to conduct their own internal supplier, or project reviews. They are conscious of the need to continually reinforce their value and to communicate the results that they have helped the customer to achieve.

Key account managers are not just content to manage their account, they actively seek to develop them too.

——-

*In referring to the 9 Habits of Highly Successful Key Account Managers We are of course borrowing the title from Stephen Covey’s powerful book from the 1990s ‘The Habits of Highly Effective Managers’ which is a great read.