This article was written to help answer the ultimate sales question, “How can we win a lot more deals?” In order to find the answer, Ron started by addressing the questions, “Why do we win and why do we lose?” Each of these points were taken from a library of thousands of win loss sales debriefs and compiled into performance rankings.
8. Fail to do your homework.
Another criterion associated with the Strategic Account Manager that had a negative gap was understanding and addressing the customer’s business needs. As with responsiveness, meeting the business needs of the customer was more often noticed when something went wrong. In these cases, account managers damaged their chances of a success when they failed to take the time to research the customer’s industry, company and particular situation. As one respondent commented, the first step to understanding the business needs of a customer is asking the right questions:
“I sat down with [Company 1] and said, ’Here are the 17 technical things that I am concerned about.’ They came back and asked more questions to understand how we do business and then gave me responses, whereas when I sat down with [Company 2], they said, ’Yes we can do that,‘ and I just didn't feel that same comfort that it was really taking the time to understand how we do business.”
By choosing not to take the time to fully understand the needs and requirements of the customer, an account manager can ensure that his or her organization will not be selected, or that there will be major problems later on if the company is selected. On the other hand, account managers who do their homework about the needs of the customer and the problems it faces can address those issues directly, reinforcing the value of the offering.
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