I’ve had many conversations lately about movement in the marketplace.  Personally, I’ve been taking calls all week from business leaders moving forward on initiatives they’ve been sitting on for months.  Customers are making moves, looking for solutions and ready to move forward.  I love it!  I can feel it in the air. 

This week our focus has been on treating our existing customers like the gold that they are.  Salespeople need to be proactive to ensure they stay part of the customer team as they forge ahead.  One way to do that is to be visibly accountable.  This means that salespeople need to proactively manage themselves so the client doesn’t have to.  There are a few ways to do this.

First of all, set up a process for regular business reviews.  I believe these should be conducted quarterly and formally.  This means there should be a formal agenda that covers:

• A review of the original scope of work.
• The actual scope of work – what’s changed (something always does!) and what adjustments have been made.  This topic ensures everyone is on the same page with the way the partnership has evolved.
• The successes and shortfalls.  How to make the most of the successes and how to adjust to fix the shortfalls.
• An updated Needs Analysis. Find out what has changed in their business, priorities, etc. Uncover new opportunities.
• Next steps/Action Items

Customers should leave these business reviews feeling great about their investment with you.  They don’t need to micromanage the partnership, you are doing that for them.

Secondly, get to know new people in the account regularly.  Ask to speak to people who are impacted by or work with your solutions.  Find out what they like, what they don’t, etc.  Make sure they have your contact information.  You are probably the only one talking to all involved!  You will have an amazing perspective and be able to bring useful ideas to the table based on these relationships.  Not to mention, your name will be mentioned in many conversations as if you are part of the team!

Then, provide regular emailed updates to senior decision makers.  Often, once an account is won, the more senior decision makers move on to the next priority leaving functional people to manage the relationship.  Often, the salesperson’s relationship with the real decision makers is harder to maintain and grow.  To keep developing that relationship, send an update once a month or every 6 weeks hitting the highlights of recent events and successes.  (You may be amazed at the places these emails will get forwarded.) They will appreciate it, feel informed and see you as a true partner and you’ll keep developing this important relationship.

Another way to stay visibly accountable is to put your bosses in front of the client regularly.  Bring them to quarterly business reviews or other meetings.   Make sure the client sees that your senior leadership team is aware of the work your companies do together.  They will feel supported and important when they see the team behind you. 

Demonstrate to your clients how important they are by holding yourself accountable in plain sight.  They will see you as a valuable team member who takes initiative and ownership of results.  You’ll be a dream employee they won’t want to see go. 

To get sales team meeting agendas designed to develop your sales team and accelerate sales performance, visit Meeting to Win (http://www.meetingtowin.com/) and subscribe for weekly agendas.  We love to work with Sales Managers who see the value of investing in their teams!