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0:00
Hello. My name's Kenneth
Le Meunier-FitzHugh.
In this session, I'll
be talking about
relationship selling and
key account management.
0:12
In this session,
we'll look at how
relationship selling
has been changing in
B2B sales, and we'll look
at the ultimate relationship
- the key account.
0:25
We'll consider the relationships
between buyers and
sellers and think about
what buyers require from
their interaction with
the selling organisations,
and what the seller can deliver.
Selling organisations need
to decide how they wish
to interact with their B2B
customer and customer groups.
This allows them to manage
the relationship in
a way that provides
value to both parties.
Salespeople must ensure that
they can identify the type of
relationship/interaction
that the customer needs,
and this allows them to
align their message
and activities to
the customer's
requirements, so they can
fulfil or exceed the
customer's expectations.
1:08
Relationship selling has been
recognised as a key component
to business growth.
Researchers have evaluated
different types of
buyer-seller relationships to
consider how these can be
used to increase sales.
Supplier relationship
orientation allows
suppliers to view their
customer engagement
as a positive step that helps to
motivate them to invest
their time in helping
the customer.
Buyers see the importance of
engaging with the
supplier over time to
understand what is
critical to success
in their own
company's performance
and what needs to change.
Recent research has
focused on building
relationships at an early
stage of the sales process,
as it provides suppliers
with opportunities to align
with the customer sales
process and build more value.
Research has highlighted
that building trust with
a prospective customer is
also critical to
ongoing relationships,
as without this trust,
a partnership and
value-cocreation cannot exist.
Salespeople are
frequently considered as
a trusted adviser in that
they are believed to be
a component that have
integrity and a rapport
that allows them to maintain
a positive customer focus
and keep their promises.
Trust may be viewed
from two perspectives:
active, based on
performance; and passive,
absence of worry.
The significance
of this is that uncertainty
or misconceptions can
be countered through
communications from a
trusted salesperson.
Salespeople should
focus their effort
on building strong
relationships with
higher performing customers
and new prospects
that can offer longer
lifetime value and profits.
