May 1, 2018

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Effective Ways to Train Account Managers

Effective Ways to Train Account Managers

A communication theory exists stating that 55% is body language, 38% tonality and 7% words. World-renowned master sales strategist, Linda Clemons is one of the early pioneers on non-verbal communication including tonality. She says, “It’s not what you say or how you say it, it’s what they hear.” She also says, “Your tonality is very critical in giving emphasis to what you have to say.” 

In the B2B environment, a lot of phone work happens, and it’s important to understand that your ability to communicate effectively can reduce significantly in the absence of body language. In which case, the questions should be, “How do I master the use of my tonality and words?” And, “How can I communicate more effectively?”

New businesses looking to project their products and services on the market in a meaningful way that can generate revenue and widen their scope have no doubt come to a point where someone has to pick up a phone and call. That dreaded stage where you have to somehow share this “idea” that you had with the world. The moment where all that hard work, long hours and sleepless nights are about to be let loose! And then……….Hello…..hello? Dial tone after dial tone, “no“ after “not interested,” after “ I have no time.” From “I’ll think about it,” to “we already have one,” to “sorry we can’t put you through unless you have an appointment.” All the while your tone suffers, your attitude takes a beating and you question your confidence.

Develop The Traits of a Good Account Manager

That’s when we receive a call. That’s why our company exists. We do a lot of the legwork on behalf of our clients. We make call after call after call. We take the heat out of the kitchen. We teach our Account Managers, to control their tonality. According to this communication theory, it is the second largest part of how we communicate next to body language. Therefore, we encourage our team to have an acute focus on tone. How often can the same words be strung together but mean many different things depending on your tone? And, in how many languages is it absolutely crucial? How easy is it for you to tell how someone feels without them saying a word about it but by listening to their tone? How often have you “heard” someone smiling over the phone? Conversely, have you been able to hear a fake smile through gritted teeth? Our team also knows how to read tones. Any good sales person should be able to tell you that it’s equally important to listen to what’s not being said. 

Best Strategic Account Managers Grow Accounts 

In the B2B industry people are guarded, time poor and have too much to do. The last thing on their mind is having to listen to yet another spiel about something they don’t know they may need but don’t have time to listen to. I can tell you, however, that if he or she “likes” the sound of your voice, they’ll be more willing to lend you an ear. If you couple a “controlled” tone with a good pace, (you can call it “enthusiasm”), you can hold interest as well as create urgency. At the end of the spiel, if they “feel” like you’ve got their best interest at heart and they have a need for your services, they will be in the best position to take advantage of whatever opportunities are presented. And at the end of a closed deal or appointment, you will have mostly your tone to thank for it. Words do play a big part, obviously. You have to be able to articulate your client’s services and products to the needs and concerns of the prospect. However, if you have the wrong tone, it doesn’t matter how many words you can put together or how smart you are.

There are other key factors that play into this and have a direct affect on your tone such as mental attitude and emotional state but we’ll save that for another time. What’s important to know is that your tonality is a huge part of your selling technique and that it is also controlled by other factors that need to be checked before you begin any sales campaign.

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Client Relationships

Client Relationships

Success of any business is built upon effective client relationships. Within many service organisations this role is championed by the Account Manager.  It’s the Account Managers role to ensure that the client’s needs and objectives are exceeded by effectively managing the day-to-day requirements, while continuously developing sound strategies that add value to their clients business.

So what makes an effective Account Manager?

To be an effective Account Manager, you need to be proficient with administration, phone skills and face to face etiquette.  Being an effective communicator is central to the role.

A high level of transparency is also a key trait of all effective Account Managers.  Keeping clients abreast of campaign progression and projects instils confidence.  An excellent Account Manager is always proactively looking for ways in which to improve campaigns and extract the best possible result for their client.

Good client relationships begin and end with good communication.  When you have clear lines of communication between the parties involved in any project will undoubtedly gain mutual understanding around objectives and direction. Flowing on from this is accountability with everyone involved with the campaign or project understanding their role and taking responsibility for their part.

This is the recipe for success.

At Lead Express we strive to provide our clients with exceptional account management service.  This is central to our ongoing success.  We are committed to building enduring relationships with our clients based around open and transparent communication, while delivering exceptional results.  Talk to us today about how we can grow your business and experience the difference with Lead Express.

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The Importance of a Good Prospect List

The Importance of a Good Prospect List

When considering lead marketing activity, you need to understand exactly what your target market is and then properly identify the person in each organisation that makes a decision for your product or service.

Leverage Relationships With Different Data Companies

There’s a few ways to obtain a good prospect list, but rushing out and purchasing one from a well-known data company may not be the most effective way of achieving your desired outcome.  Consider the following points:

  • A company that only sells data lists often pushes their own data lists first and won’t necessarily have the relationships in place to specialise in your specific industry.
  • Depending on the organisation, they may have sold the same or a similar list to many different companies in the past days/weeks.  This means the decision makers on the list will often have been approached by many different companies and will often be very hardened to approach.
  • There are many different list owners that have great data but don’t have the online presence to attract your business.  Therefore you may never have the opportunity to see whether what they have could be better suited to your specific requirement.

As a lead marketing company, we have relationships with many different data companies and list owners and we often have commercial arrangements in place that can enable us to source data for you at a reduced rate.  Because we are actually performing lead generation activities on a daily basis for a range of different companies, we often have a clearer idea of which data source will best suit your needs.  We also have the ability to tailor and create lists for your specific requirement.

Build A Better Data & Prospect List – Lead Generation Strategies

Once your new data list has been sourced, there will need to continuous updating and maintenance of the data to ensure it remains accurate and constantly relevant to your sales team.  The reality is that a managed database is essential to ensuring that marketing activities, and therefore sales efforts, are all being focused towards the more appropriate people within each of the organisations with which you are interacting. When completing data analysis, we need to make sure the following information is confirmed:

  • Identifying the key decision maker and influencers
  • Accurate spelling of company name
  • Accurate spelling of decision maker and their title
  • Accurate spelling of decision maker and their title
  • Confirmation of mailing address and telephone number
  • Confirmation of key decision makers and influencers

It is critical that all lead generation efforts are being made to people who actually make (or influence) the decision for purchasing your product or service. To achieve that, you need a team of people that have considerable experience in interacting with senior business leaders and can cleverly obtain information in a natural and conversational way.  To manage the process effectively and efficiently, you will need to ensure that all information is captured and is as relevant as possible.

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