The CEO, Profit-Sales-Call Formula:

1. Do a customer profitability ranking.
2. Personally call on the #1 (or few) most profitable accounts.
3. Use your title to win audiences with higher ranked folks reps don’t get to see.
4. Have maximum account information and pre-written, best questions in advance if need be.
5. Besides saying “thanks” and “showing the flag” have these goals:
   1. To do an immediate (or pitched for) “audit” of the buy-sell, inter-business process that has evolved between you: so far, un-managed and un-tuned. Find inefficiencies to fix with your people and dime. The account’s profits over-justify the investment.
   2. Improve the customer’s profits by the reduction of their “soft costs”. Find ways to consolidate small, frequent – line and invoice – purchases that also cost the customer recurring – downtime, expediting and emergency small order- costs. (You will save matching service-activity costs!)
   3. Find, deserve and win more share of sales.

6. Have faith that:
   1. Inefficiencies exist between the department silos at big accounts.
   2. If no competitor has done this formula first, you will find weeds.
   3. Simple, low-cost fixes will lower both parties “soft costs”.
   4. There is more sales volume to be had in spite of what the rep has been told/thinks.

Case Results: 100 to 1500% Returns

From both personal experiences and CEO reports, I have many great-to-fantastic stories to share. The costs for inefficiency fixes are typically a few thousand dollars. The profit improvements range from 50 to 300%. (On top of previous-year profits of $20-150K at profit margins from 5-14% of sales.) The first-year ROIs alone -for the cost of fixes – range from 100 to 1500%.

1. How can I get case-study smarter before my first audit call?
2. I always find fixes, but how do I get the Reps on these accounts to follow through? (They can’t for lack of: time, new needed skills and discretionary expense dollars. You need a new selling process model. See support notes.)
3. Help me define a new “enterprise account selling process” that scales. I want branch and sales managers to spearhead these audit calls for more big accounts.

For Some Answers

Hit this link for a makeshift syllabus 1.0 that includes short video-clips and reads. Then, take key accounts to the next level.