Corporate manager responsibilities. Attracting corporate clients: what kind of clients are they and how to attract them? The success of CRM in working with corporate clients

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A good market seller does not sell snow to Eskimos. He does not seek to receive one-time money, he seeks to receive constant profit from all transactions that the client will make for the next 100 years

This is what one of the well-known Russian marketing publications writes. And this statement is most relevant when working with corporate clients.

Who are corporate clients?

In the modern market, corporate clients (definition) are legal entities, organizations or enterprises that purchase a product/service in several copies at once. Let's say such a client buys not one computer, but 5 or 10 at once. For most commercial companies, they constitute the main component of the business.

If there are not enough customers, the company may not survive in the harsh market conditions.

A truly competent manager understands well: if he doesn’t find a client today, tomorrow his competitors will, and all the profit will go to them.

In order to avoid such a prospect, entire programs are being developed on how to find corporate clients, how to attract them and how to keep them in your company.

This task is not easy, but quite doable. First of all, it is necessary to specifically understand: a corporate client is a narrowly focused concept and being able to work with it is an entire art. First of all, a corporate client manager must understand the criteria for attracting such people: the degree of interest in the product or service and the financial capabilities of the person or company.

How to find corporate clients for a company easily and effectively?

A new enterprise, as a rule, is not known to many people. And the main task is to solve the issue of how to attract corporate clients. There are several ways to do this, and the manager’s task is to study each one.

Electronic trading platforms. Systematic analysis of electronic resources allows you to significantly expand the search for corporate clients. There is a special program that helps managers track any changes in data, conduct various monitoring on the necessary web resources and respond to them in a timely manner.
Thematic exhibitions. In resolving this issue, special attention is paid to various thematic exhibitions, where both clients and customers come together. Here, work with corporate clients should be quickly and competently organized in the form of processing business cards, which interested people leave for further communication. This type of work can be carried out without attending the event, only by looking through exhibition catalogs.
Well-organized advertising. Advertising is handled in the company by the corporate clients department, which is looking for its clients for cooperation. All types of advertising are used here: television, radio, street advertising, Internet advertising. The most convenient forms of advertising are its electronic versions, since in this case it is easy to quickly make any changes and make a rating or monitor changes. These could be newspapers, magazines, catalogs (all electronic), where large corporate clients leave their advertisements about their desire to cooperate or contact information. You can also use help desks. Most organizations engaged in a certain type of activity enter all the contact information necessary for the company.
A good base of corporate clients will play a fairly significant role in the work. If you don’t have your own, there is always the opportunity to buy it from a competitive company. But, by and large, from the first days of a business’s existence, a competent manager organizes the compilation of his potential client base, which will help in further advancement in the market.
Attracting corporate clients is a serious matter. You can rely on the responses of old acquaintances (if they are not competitors). In addition, all kinds of social contacts are suitable. Even the use of rumors and gossip can be put in the right direction. A sales manager for corporate clients of a company's product must use any effective method.

What are the benefits of attracting corporate clients?

Finding and attracting corporate clients is only half the battle. We also need to work with them correctly, because corporate clients are a large part of the company’s profit. But the forms of working with them differ significantly from the methods of working with individuals. This requires a special approach and originality, the meaning of which is:

Correct offer of service/product. Practically, all advertising is designed for the average person, and company employees are already middle managers or top managers. How can you make your proposal for corporate clients sound right? You need to call or write. In other words, competently organize a system of corporate mailings and cold calls (telemarketing).
A transaction that is carried out not by one person, but by several at once, both on the part of the customer and on the part of the client. Therefore, servicing corporate clients in this case is not just a fact of sale, but a fact of successful sale. And since a group of people cooperates at once, powers must be correctly distributed among them. And only then will the company have a successful deal, and the manager will be able to monitor the work of his employees.

It is very good to develop original methods for selling goods to corporate clients for your company. After all, the hard part is not finding a company, but making it your client. And in this matter, it is important to make an impression, achieve cooperation, speak competently about the company’s work, and offer gifts to corporate clients. In general, do everything a qualified manager can do for the prosperity of his company.

Working with corporate clients and working with individuals have significant differences. These are two different areas of activity, and serving corporate clients requires a special approach.

If in the B2C sector the customer is one person, then the corporate client belongs to the B2B sector - this is a whole company, and the product needs to be sold not to one person, but to a large organization.

There are several descriptions of corporate clients, for example, I. Rybkin in his book “Active Search for Corporate Clients” writes the following: “The difference in the search for corporate clients and individuals is due to the presence of different interests in completing a transaction. The latter have only one interest - personal. The client - an individual - always pays his money. When working with legal entities, several interests are always involved: - interests of the organization related to making a profit; - the interest of people participating in the implementation of contracts; - interest of competing organizations. Therefore, concluding an agreement with a corporate client is influenced by many different interests and factors. Their mutual influences must be taken into account. At the same time, we should not exclude the option that our potential client could be a private entrepreneur or the direct owner of a company, here on the one hand the work is simplified, and we work with this client as with a retail one, but we also must not forget that he pursues the interests of the company."

A. Barysheva in her work identifies three important differences between corporate clients and retail clients:

“The main task of a corporate client is to make the work of their organization more efficient (profitable, productive, competitive, etc.). At the same time, all procurement decisions are made by ordinary people with ordinary human needs (work less, get more, stand out in the eyes of their superiors, grow professionally, make their own work comfortable, etc.). Therefore, it is more difficult to work with a corporate client. Good selling requires us to understand not only the personal interests of the individual with whom we are negotiating, but also the interests of the organization that he represents. If we sell coconuts to wholesalers, we must be sure that they can sell them to the Eskimos at a profit. This approach requires us to collect detailed information about the client's business.

Since the needs of the organization are directly or indirectly related to economic indicators, concluding contracts with corporate clients is more logical than emotional. This provides more opportunities for the use of logical argumentation and specific numerical indicators. In order to take advantage of these benefits, we need to better understand the client's business.

A corporate client’s company is a living organism where various interests intertwine, interact and compete. It is very important that the decision to conclude a deal is usually made not at the negotiating table between the direct customer and the seller, but precisely in the absence of the sales manager: at a meeting, in an informal conversation at the dinner table, in a smoking room. In order to involve all decision makers on our issue, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the client's business.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to study the business of a corporate client. I would like to make a reservation that everything depends on the size of the transaction and the service that the company offers.”

S. Minnet in his book “BtoB Marketing” points to a more rational approach of corporate clients: “Corporate purchasing is carried out within organizations, while the behavior of individual consumers when purchasing products and services of interest to them is based solely on their personal considerations or on considerations which are produced by very small and informal groups, such as a family or a married couple. Consumers of technology-driven products are likely to ask themselves, “Will this product perform as promised?”, while consumers of fashion-driven products are likely to ask, “Does this product deliver on the specifications?” my lifestyle, and to what extent will it convey these features to the people whose opinion is important to me?” Often they want to compare (even at a minimal level) the product they are interested in with similar products from competing companies, in terms of these objective criteria.

The difference with technology products is obvious: corporate buyers very often set precise and explicit criteria for the quality of the product they are interested in before making a purchase.” This is not a complete list of the differences between a corporate and retail client.

As a summary, we can say that a corporate customer is one person or group that satisfies the needs of an organization by purchasing or ordering something, while spending the company's money and having to account for it. Where, in addition to the interests of the company, there are interpersonal relationships and interests.

This client is interesting for a long-term period of time. His satisfaction is the main goal of any company.

So, the B2B market has a number of fundamental differences from the consumer market, which has a significant impact on the promotion strategies and tools used in this area. The target audience is organizations, not individuals.

Accordingly, we can highlight a number of features inherent to corporate clients and the B2B market as a whole:

There are relatively few corporate clients in contrast to the end consumer market. Often, a manufacturing company may have only 2 or 3 clients, since the products it produces are quite specific and are applicable only in a certain industry (for example, in the capital goods market). In such a situation, the loss of even one client can have catastrophic consequences for the manufacturer in terms of business development opportunities. Thus, the importance of each individual corporate client is much higher than in the consumer market.

In the institutional market, the purchasing decision-making process is significantly different. A fairly large number of people take part in the purchasing process - company management, purchasing managers, marketing specialists, employees of production and financial departments, etc. Consequently, the purchase decision-making process becomes much longer and multi-stage, and also requires compliance with a fairly large number of formalities and approvals.

Corporate clients tend to purchase products in batches rather than individual units. Here we are talking about procurement, not purchases. Consequently, purchasing on the B2B market has a higher degree of risk for the buyer, since we are talking about a fairly large investment.

Corporate clients usually have a fairly high degree of competence regarding the chosen product, which imposes certain requirements, firstly, on the quality of information in the sales company’s representative materials - booklets, product catalogs, advertising messages, and secondly, on the characteristics of the company’s sales staff, who must have high professionalism.

Corporate clients are not inclined to change suppliers frequently. If a company has managed to ensure that the client’s needs are met efficiently and competently, he will turn to it again. This is due, on the one hand, to the desire of clients to simplify the procurement procedure - repeated purchases take much less time, since the process has already been established, on the other hand, the degree of risk for the client organization when purchasing from the same already proven supplier is reduced. Thus, establishing contact with a potential client in the B2B market is almost always focused on the long term.

In the end-consumer market, the situation of choosing a brand is often impulsive and depends on the influence of third-party factors, the effect of which is difficult to predict.

However, consistency in the choice of supplier among corporate clients can create certain obstacles when a company enters the market, since it is difficult to convince organizations to buy from you if they already have a supplier with whom there are no complaints.

Demand in the B2B market is often dependent on demand in the end consumer market. An increase in demand for certain goods in the consumer market leads to an increase in demand for raw materials and supplies for the production of these products in the enterprise market.

The development of the B2B market is linear and associated with the development of technology, while the development of the consumer market is cyclical and determined primarily by fashion.

Relatively small budget for marketing communications. Major investments in the B2B sector are made in technology improvement and R&D.

However, these features of corporate clients cannot be considered universal. The market for organizations is heterogeneous. The characteristics of a corporate client are determined by the field of activity, the scale of the organization, the properties of the product/service offered, and the communication policy of the client company.

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From this article you will learn:

What does sales management to corporate clients consist of?

What are the technologies for selling to corporate clients?

What are the main sales channels for corporate clients?

Sales to corporate clients are strikingly different from retail and even from small wholesalers. What exactly? How is trade management organized? What technologies are used? And, in particular, what are the features of selling cars to such counterparties? You will get answers to these and other questions related to this topic in this article.

The essence of the concept of “sales to corporate clients”

Let's immediately decide what it is? The word "corporate" will appear frequently in this text. According to the dictionary, it means “pertaining to a corporation, a legal entity.” This type of trading is quite complex. This is explained by the specifics of the buyer and the product. In this case customer in the modern sense, this is not an individual person, but a legal entity (company, organization, enterprise). Such consumers do not waste time on trifles. They purchase a product or service not in quantities of one or two copies, but, let’s say, 10-20 or more at once. The objects of such trades complex, expensive products and services. It follows that sales to legal entities (corporations) of expensive things (services), large quantities of products for the purpose of subsequent processing and resale can be called corporate. This is a big business category. In this review we will talk about it.

The key difference between such sales and other types of sales is the sufficient labor intensity and duration of the operation. Some characteristic features of corporate trading:

painstaking procedure and duration of operations;
the need to competently maintain a large amount of documentation accompanying the transaction;
combining constant work with regular clients and continuous search for new buyers;
effective cooperation with suppliers, participation in tenders (competitive) purchases;
providing corporate support after the transaction;
significant sales amount (reaches hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars);
presence of a large number of participants;
manifestation of personal and professional qualities during a number of negotiations to decide on the feasibility of an agreement and reach an agreement on such important terms as terms, guarantees, additional opportunities;
openness of the conclusion of the contract (it is known to a whole circle of people);
competitive nature (the customer company has the opportunity to choose between what you and other sellers offer).

Sales management to corporate clients includes:

The ability to reconcile a person’s personal interests with the benefit of the organization he represents. This involves the need to maintain regular close contacts with consumers (personal meetings, perhaps in an informal setting; presentations; joint participation in events), as well as collecting information about the business of the acquiring enterprise;
Analysis of the buyer’s activities will allow you to use logical arguments in communication with a potential counterparty (since there are large sums of money in circulation, for example, justifications with digital data will be convincing to him);
Communication skills, including the ability to turn interruptions into dialogue into compromise.

A specialist committed to success is ready to look for new customers and devote as much time and attention to them as is required to complete the transaction. After all, if today he does not receive a buyer, tomorrow he will go to competitors. Accordingly, they will win. Constant work is underway to create programs aimed at effectively searching for corporate consumers, ways to interest them and encourage them to cooperate with their company. To successfully achieve these goals, you need to clearly understand: working with a wholesaler is not a standard trade, but aerobatics, an art. In addition to natural abilities, training and continuous improvement are required. Every experienced businessman understands the role of large sales, so he takes the qualifications of the relevant employees seriously.

What is sales management for corporate clients?

It is difficult to give an exact definition to this rather vague concept. In practice, it includes, first of all, the management of those involved in the sale of goods. Such a specialist has the long name key account manager (KAM). Administration involves careful selection of employees for this responsible position, creation of the right motivation, and training in specialized skills. The second, no less relevant point is the coordination of sales processes (including trade channels). We will consider corporate sales management as a combination of all these concepts. It combines elements of marketing and management.

Trade management concept with a client purchasing a large consignment of goods, contains the following components:

Identifying the target audience, which is the main “target” of narrow group trading:

collecting information about possible buyers (what goods and services are in demand, what price category and terms of cooperation are attractive), intermediaries (dealers, distributors), sales channels;

identification of strategic and secondary niches;

planning penetration into new segments.

Channel management:

ensuring reliable communications. It is necessary to maintain a continuous process of sharing the collected information;

development of trading plans for different channels and within one (with packages of conditions for each of them);

organizing control over distributors (prices, level of service);

creation of an incentive system for dealers and distributors (training, incentive bonuses, promotions);

selection of criteria for evaluating participants in the implementation process, adjustment of conditions and client base.

Planning the work of the sales department:

determining the specific goals of this unit;

providing attention to personnel (number of employees, level of their professionalism);

preference for a certain method of distributing responsibilities (by type of product, service areas, client groups);

provision of material and technical base.

Goods sales service management:

Ability to conduct personal (direct) sales and communication skills:

developing a strategy for finding possible buyers;

improving effective implementation skills (flexibility in negotiations with clients, presentations, counter-argumentation, deal closure);

achieving the level of service, warranty, and after-sales service desired by the customer;

rewarding managers who achieve high labor productivity.

Regulation of the sales system:

Based only on this list (which does not pretend to be complete and complete) it is clear that it is quite difficult to combine all the components of sales management, and even more difficult to put these processes into practice. Most domestic companies have only individual elements. And this is understandable: they always start small, gradually complicating the process, adding more and more links to the chain. Mentality also plays a role: Russian people in general and businessmen in particular prefer to be guided by clear, “tangible” concepts and receive the quickest possible benefits. A corporate sales management operates in “abstract” terms: plans, motivation, strategy, incentives, etc. And yet some positive dynamics in this direction are observed:

the interest of business people increases;
Efforts are being made to develop and improve sales strategies (especially by large enterprises). Often the incentive is the new owner or leading management specialists. A fresh look at the established order allows you to identify weak points and make effective changes;
Such an effective method as planning the product sales process is becoming widespread.

Businesses (mainly large ones) are moving away from the short-sighted principle of making profits as quickly and extensively as possible. If at an early stage things were done based on spontaneity, luck, chance, now there comes an awareness of the need to act with an eye to the long-term future.

An example of this approach: A new marketing director came to a large enterprise. His innovation was evident in the introduction of sales plans and reports. The general director, initially skeptical, began to pay attention to the relevant documentation and realized the effectiveness of the implemented tool. For several years he managed the enterprise without such reporting, but now, in the event of a late report, he felt that he was not in control of the situation. His view of planning was reversed: with transaction reports, the CEO could control and manage the business. The level of product sales has increased.

In sales management, an important role is played by the training of relevant specialists and the constant improvement of their qualifications. In the job market, the demand for highly qualified managers currently exceeds supply. Many companies prefer to “grow” their own professional, train him and “tailor” him to the specifics of their business. Large concerns pay for the education of their employees in various schools, courses, and trainings. Some managers of small firms conduct classes on their own, practicing the interaction of more experienced workers with newcomers in order to transfer experience. There were cases when the director of the sales department gathered his subordinates on a weekly basis to discuss and analyze the results: the most unusual, outstanding case was considered, opinions were exchanged, and conclusions were drawn. This is collective (or corporate) training.

Of course, it is difficult to list everything that a sales specialist has to do. In order to competently perform his duties, communicating with a variety of people, he needs personal and professional growth. Qualities that a good manager cannot do without: communication skills, the ability and desire to learn and develop, erudition, the skill of maintaining stable, friendly relationships, a realistic outlook, literacy, responsibility, self-discipline, flexibility. Mastery is improved in many ways. The most serious attention was paid to the study of this issue and the development of such methods.

It is often practiced to “attach” a new employee to an experienced, well-proven employee. This is a good technique to introduce a newbie to the situation, to show what exactly his job is. However, here it must be taken into account that such a load should not be to the detriment of the interests of the company and the mentor himself. It is important to properly motivate him: these can be ideological means of persuasion (contribution to the common cause of the company, helping a future colleague), organizational (clearly limited internship period, scope of joint activities) and material (remuneration for mentoring). The advantage of this method lies in the mutual benefit of specialists: a new one receives the necessary knowledge and skills, and an experienced manager receives an incentive, a work shake-up.
“Business games” can also be effective. It looks like playing out skits that simulate real work circumstances (negotiations, calling potential clients, overcoming objections, presentation). This “immersion” in work is a rehearsal for the real process. After the performance, positive and negative aspects are discussed: what went well and what skill needs to be developed.
“Advanced” managers use a rather new method - interviewing. This is an interview with an employee in an informal setting, face to face. The topic of the conversation is personal, work, with an eye on the future. The conversation must be prepared in advance, the questions must be written down. An astute boss (or head of the sales department) will note the general state of the subordinate (mood, awareness of internal affairs), professional skills (ability to conduct a conversation, reason, avoid sharp corners), personal interest in the business (possession of industry knowledge, career aspirations).
Testing (written or oral). This is a widely used way to test knowledge. Perhaps such control will be part of the company’s daily activities (10-20-minute written tests) or a large-scale test (a list of topics and questions is prepared in advance, a date is set, people who will be involved in research and summing up are identified).

Of course, these are not all methods. Whatever you choose, the goal is the same - to increase company sales. Therefore, include solutions to narrow-profile issues in your training. Thus, a specialist in the field of tourism must be familiar with the routes being sold, while a worker in the auto business must understand the technical characteristics of cars.

What should a corporate sales manager do?

He performs the following duties:

searches for potential buyers (enterprises that will be interested in the product or service being sold);
maintains and promptly updates the client database;
conducts personal meetings with representatives of the corporate customer;
advises the potential consumer on all issues arising during the discussion and preparation of the transaction;
prepares presentations, participates in thematic events;
conducts negotiations;
makes deals;
prepares accompanying and other documentation;
Maintains relationships with key clients;
carries out business correspondence;
provides reports on completed sales.

Working in the sales department, managers perform a lot of tasks. The above are just the basic functions. The general course of action of a corporate trade specialist is to organize cooperation with corporations, firms and enterprises that are interested in the service or product being sold. To achieve this, all kinds of conferences, seminars, presentations, corporate events (celebrating internal company events) are held. If a hairdresser operates with scissors, then this person performs a significant portion of the work via telephone. Many issues (invitations, coordination of matters, meetings, deadlines) are resolved by telephone conversations. Personal meetings are an integral part of his working day. When communicating with a potential buyer, he should show not superficial awareness, but deep, serious knowledge of his business, competition within a given segment, and pricing policy. A mandatory requirement is the ability to effectively sell, establish and maintain long-term working contacts. In addition to the basic qualities and skills, a large sales employee must have knowledge of a narrow focus, namely:

nuances of transaction preparation;
features and rules of business etiquette for telephone conversations;
principles of showing attention to reach an agreement in a personal meeting;
specifics of the corporate agreement between companies.

Regular consumers deserve special treatment. There is no need to explain for a long time why. Everyone has long understood that working with long-time customers is convenient and profitable. They provide the company with such advantages as a reputation as a reliable partner, financial stability, and saving time and effort at the preliminary stage of the transaction. Over time, loyal customers develop friendly feelings towards your organization and begin to advertise it to their associates for free. Therefore, lines of relations with such clients are being developed, and a system of long-term interaction is being envisaged (congratulations on memorable dates of both enterprises and personally leading specialists, invitations to events).

Most Russian corporations that have been operating effectively in the market for at least seven years have managed to acquire regular consumers during this period and form a more or less stable client base. To improve the quality and comfort of business development, CRM systems are used. These are programs that replace the manager's diary. But not only that, CRM (customer relationships management) includes a database, stores the history of relationships with each company, sales reporting, allows you to collect and process internal marketing data of the company and much more. In other words, it is a well-developed tool that automates the sales management process.

Case study:

An enterprise operating in the B2B sphere (literally “business to business” - an organization provides its product or service to corporate clients, which allows the latter to work in their niche), has developed its own consumer relationship management program. It included:

service samples and monitoring their compliance. The standards stipulated many details (working with customer requests, deadlines for responding to written requests, business etiquette standards, package of documents provided);
reviews of services provided and quality of service. Wishes, recommendations, and comments were recorded separately;
thematic events, meetings with management personnel of the company.

This improved the process of interaction with customers, made it possible to understand their needs and reach an agreement faster.

Main sales channels for large quantities of products

A corporate client is a special concept. You are not the only one interested in the “big fish”. Let’s first talk about where it “lives” and about the bait it “bites” on. Try to find such buyers:

through advertising. “Cast the net” widely, using outdoor advertising, television, radio, and the Internet. As a rule, serious companies take the time to view profitable offers on the Internet. So feel free to create websites, electronic catalogs, into which it is convenient to add the latest information and any changes. Consider options for exchanging contact information. Leave information about yourself in all possible electronic directories and, for your part, review them regularly; perhaps your potential partner is waiting for your response to his ad;
creating our own strong customer base. This is an effective way to gain a foothold in the market and expand your position. If you need, such materials can be purchased from a competitor;
tracking events on electronic trading platforms. The Internet is your indispensable assistant. There are programs and applications that allow you to keep abreast of sales, make forecasts, analyses, monitor, respond to offers;
attending seminars, conferences, and other thematic events. There is a possibility of exchanging business cards for further cooperation;
based on the recommendations and reviews of partner companies. Other social contacts also work.

Sales channels to corporate clients are divided into active And passive.

Active ( aimed at a specific target audience ):

Direct sale. The company itself negotiates with potential consumers. The method involves personal contacts, which helps develop trust and is usually effective. However, this channel presupposes high qualifications and experience in carrying out such operations among the people conducting negotiations. The coordinated work of the entire department is also important.

Sales through a dealer. The intermediary company takes over the work of the sales department. This method is often used when there is a need to increase the level of direct sales. In practice, this is still a distribution channel. The “conductor” between the buyer and the seller must have either a database of possible clients, or a financial and labor resource. If this is not the case, selling the product will be very long and troublesome.
Internet bidding. This is a modern way used by businessmen who prefer to use the World Wide Web as the main communication and search tool. It makes it possible (with some experience) to do without the accompanying consultations of a manager and has good prospects, so its development and use continues.

Corporate sales on the market. Municipal or federal organizations have sales offices and businesses in various areas. They select suppliers of goods and services centrally. They must be serviced by the best specialists with communication skills, decent experience, and knowledge of the specifics of the product or service. The main goal of the administrator is to ensure comfortable interaction, the ability to obtain any information and resolve the issue through him.
Service sales. They provide customer service by assigning a personal employee to each of them. He identifies and takes into account the customer’s needs, guides him in choosing a specific product or service, and informs him about all changes and conditions. This channel increases profits from existing customers without significant investment.

With passive initiatives in finding a buyer come not from you, but from the consumer himself. It often happens that a well-thought-out PR campaign plays a key role. Based on recommendations from partners (“word of mouth”) or from advertising information about you, a corporate client himself contacts your organization. In case of direct requests, you need to take measures so that after communicating with the secretary or administrator, the customer does not change his mind about working with you. A good way is to create a centralized phone call processing system. Particular attention is paid to applications from potential consumers. It is convenient when signals are sent to the main office, directly to the inbound sales channel. A special manager is responsible for the work of this department. All this minimizes the risk of losing a buyer and increases the efficiency of the passive line. Thus, this way of selling goods should not be underestimated.

Difficulties of active sales to corporate clients

As in any business, when engaging in such sales, you can encounter a lot of difficulties. Its specificity is determined by the characteristics of narrow group trading and its significant difference from retail or private trading. Since the client is a legal entity (organization, firm, institution), you have to communicate with a fairly wide range of people. And this implies the ability to negotiate, take into account the interests and benefits of others. Let's discuss some difficulties and ways to overcome them.

Duration of the sales procedure.

It is clear that any agreement provides for specific deadlines. It is clear to professionals in this field: the longer a deal takes, the higher the likelihood of its failure. In addition, regular operations can be carried out over several years, while the time a manager works in one company is approximately two to three years. It turns out that a situation may arise when a specialist quits, but the customer remains. How to play it safe and maintain a relationship with him?

A way to overcome. Maintain a professional client base. Preferably, this should not just be a list of buyers with phone numbers, but a well-developed CRM system, for example, 24com. This is a first-class customer accounting and application system. Using this program, you can store all the information for each counterparty and materials accompanying the preparatory period and the agreement itself.

Control of personnel work.

More than one employee is working on the deal. Its success is also due to the support of the project manager, as well as employees of back departments (those who actually provide the service or produce the product). How to coordinate their work?

A way to overcome. And again 24com will come to the rescue. With its help, you can set intermediate goals for subordinates, determine target dates and check implementation.

Attracting consumers.

Since the B2B sector deals not with ordinary customers, but with corporate ones, the problem of finding new acquirers arises. Especially if advertising funds are limited.

A way to overcome. One of the effective methods – telemarketing. The 24com CRM program will again provide invaluable support. It allows you to automate the collection of information about potential clients and the work of sales specialists.

Large volume of documents.

It is normal when a serious matter is recorded on paper. The transaction is accompanied not only by financial evidence (invoices, invoices). At the initial stage, preliminary agreements, approval of sketches and layouts are concluded and formalized. Everything must be in perfect order, because it is unknown what act will be needed at one time or another.

A way to overcome. In the 24com accounting system there is a “Documents” section. It is designed to provide storage and quick access to all data on a specific customer or contract. It also contains templates that make it possible to generate standard acts in a few seconds and immediately send them to print.

Managers are one of the most sought-after specialists. They are the ones who bring profit to the organization for which they work.

Who is a manager? Definition

Leaders, managers, administrators are called managers. These professions involve control over the performance of workers' tasks. That is, they manage a specific group of employees. However, not only managers are now called managers. Ordinary employees who sell something are called the same. This is because the employer wants the employees' status to make them feel more important. But these workers do not actually organize the work of others. They are ordinary consultants, sellers, traders. The manager's status is only virtual. And it is used to make ordinary employees feel comfortable in their profession. A real manager leads and manages others. He receives his salary for the effective work of his subordinates.

Account Manager. Responsibilities

The resumes of many who are looking for a job contain information about the communication skills and stress resistance of the applicant for a vacant position in the “Personal Qualities” section.

These characteristics are great for an account manager position. To become one, higher education and work experience are not always necessary. The main thing here is to be able to interact with customers and conduct business negotiations, know the product and perform job duties. The Account Manager is responsible for sourcing leads and products. He makes tempting commercial offers to them in order to interest them in the goods or services of the company whose interests they represent.

Such a specialist also has other responsibilities. The account manager meets with potential customers in person. And a lot depends on these meetings, because it is then that all the nuances of cooperation are discussed and contracts are signed.

Interacting with existing customers is a core responsibility. A customer service manager must always keep his customers in touch and also maintain a customer base.

Bank account manager. Responsibilities

Many banks are looking for employees every day, namely, customer service managers. This is because the work in this field is not that easy and employees need to perform various responsibilities.

A bank account manager typically performs the following work. He fulfills the sales plan, accepts and processes orders, and prepares commercial proposals. She also advises clients on banking products, which include loans, cards, deposits, etc., prepares documents, works with and generates reports.

In each bank, this list of responsibilities may be added, decreased, or slightly different. Everywhere is individual. An account manager may also perform the following responsibilities: he can monitor the implementation of contractual responsibilities and work to increase sales.

Cellular customer service manager. Responsibilities

Customer service managers are also needed in the cellular communications industry. This is also difficult work, requiring endurance, patience, communication skills, the ability to find a common language with customers and sell goods and services. In cell phone stores, employees perform the following duties.

The customer service manager advises on all services and products, sells cell phones, accessories, tablets, photo and video cameras. Connecting to telecom operators, accepting payments, working with the cash register, and maintaining records are among his main responsibilities. The cellular customer service manager participates in inventory and monitors the cleanliness and order of the salon.

Operations Manager Responsibilities

Corporate clients are legal entities. They are a tasty morsel for business. The corporate client manager interacts with them.

He performs the following duties. Searches for developing companies that will be interested in the goods and services offered, conducts surveys, forms proposals, personally meets potential clients, participates in exhibitions and events, negotiates, concludes contracts, works with documentation, maintains long-term relationships with key buyers, conducts business correspondence, reports on the work done.

The list of responsibilities can be expanded or simplified. It all depends on the requirements of the employer and the scope of the company.

What qualities should a customer service manager have?

This job involves interacting with people. Therefore, the main quality of a customer service manager is the ability to find an approach to any person.

Other characteristics are also important. These are sociability, stress resistance, activity, mobility, knowledge of the goods and services offered, literacy, the ability to conduct business negotiations, accuracy, and punctuality. The list of qualities can also be supplemented by knowledge of foreign languages, especially English.

A customer service manager must be able to work with a personal computer, office equipment, and know office and other programs. Their list depends on the field of activity.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Working as an Account Manager

Like any profession, this one also has its pros and cons. If we talk about the advantages, they include the fact that a customer service manager can build a good career, thereby becoming in demand and receiving a decent salary.

This profession is suitable for those who like to lead an active life, are not afraid of communicating with a large flow of new people, and know how to win them over, interest them in goods and services, and sell them.

If we talk about the disadvantages, it can be noted that wages directly depend on the number of transactions concluded and their amount in monetary terms. Therefore, if the month is not successful, the account manager will receive only a salary, usually the minimum.

Another disadvantage is dealing with conflicting clients. If they are unhappy, then the fault lies with the account manager, whose job it is to resolve disagreements. Psychologically, this profession is not suitable for those who take everything to heart. Here you need to be able to listen, find a way out and not lose your composure.

Writing a resume for a customer service manager

This profession is in great demand on the labor market. After all, we live in a capitalist world where sales skills are necessary to survive. If you are not scared off by the above, working with clients is a promising profession, and you could become one.

To interest employers, you need to create a good resume. In the personal qualities, indicate those that are more suitable for the “Responsibilities” item. An account manager can add positive references from past employers to his resume if he has a good relationship with them. It’s also worth mentioning all the skills you have. Write also about your experience in other jobs, practices where you worked with clients. This will be a big plus, as it will show the employer that you have already had experience in business negotiations and are not afraid of communication.

If you have any achievements in your studies, internships, or past jobs, then also write about them. In this way, you will show yourself as a person with an active lifestyle.

Write your resume correctly, especially pay attention to words and expressions directly related to the manager’s activities. For example, mistakes are often made in the word “contracts”.

Complete the information about yourself with a business photo of yourself with a neutral background where your face is clearly visible and there are no strangers. Before sending your resume, check it for errors and see if you have entered your information correctly so that they can definitely contact you.

If you are considering other options (besides employment as a corporate account manager), then do not limit yourself to this selection of advertisements; we have many other positions for different positions. There you can also use the search for offers from direct employers and agencies.