#006 What does a strategic conversation look like?

KAMCast - Key Account Management Strategies for Business Leaders

IN THIS EPISODE:

Do you wish your team members were having more strategic conversations with your key accounts?

Do you have a clear understanding of what strategy is?

Does your team have a clear understanding of what strategy is?

It’s fair to say that the S word – strategy – gets bandied around a lot in business - we even talk about it as one of our guiding pillars for success in KAM.

And with words that get so heavily used, it’s common for the waters to get muddied and the definition to become overcomplicated, leading to overthinking activities and behaviours.

Do you let the words you use with your key accounts do the heavy lifting - rather than developing the skills to open up more curious, value-based conversations - looking at a longer-term vision and the actions that will get your there?

In this episode I take a look at the topic of strategy, with brand strategist Shelley Röstlund.

Shelley works with subject matter experts to clarify their brand purpose and value by leveraging a blend of brand archetypes, belief systems, customer insights & core product refining.

With Shelley having strategic conversations on a daily basis with her clients, I was keen to hear her thoughts and dig deep on this topic.

With our clients, at Front&Centre®, we work heavily on developing teams to have more strategic conversations with their most important customers, ultimately forging the trusted partnerships they desire, and developing long term profitability.

With strategy being such an important component to understanding our customers, it’s so important that, as KAM Pros, we are able to get a firm grip on the strategic skillset, empowering us to truly Become the expert in the customer’s world.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE:

We really peel back a few layers of the strategic onion in this episode. Shelley and I dig into:

1. How to define strategy, in a business context
2. Why does it become so complicated?
3. The value of having strategic conversations with clients, and how to have them Shelley shares some top tips on how to set yourself up for a strategic conversation:
4. When is the right time to start a strategic, value-based conversation with your clients?
5. How to handle the entrepreneurial personality types when having focussed discussions?

With strategy being such an important component to understanding our customers, it’s so important that, as KAM professionals, we are able to get a firm grip on the strategic skillset - empowering us to truly become the expert in the customer’s world.

I love the way Shelley describes her definition of strategy as being “the path that links vision to action.” And the notion that the how and the what become clear when you know your why.

Let’s face it – we all like to get distracted with the shiny ball of the ‘how’. All too often I see businesses get sucked into the tactics when talking about strategy, when in reality the Strategy has to comes first.

Pulling from a well-known Stephen Covey principle: when you or your team are talking with clients on their strategic vision - do you listen with the intent to understand or with the intent to reply? You are, in essence, risking showering the client with an ill-timed pitch fest, and a ‘spray and pray’ sales approach.

Curiosity doesn’t kill the cat when it comes to trusted partnerships and it’s time to hone the skills to be curious with our clients. Remember that, as account managers, we don’t need to have all the answers – we just need the right questions and the enthusiasm to learn more.

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I hope after listening to this episode it will leave you reflecting on your team and business. Perhaps you will think that your team talks ‘strategy’ but don’t really see it fully through (to the ‘value add’ bit).

Perhaps the very idea of the team having more strategic conversations with clients worries them, or you? Is there potentially a skill deficit when it comes to carrying out ‘value-based’ conversations? Or maybe you have all this nailed and that true strategic conversations are the way you are already differentiating from your competition?

Either way… Take a moment to pause and reflect about this topic and decide what, if anything you would like to do as a result.

Remember that it’s less about the 45 minutes we share together on this podcast and more about the next 45 days in your business as you discuss and implement positive change.

Wherever you are listening to this, get involved in the conversation. It’s a big topic so head over to LinkedIn or twitter and tell us what you would add to the topic and what ideas you have for having better, value-based, strategic conversations with your most important clients.

KILLER QUESTION SEGMENT

In each episode we ask you, our listener, a killer question that is designed to get you reflecting on your business, your KAM Culture and where changes in thinking and behaviour could lead to increased customer success.

In this episode we asked Shelley to give us her killer question. She has posed one for a KAM Pro to ask him/herself - which is:

“What does your desired future state look like in your ideal future relationship with this client?”

The idea is that you then have to describe in in vivid (visual/kinaesthetic/auditory) detail how you think, feel, act, and behave. Once you have that in mind and can almost physically experience what that feels like: you can work backwards to the present day and work on how to engineer having that kind of relationship?”

This way you, as a KAM pro, will move away from purely transactional conversations, and on to more meaningful, care-based interactions. Customers want to be heard, understood and feel like you care. You may have to learn how to become this desired future version of yourself (i.e. one that is confident, capable and at ease having strategic conversations).

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY GUEST: SHELLEY RÖSTLUND

Shelley is a Brand Strategist who teaches subject matter experts to clarify their brand purpose and value by leveraging a blend of brand archetypes, belief systems, customer insights & core product refining. She hails originally from South Africa, has an Honours Degree in Economics and, when in employed, worked in the fitness, property & franchise industries. Since 2010, she has run a strategic digital marketing agency, Harbour 32, with her Swedish husband.

Having had delivered 150+ one-to-one strategic sessions with SME's across more than 30 different industries in the private, public and third sectors – she is well-versed on holding strategic conversations to cut to the chase and articulate intent and value.

She has worked with multimillion-pound boards as well as young growing brands. She attends international conferences on social media, content marketing and strategic thought leadership to stay on top of her game. Today she runs programmes to help micro businesses scale through brand clarity & balancing purpose vs. value.

You can find out more about her digital marketing agency on her website, connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter & Instagram.