Question 'A' company is in the railway business as supplier to 'Indian Railway' for last 12 years, but now they facing competition with 'B' company which is also supplying the same product as supplied by 'A' company, suggest what are the actions should be taken by the 'A' company to beat the supplier 'B'& survive in the market.
Answer KETAN,
HERE IS SOME USEFUL MATERIAL.
REGARDS
LEO LINGHAM
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THIS IS WHAT WE GENERALLY CALL THE
''KEY ACCOUNTS PLANNING/DEVELOPMENT/MANAGEMENT.
IN THIS CASE, ''INDIAN RAILWAYS IS YOUR KEY ACCOUNT''.
FIRST STEP,
5.Developing a KEY ACCOUNT profile.
-DEFINE THE key account's operation
-DEFINE THE key account's management/ organization
-WHAT ARE THE account's buying influences
-WHO ARE THE account's decision making/ makers
develop a complete KEY ACCOUNT profile.
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SECOND STEP
Conducting a KEY ACCOUNT auditing.
develop a checklist.
examples of checklist elements
-what is sales trends to this account for the last 3 years.
-business situation with key account
-product-wise sales trend
-pricing
-recent successes/failures
-today's strengths/weaknesses
-business readiness
-business critical issues
-areas for improvements
-opportunities
-threats
-vulnerability
-interpersonal relation
-business relation
-customer relation
-representation
-competitors' strengths[ successes]/weaknesses[failures]
etc etc [ more elements could be considered ]
conduct a complete KEY ACCOUNT audit.
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STEP THREE
Planning and Developing a KEY ACCOUNTS SALES PLAN.
-setting overall objective/strategy
[WHAT DO WANT TO ACHIEVE IN THIS ACCOUNT ---1YEAR/2 YEAR/3 YEAR.
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-setting sales objectives/strategy
[WHAT ARE YOUR OBJECTIVES/ TARGETS]
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-product ranging objectives/strategy
[WHAT ARE THE PRODUCTS YOU WANT TO SELL/PUSH ]
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-special product development strategy
[DO YOU WANT TO DESIGN/DEVELOP SPECIAL PRODUCT ]
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-pricing objective / strategy
[WHAT ARE YOUR PRICING OBJECTIVES]
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-discount strategy
[WHAT KINDS OF DISCOUNTS YOU WANT TO OFFER ]
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-obstacles/ strategy for overcoming
[HOW DO YOU PLAN TO OVERCOME THEM ]
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-KA's limitations/ strategy for overcoming.
[WHAT ARE YOUR LIMITATIONS / THEIR LIMITATIONS ]
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- potential opportunities in KA.
[WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES ]
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-communication objective/ strategy
-representation objective/ strategy
-interpersonal relations objective/strategy
-business relations objectives/ strategy
-Training for KA staff objectives/strategy
-after sales support objective / strategy
-customer service objective/ strategy
-stock inventory objective/strategy
develop a complete KEY ACCOUNT sales plan..
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STEP FOUR
DEVELOPING A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP WITH KEY ACCOUNT.
-Meeting personal needs at all levels in KEY ACCOUNT.
-Meeting organization needs in KEY ACCOUNT.
-Setting common objectives.[mutual objectives]
-developing joint strategies.[ mutual strategy ]
-developing collaborative tactics.[ mutual risks]
-sharing the rewards [ mutual rewards of returns
develop a complete KEY ACCOUNT partnership plan.
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STEP FIVE
DEVELOPING KEY ACCOUNTS OFFERS
-offers should originate from the KEY ACCOUNT SALES PLAN.
-Quantity based
-Quality based
-probable solution to KEY ACCOUNT's problems.
develop a complete KEY ACCOUNT offer package.
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STEP SIX
DEVELOPING PROPOSAL FOR KEY ACCOUNT
Your sales proposals are your basic tool for key account partnership.
It could include
-analysis of current situation
-trend and growth potential
-opportunities
-critical issues
-objectives
-suggested strategy
-tactical action plan
-solutions
-benefits
-advantages over the current situation
-Your support to the KEY ACCOUNT.
develop a complete KEY ACCOUNT proposal.
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STEP SEVEN
DEVELOPING A PERFORMANCE TRACKING SYSTEM.
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STEP EIGHT
NEGOTIATION-SELLING
-how to negotiate with the KEY ACCOUNT for a win-win solution.
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AS PART OF THE PACKAGE,
AS PER THE INDIAN CULTURE, YOU SHOULD DEVELOP
A RANGE OF ''SOFTNER''
THERE ARE 3 SETS OF PEOPLE IN THE KEY ACCOUNTS
*USERS OF YOUR PRODUCTS
*DECISION MAKERS, WHO MAKE THE DECISION TO BUY
*INFLUENCERS, WHO HELPS / LEADS YOU THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION.
YOU SHOULD REWARD THEM ALL WITH SOFTNERS.
EXAMPLES
*foreign holidays
*local holidays
*festival gifts
*dinner at top restuarants
etc etc.
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KEY ACCOUNTS ARE INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS.
INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS/ BUYING
1.BUYER Profile of each prospect with information like
-purchasing by a team.
-their requirements of product range
-method of buying initially [ proposal/tender etc]
etc
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2.BUYING BEHAVIOR
-needs are identified
-purchases are planned
-systematic / cost benefits are done
-technical specifications
-proposals / bids are solicited
-after sales service is considered
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3. SUPPLIER EVALUATED
-products brand image
-products availability / range
-service offered
etc
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4.PRODUCTS EVALUATION
-price
-warranty
-durability
-quality
-technical specifications
-performance
-physical characteristics
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SOME PRODUCTS, THEY BUY DIRECTLY
TOO, WITHOUT PROPOSAL.
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