Connect to and Win Key Accounts Barrie Hayes

Overview Market place & categorisation. Industry players. What skills and tools are required. How the sector works. Opportunity. Integra support.

Small Business – sub 80 employees Mid Market / Key Accounts employees National Accounts Strategic Accounts Corporate / Customer hierarchy £1m+ £250k - £1m £20k - £100k Below £20k Many of the Corporates would see £100k - £250k as Key Accounts Today target values includes OP /Jansan/Catering Breakroom/Print Would also be broken into Commercial and Public Sector Margin GP traditionally 28-40% opportunities in this area.

What determines categorisation? Requirements of the Customer. Size / Number of Locations. Number of Employees. Spend & Potential. Level of Account Management. Complexity. Purchasing behaviour. Margin achievement /Profitability. Strategic fit.

“Staples is reviewing the future of its European operations, which includes around 200 stores, and plans to slash $300m (£226m) of annual costs”. “UK has lost a lot of its sales people.” Major players in the Key Account sector “State of disarray after failed merger” Looking to be sold / broken up in Europe Cutting costs /people. Key area for them – lack flexibility Still driven by France. Large in Public sector and Banking Key Accounts has not really been the primary focus area. Shows what can be achieved by “Independents” Key USP’s – Largest customer SKY £1m+ They now features on many tenders. £116m£260m £230m Operating in the National / Key area Have struggled with all the changes of late.

Key Account Cycle Know the market Planning of Suspects /Prospects Prospecting Opportunity / Proposal Win / Did n’t win 5 key processes

Know the market 1. Know the market Competition in your area / what do they offer ? Understand how the big players work – “Knowledge is power” Where are they operating from ? What tools do they have with the customer base. SWOT of your own organisation. How do they operate on deals of this type (e.g. pricing structures). Be clear the market / area you are going after. Public / Commercial.

2. Planning the suspects /prospects Establish the number of opportunities in you area. Have a recording tool of information ( Salesforce.com > Simple spreadsheet). Be clear about the information you are recording. -Contacts, No of Employees, timings (if on tender),value of opportunity, current supplier(s), etc. Be clear about your proposition & marketing/ tools available. Could be good to operate at the lower end of the scale initially. Utilise / phone and follow up electronic marketing. Planning of Suspects /Prospects

3. Prospecting Establish the contact at the right level. Understand from the beginning who are the decision makers/influencers. You could be investing time over a 6-18 month window. Know the questions to ask – (list). Utilise all presentation tools at your disposal and be clear about your proposition. Use / phone and follow up electronic marketing to stay in touch. Always be well prepared. Establish are they time wasting or will seriously change. If they are using one of the others – get a hold of the management information. Prospecting

Opportunity / Proposal 4. Opportunity /Proposal Cross coding to cut time – database. Also pricing tools. Understand “The rules of the game.” How will evaluation will take place. Pricing tricks of core /non core along with additional price lists - Know how your competitors work – “seeds of doubt” Think about the opportunity to enhance margin once won. -Using private label, new categories, etc. Understand Average order value and more importantly small orders. e.g. £23 or £74 Always answer the proposal in professional way as they request the information. - Hit the deadlines. Have a 80-90% standard proposal document – saves time / looks corporate. See the life time of the deal – margin wise and understand the impacts / benefits to your business.

Opportunity / Proposal 4. Opportunity /Proposal (cont.) Don’t commit if you cannot do something. Involve others if you know it will help. Use Integra/ Wholesalers/Manufacturers to get better pricing if important volume items. Have the information for your customer and own sales team to manage the account effectively. – “Management information is Key” Above all else ensure you have all information you need to be able to take the right business decision.

Opportunity / Proposal 4. Opportunity /Proposal (cont.) What pricing benefits can be used and are used? o Price - Net and price lists. o Rebates. o Own brand. o Saving guarantees. o Up Front payments for Contract period. o Improvement rebates – Reduction of small orders/environmental/Electronic. o Product swaps. What Service benefits ? o Service levels. o Support. o Delivery – multi drop and own vehicles. o Environmental.

5. Win / Lose If you win – understand why, equally as if you don’t. Learn ! Its not all about price. If there is no contract – try to create one. Lock in the customer as you develop what you sell to them and the time spent. Create entanglement & loyalty = YOU’RE harder to remove. Update your database. If you didn't’t win – stay in touch and be professional. Win / Did n’t win

Implementation Winning is the easy bit! Customer Development Retention Cycle of contract agreement

Implementation Implementation plan (use in your bid). Plan enough time. Training for customer and staff. Produce documents for users. Meet your obligations and promises.

Customer Development Regular review meetings. Customer development – New products, price savings, contract improvements, Management information review. Develop margin and profitability opportunities both in product sales and cost of service. Improve your running costs on the account. Satisfaction surveys. Use as case studies.

Retention plan - try to stop the customer going back out to market. Contract renewal loyalty bonus. Example: a £75k contract – 2 years pay 5% = £5k, its less than going to a price review in the market which could cost 10%. Cost of change / time involved. If it’s a contract, work on this 6 months before. Know the account profitability not just GP%. Maximize your relationships. Retention is a lot less costly than acquisition Retention

Key attributes / strengths of the Independent dealer Flexibility. Locality / Personable. Independent and UK owned. Potentially lower cost base. Initiative – own brand Local delivery and fast response. Range – Integra and Wholesale.

Timing is everything ! Biggest opportunity is currently. 2 of the majors are in disarray. All the elements are there for Independents. Profitable sector 30% - 40%.

Key elements to be successful Knowledge and understanding. Training – Salespeople and Company. Solution selling. Marketing and support tools for customer and you the dealer. Patience and commitment. It is achievable and can benefit /seriously change your business.

Integra the partner for Key Accounts Listening and developing Marketing Tools Training Support

Thank you for listening