How to balance prospecting and account management
Quite often I find sales roles within event and venue teams have a combined focus of prospecting and account management and this can be difficult to balance when you have high-maintenance existing customers.
Below I have outlined my six tips on how to achieve balance in your combined sales role:
1 - Set clear and realistic outcomes for both prospecting and account management activities…
How many prospects do you need to contact each week? How often do you need to meet with existing customers? By defining your desired outcomes you will be able to allocate your time more effectively.
2 - Time block your calendar…
Schedule time in your calendar to prospect and consider it as important as a meeting with a key customer. Unless you keep that commitment to yourself, you will never balance prospecting with account management.
3 - Don’t be “too available” to your customers…
I’m not saying ignore them but don’t step away from your scheduled prospecting time to take a call from a customer. A polite “out of office” message to say you will be available within an hour is perfectly acceptable.
4 - Don’t over commit to your existing customers…
I regularly come across sales coordinators who take on much more of the event management than their role requires. Be thankful for your existing customers but don’t let them take control of your calendar.
5 - Communicate and collaborate…
Communicate with your team so they know not to disturb you when you have these tasks scheduled in your calendar. Just like they wouldn’t interrupt you in a meeting, you need to communicate the importance of your prospecting activity to your colleagues.
6 - Monitor, measure and adjust…
Review your outcomes and adjust where necessary. If you don’t monitor your outcomes you won’t know if you are being effective in achieving the balance between prospecting and account management.
The above are just some of the tips we share in our Prospecting Sales Excellence coaching program. For more information or to book, email hello@yellowbrick.ltd or complete our enquiry form.