Building Strategic Partnerships

Course Overview

The global economy, increased competition and sophisticated and knowledgeable customers have changed the role of the sales professional. A ‘given’ is that the sales professional possesses an in-depth knowledge of the features and benefits of their products and services. A ‘must’ for sales professionals is that they have an in-depth knowledge of the customer’s business needs and how to create a strategic advantage for the customer that will provide a sustainable, mutually satisfying relationship over time.
The Building Strategic Partnerships program provides the advanced concepts, tools and skills to move sales professionals from product vendors, to service providers, to strategic partners – to work more effectively with their customers to achieve results

Target Audience

Experienced sales professionals, account managers and sales teams requiring advanced, strategic concepts, skills and tools for working with customers to achieve mutually profitable, sustainable relationships.

Course Objectives

After the workshop, you will be able to:

• Develop a Territory Assessment Grid to establish the current level of relationship with your customers
• Review your current level of service with your customers along with your market position and future plans
• Complete a competitive analysis of your own organization and your top competitors to identify your relative strengths and key opportunities and threats
• Employ powerful selling skills to explain features and benefits and forestall/handle objections

Further Information

Benefits for the individual:

• Territory analysis that provides an accurate assessment of relative account value
• Competitive analysis that targets where and how to focus energies and skills
• Account reviews that pinpoint key drivers and business needs, and help identify value propositions
• Spotlighting of profitable customer-revenue opportunities
• Identification of opportunities for leveraging strategic selling and managing time more effectively

Benefits for the organization:

• Sales strategies and objectives aligned to customer value and business strategy/objectives
• Customer base segmented on value, not just account size
• Disciplined, consistent approach for working with high-value customers
• Identification and leverage of the organization’s competitive strengths
• Higher productivity and results from sales force