When tackling national account business, how does the sales pitch and cycle have to change?
The ‘sales pitch’ changes dynamically when selling a national account program to a customer. First and foremost, the customer’s purchasing behaviors are different, as the sales take place at many levels and from within multiple departments. The complexity of the sale increases exponentially from a contractual standpoint within the purchasing organization to the end user at the shipping level. This complexity is further compounded by local mores within a national account as well as those of the supplier. The sales effort must become a well-balanced act between local and national sales. Companies must master the challenges of adapting to this extended sales cycle and degree of supply chain complexity while identifying the individual incremental steps necessary to close the sale and synchronizing collective efforts on the local and national level. In today’s slowing economy, sales teams must also be ultrafocused on value, not price. Customers are increasingly being faced with challenges a
