Large Account Management - sets the train in motion

There are a number of prejudices that have become entrenched in dealing with large companies. This business is seen as complicated because of the confusing organization, as particularly time-consuming to reach the first deal, as being courted by many competitors and as being inaccessible to smaller providers. These points suggest that everything would be different for small or medium-sized target customers. I cannot share this assessment. In my wealth of experience, there are many stories and anecdotes that point in a completely different direction.

Complex organization - The large organization is aware of this problem and the provider is usually led to the right contact person. It is the job of purchasing departments to simplify access for smaller providers. Diversity in the supplier portfolio is a KPI.

Time required to close the deal - Here everything depends on the demand situation. Even large companies have to satisfy needs within a reasonable period of time. If the offer is suitable, the customer will push for a quick order. No, I have not generally observed a direct relationship between company size and speed of completion.

Lots of competitors - That's right, with the size of the company the number of suppliers and applicants for a place in the sun increases. The timing has to be right, because established providers are constantly dropping out of the supplier list and being replaced by new ones. Ideally, you have a differentiated offer with unique selling points. If they meet a need, you prevail.

Provider size - The market has changed here in recent decades, because the list of failed major projects with established, large providers is getting longer and longer. The major customer wants plannability, reliability, efficiency, innovation and a good price-performance ratio. A small provider can do that just as well.

So, be brave when dealing with big names. If you take into account the chance of long-term and scalable potential business, you cannot ignore this clientele anyway. It's like a long freight train that you've set in motion. Who can stop it?

Is there help on the way to large account management? Of course. There are various techniques that you should use to do business with the big guys, e.g. gathering account intelligence, identifying the entire ecosystem including established suppliers and partner companies (channels!), good pricing (consistency!). Maybe you've also heard of account-based marketing? And there are partners who can help. BizConz is a good example.