Relationship Map Checklist

Relationship Map Checklist ^[2]

In Figure 6-2 is a checklist to validate the buying influence group map. These questions should lead SAMs to take a hard look at their relationships within accounts.

Customer Manager	Customer
Name
Title
Role in decision group: Economic Buyer User Buyer Technical Buyer Coach
How do you know their role?
What motivates this individual? To what need should I sell?
Their top three needs?
How do you know?
Their desired frequency of contact?
Their preferred means of communication ... Face-to-face Phone Email Other?
How do you know?
Their primary contact
How could I—or someone else—deepen this relationship?

Figure 6-2: Relationship Map Checklist

A very creative director of strategic accounts used this Buying Influence Map Checklist at a national sales meeting. He first asked that his account managers fill out the sheet for one of their most critical customers. He then had each manager present how his customer "worked" to two other people in the group. The real things you need to learn from your people—and this tool can help greatly—are:

1. Which part of the worksheet, if any, did you have the most difficulty completing? Why?

2. Was there anything you thought you knew and now wonder if you do?

3. What insights emerged as you went through this exercise?

4. What additional information about your customer, if any, do you believe it now would be helpful to have?

A caution about the worksheet: strategic account managers may be tempted to fly through the "How do you know?" questions. These are harder than they may initially seem. Just as the SAM earlier "knew" the VP of purchasing couldn't be the economic decision maker, so many strategic account managers take their gut feel as gospel. This question allows them to examine their assumptions (a manager's coaching can be very helpful here). After completing this exercise, many SAMs realize they do not know their account's buying influences as well as they thought they did.

^[2] S4 Consulting, Inc.