If you've worked with any client ever, you know they often have very clear ideas of what they want. But what they want, isn't always what's best for them. This can be a challenge for any key account manager, but it also presents an opportunity. Disagreements can be a catalyst to improve collaboration and produce outstanding work.
So let's talk about how to disagree with your client, the right way.
Telling our clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, is our responsibility as key account managers. That can sometimes cause conflict. But that's how pearls are created; an oyster is irritated by a little piece of sand, and a beautiful creation is the result.
Disagreements may be uncomfortable, but don't put off the hard conversations. They won't get any easier and it'll just lead to communication breakdowns and harms your ability to collaborate. Decisions get delayed, and you could miss out on big opportunities for your business.
LINKS MENTIONED
- The Improv Mindset: Change Your Brain. Change Your Business. Unique book on how to apply the fundamentals of improv to get individuals, teams, and organizations to step up, engage, and solve problems.
- Follow the authors of The Improv Mindset on LinkedIn: Gaily Montgomery and Bruce Montgomery. They have a fun feed including a regular video series called Dashboard Improv.
RESOURCES
The KAM Club podcast is dedicated to helping busy key account managers get one step ahead. Listen for news, trends, tips, best practices and advice on how to have a successful career in key account management. Be sure to follow @thekamclub on social and check out our website https://www.thekamclub.com.
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- Episode show notes. Read the detailed notes and get links everything mentioned in the show. Visit https://tkcpodcast.com/023
- The KAM Club. Learn more about the world's greatest community of key account managers from around the globe.
- The KAM Club on Telegram. Don't miss a thing. Subscribe on Telegram to find out when new podcast episodes, videos, blog posts and workshops are released.
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