Customer needs analysis
Readers would surely agree that suppliers must really understand the needs of their customers and amend their approach accordingly. Alas, this certainly was not the case back in 1996 and is still largely untrue today. When key account managers are trained to sell volume and are paid accordingly, they have little interest in giving up substantial amounts of time and energy in researching the processes, organizational intricacies, financial details, etc. of their customers. But without such an investment they will never be able to align their offers with their customers’ needs.