Discussing your needs with sales representatives is part of doing business, but sales teams are equipped with vast empirical, solutions-based knowledge and can help you with far more than just products. What separates an average account manager from a great one is asking open-ended questions to properly understand a clients’ needs.
According to Bunzl New Zealand’s Key Account Manager Rachael Fairweather, it’s also about sharing expertise. That’s particularly the case when it comes to sustainability, an issue that clients of all shapes and sizes have taken to heart. “Our customers definitely rely on us to be able to provide accurate information around sustainability because there’s a lot of greenwashing out there,” says Fairweather. “Clients don’t just want to know what’s in a product, but also its quality attributes – as well as whether it was ethically sourced.”
For New Zealand customers, there’s another big area of concern: plastic. The latest stage of the national ban on single-use plastics – which includes plastic produce bags, plates, bowls and cutlery – went into effect on 1 July 2023, and many clients rely on their account managers to help stay on the right side of these new laws. It may sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes an account manager’s best advice is on what not to purchase. Having the expertise to advise a client that they don’t require a product doesn’t just save them money but can also help that client reach their sustainability goals.
“it’s about giving clients every option and coming up with the very best solution together.”
Rachael Fairweather, Bunzl New Zealand Key Account Manager for Hospitality
Fairweather recounts how she recently advised a client planning to launch a packaged muesli cup with a disposable wooden spoon. The client planned to individually wrap the cutlery, but Fairweather opened a conversation about whether extra packaging was really needed at all. “It’s about giving clients every option,” she says, “and coming up with the very best solution together.”
Working well with clients is also about knowing when to call in the experts, whether that’s a supplier, the sustainability team or a product specialist. When a contract catering client had an issue with cleaning the concrete floor of their production kitchen, Fairweather organised for Bunzl’s equipment expert to come along and go through options.
“We came up with a solution and then we all went out to do on-site training on that piece of equipment. And some ongoing service kicks in as well. That was outside of my realm of expertise, but it ended up working perfectly for the client.”
Assessing new ventures and streamlining production processes is part and parcel of operating a successful business, but it’s not a solo job. The benefit of engaging with sales teams is that they know their industry and what needs to be considered when moving forward.
