In uncertain times—when leaders issue edicts to slash costs, suppliers are squeezed, and client loyalty becomes more fragile—strategic clarity becomes a competitive advantage for professional sellers. That's true not just for the selling organization but also for each member of a given sales team.
Enter Sandler's KARE model: a simple, strategic four-quadrant framework that helps sales professionals focus their energy in the areas where doing so matters most. The acronym stands for Keep, Attain, Recapture, and Expand.
At first glance, KARE might seem almost too simple. But in practice, our clients have found that it's a powerful way to segment your client and prospect base by strategic objective. This breakthrough tool helps teams get organized at the company, division, regional, and individual salesperson levels.
During periods of economic uncertainty, it's a good bet that you will want to focus first on the "KEEP" corner of Sandler's KARE quadrant – the upper-left-hand corner. That's because, for most teams, retention will be the issue of greatest strategic importance when the road starts to get a bit bumpy. At times like these, protecting what you already have by holding on to your key clients and customers is likely to be your top priority.
The "Keep" quadrant is all about strategic defense. Make no mistake: Clients you take for granted can—and will—get poached unless you strengthen and expand key business relationships. This is especially true when organizations are under pressure, and senior decision-makers send messages like "find a way to cut five percent across the board." If you're not proactively working to stay embedded in your clients' world, someone else will be.
To safeguard your key accounts, you will probably want to consider:
- Widening your contact base. Don't rely on one person — go deep and broad across silos.
- Shifting from check-in calls to strategic conversations. What are their priorities right now? What internal pressures are they facing?
- Reinforcing value at every touchpoint, reminding clients not just what you deliver but why you're irreplaceable.
- Meeting the threat head-on. If you know competitors will undercut you, make sure your client understands the actual cost of switching in terms of lost time, risk, uncertainty, or other factors.
This is the moment to make sure you are seen as the one supplier they can't afford to lose, as opposed to another line item on the budget.
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