I need to rebuild my key account's trust after we let them down.

I need to rebuild my key account's trust after we let them down.

Fixing the problem is the first step. Trust comes back as the client watches your team keep its promises, update after update, month after month.

Five questions to see if your team can do this job today:

1. After a miss, does your team give the client regular updates on the corrective plan?
2. Do your executives get involved, so the client sees the issue taken seriously?
3. Does your team show its compliance improvements in business reviews?
4. Does your team keep checking the client's confidence until it's fully restored?
5. Does your team treat the recovery as a long-term commitment, well past the first fix?

Two or more no's, and the client may still be waiting to trust you again.

Several years ago, one of our large life science clients suspended our services indefinitely while they audited our compliance with a $5M contract. Out of a 30-page agreement, one of our team associates had broken the client's rules of engagement.

It came down to a trust issue for the customer. They wanted to see if this was a one-off or something systemic in the partnership. They also wanted to send a message that the contract's rules of engagement would be enforced.

After consulting with my boss, we ran our own investigation to gather the facts, set calls with the buyer, and developed a CAPA plan (Corrective and Preventive Action) to identify the root cause, fix what went wrong, and put controls in place so it doesn't happen again. We took ownership of the breach of trust.

After three months, we were back in action with this customer, but not before losing 30% of our revenues with them. The lesson was learned, and we maintained a good record with them for the next 15 years.

Our system, the Vitality Index, shows your key account teams where they stand today, the work it takes to level up, and how to do it, until they reach a vital partnership that lasts.

If your key account lost trust in your team tomorrow, how would you earn it back?

We built a free, 4-minute Key Account Risk Assessment. It gives you a risk score for your key accounts across team alignment, account planning, account transitions, and visibility. Link in the comments.