ACCOUNT STRATEGY PLANNING

Strategic account planning is a customer-centric approach to identifying priority accounts, capturing and analysing critical information, and developing a strategy to expand and grow existing customer relationships. This approach is crucial, given that it is six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one.

Strategic account planning takes typical account planning a step further by not only outlining an account’s goals—and how an organization can help them achieve these goals—but also evaluating which accounts are essential to your company’s growth. However, not all customers are created equal. Some have a greater impact on your sales than others. While it’s tempting to try to please all your customers, account planning enables sales teams to land and maintain complex deals. It enables teams to focus on the best opportunities. 

Our guiding principles:

  • Select the right Customers - the key to strategic account planning is choosing the right customers. Defining which of your accounts represent meaningful opportunities allows sales professionals to prioritize efforts. This approach works because it means investing already limited time on customers who are most likely to yield revenue. 

  • Analyse, then act - Analysing the situation and then developing realistic goals and strategies enables sales professionals to position the right solutions for the right customers. 

  • Create alignment, create value - We believe that taking the time to find alignment with the customer offers two key benefits.  The sales professional illustrates why they are unique relative to the competition and secondly, Differentiation is crucial, as more solutions become commoditised and more competitors enter the picture. 

  • Client collaboration - Sales professionals must stay up to date on the customer’s changing needs. Doing so requires consistent engagement. 

  • Execute and update - The customer’s business is not static. Account planning must move in lockstep with these changes. Also,  new competitors regularly enter the playing field. Updating the strategy protects the relationship against these other players. 

The key elements we address:

  • Industry Analysis - examine external industry issues that may impact the customer. Industry trends reveal the customer’s motivation for change

  • Customer Relationship Analysis - effective account planning documents your history with the customer and avenues for expansion like untapped business units and new divisions.

  • Customer Strategy Map – conduct a review of the customer’s strategy to determine which of their objectives and initiatives connect with your solution’s capabilities.

  • Stakeholder Assessment - categorise the stakeholders by their role, level of influence, and alignment with the solution.

  • Competitive Assessment - review your competitive position from the customer’s perspective.

  • Running Questions List - seems trivial but questions will emerge throughout the planning process. We keep an ongoing list of these inquiries and the steps needed to answer them.

  • Strategy Development - the information from the steps listed must coalesce into a strategy and this is what we develop together with your team.

  • Action Plan - identify actions to reduce uncertainty, leverage strengths, facilitate consensus, remove or reduce vulnerabilities, and drive momentum to the sale.

We can help you:

 - Close faster.
 - Reduce your acquisition costs.
 - Retain your priority relationships.
 - Focus on your best Accounts.
 - Learn from the planning process.