“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” -Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe knew the value of not launching head-first into something without a considered plan of attack. How are sales teams meant to grow revenue in key accounts without a well-thought-out account planning strategy? Do they need an account planning template in order to properly “attack” the revenue waiting within potential accounts?
Not necessarily.
After all, account planning is an ongoing, iterative process. As such, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to account planning. It shouldn’t be done simply from an account planning template. The right software, however, can help guide sellers to better deals, and enhance their processes while enabling collaboration.
By focusing on the key components of a great account plan – calibration, cadence, coaching, and KPIs – sellers can ensure maximum impact in every interaction with their buyers.
Account Planning Template Overview
According to McKinsey, “The five-year growth rate of total returns to shareholders for digital leaders is almost double that of all other firms,” when they undertake a digitally focused account planning strategy. A higher growth rate should pique large enterprises’ interest when putting together their own long-term account planning strategy. But what do we mean when we say account planning?
Account planning is all about identifying the people, problems, and potential that will unlock new opportunities. Optimizing revenue requires in-depth knowledge of the executives, key players, and decision-makers to build the right relationships with your customers while focusing on how to solve their problems. It also requires the ability to visualize the whitespace in accounts. This whitespace is where you can thrive. Good account planning is the fastest way to develop pipeline and a plan to execute.
However, account planning is one of the most underused strategies in the sales arsenal. It is seen to take time, energy, and focus away from other opportunities. Savvy sales organizations can take advantage of this lack of enthusiasm, differentiate themselves, and use account planning to find the revenue others miss. If you want to win new deals, retain existing customers, and grow revenue, you don’t need a one size fits all account planning template. What you do need, however, to get account planning right are these five critical components. These are:
- Calibration
- Cadence
- Coaching
- Communication
- KPIs
Calibration
Successful account planning is all about getting the right calibration – you need the right-sized account plan, the right plan type, and the correct functionality and activities for your revenue team. After all, account planning isn’t just about increasing sales. It’s about bringing insight to the customer to present solutions that benefit them, thereby increasing sales.
To be successful, it’s crucial that you thoughtfully consider the account in question. You need the right kind of plan for the right kind of account. With the plan in place, you need to evaluate your options and select the right tools to give your revenue team the best chance of success in the account.
Cadence
To stay on top of your pipeline and manage your sales, you will need to have a scheduled review cadence in place. Schedule time to test and improve your portfolio, account plan, and review opportunities. Publish your operational rhythm so that everyone is on the same page.
Account Planning is undertaken once a year by many organizations, and this is a mistake. Throwing together a spreadsheet once a year is not how to grow revenue in existing customer accounts long term. The goal is to find the whitespace in the existing account by developing a working knowledge of your accounts’ people and problems.
Things can change at any moment in the field. You can’t wait until next quarter or next year to adapt plans to reflect changing realities. It would help if you planned regular reviews with your regional leaders and their teams, which should be prepared to share (and ask for help where they need it) during quarterly business reviews and executive briefings.
Coaching
In addition to learning about the products or services they are selling, sales leaders need to model the right behavior. There are several ways to provide education and resources for your revenue team:
- A coaching program can educate sellers on the account planning system’s benefits, so the whole revenue team is on the same page.
- A mentorship program will allow experienced team members to share their knowledge with new sellers.
- A center of excellence provides a one-stop-shop for tools and resources to encourage continuous learning and improvement.
Remember, sales is a team sport. It takes a complete revenue team to execute an account plan, and there may still be others beyond the team who can offer advice and insights to help you achieve your objectives.
Communication
If you want to get everyone on board with account planning, you need to celebrate, socialize, and communicate your successes. This communication can take the form of a published report or dashboard, monthly email communication to the revenue team, or sharing successes at the quarterly sales meeting. Turning those stories of whitespace into revenue will be a crucial driver of success both for the seller and the account.
Key Performance Indicators
As with any system, if you don’t know how to measure success, there is no way to achieve it. Start by defining a few critical KPIs, such as the number of deals, average deal size, win rate, and sales cycle. And when the data comes in, publish and communicate your results with Salesforce reports, Upland Altify dashboards, and other third-party analytics tools. Tracking additional metrics as whitespace turned into revenue will turn non-believers of account planning into advocates faster than you can say P.O.
If you keep these five critical factors in mind, you will set yourself up for success well into the future. Companies that focus on account planning will achieve excellent sales outcomes in uncertain business climates.
The Secret Behind Every Sales Account Planning Template
Account planning is a sure-fire way to increase revenue growth because it allows your whole team to impact every part of the customer experience. You’re helping them solve some of their more intractable problems. Problems that may have held them back and stopped them from being competitive. You are propelling them forward, improving entire industries with your solutions, and doing all of that with a strategic approach that maximizes efficiency and reduces needless expenditure.
If using these five steps as a template or framework to account planning correctly, your team will be capable of gaining far more growth from accounts than first meets the eye.
Why account planning is right for you
Now that you know the steps to building your account planning template, here’s just how impactful account planning can be for your entire revenue team.
In the modern era of business, where customer relationships are paramount, account-based sales (ABS) has emerged as a strategic approach.
This method focuses on targeting specific high-value accounts and tailoring offerings to their unique needs. At the heart of ABS lies account planning, a process that is not merely a tactical tool but a strategic imperative.
An important roadmap for your revenue team
Account planning serves as a roadmap, guiding sales teams towards successful relationships with key accounts. By meticulously researching and understanding the target organization, its culture, decision-making processes, and pain points, sales teams can develop personalized strategies that resonate. This deep-dive into the account ensures that every interaction is relevant and valuable, fostering trust and building a strong foundation for long-term partnerships.
Account Planning builds trust
Trust is the bedrock of any successful business relationship, and account planning plays a pivotal role in cultivating it. When sales teams demonstrate a genuine understanding of an account’s challenges and aspirations, they position themselves as trusted advisors, not just vendors. This trust is crucial in navigating complex buying cycles, overcoming objections, and closing deals.
Target untapped revenue potential (whitespace)
Moreover, account planning enables sales teams to identify untapped opportunities within key accounts. By mapping out the organization’s structure, identifying key stakeholders, and understanding their individual needs, sales teams can uncover new cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. This not only drives revenue growth but also deepens the relationship, making the account even more valuable.
Alignment across the entire revenue team
Account planning also empowers sales teams to align their efforts with the broader business strategy. By understanding the strategic goals of the target account, sales teams can ensure that their activities contribute to the overall success of the relationship. This alignment not only increases the likelihood of closing deals but also strengthens the account’s position within the organization, making it less susceptible to competitive pressures.
Account planning is an indispensable tool in the arsenal of account-based sales. By providing a deep understanding of key accounts, fostering trust, identifying opportunities, and aligning efforts with business strategy, account planning enables sales teams to build lasting relationships and drive significant revenue growth. In today’s competitive landscape, where customer loyalty is more important than ever, account planning is not just a best practice; it is a necessity.
We started this blog with a U.S. president quote, and we will end it with one. Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”