I was going to spend the next few weeks blogging about account planning. Instead, I will shorten things up a bit and put it all into today’s post. I think it best to begin with a definition and move on from there.
Definition
Account planning originated in UK advertising agencies in the late 1960’s. Account planning gained a foothold in U.S. agencies in the mid 80’s and has only recently been introduced to sales organizations. The concepts are the same.
Account managers were using information incompetently or inexpediently because research was not involved in the selling process. A new process of sales campaign development that had less gut feeling and more scientific foundation with direct customer involvement was established and Account Planning was born. This process involves rigorous analysis of a prospect or client and its position in the competitive market place . This process creates a selling message from the sales objectives and the client’s business objectives , validated by the client.
Why Conduct Account Planning?
Externally, business executives, specifically CxOs, agree that the biggest disappointments they have with the sales teams they meet are the lack of preparation by the sales team and the lack of understanding about the client’s business and markets. Account Planning can address both of these issues.
Internally, sales teams are often accused of wasting valuable resources on poorly planned sales campaigns . Extended members of sales teams cannot easily be brought up to speed on specific opportunities. Many opportunities are missed because there is no higher level focus on the account as a whole. Account Planning seems to fit here as well.
We know that account planning can address these issues, better preparing sales teams to meet with prospects and clients, helping to maintain a “big picture” focus on the account, and keeping extended team members on the same page .
However, for Account Planning to be successful, it must be viewed as an iterative process, and not an event or administrative task. Filling out an onerous opportunity form or a worksheet does not mean that you are engaged in the account planning process. It means you may be wasting valuable time and it doesn’t have to be this way. As an iterative process, Account Planning should be supported by specific inputs, outputs, activities, and supporting resources . It should be the responsibility of the Account Manager, with direct input and support from the sales team, management, partners, influencers, and most importantly, the prospect or client.
The Account Planning Process
The Account Planning Process has five distinct steps that form a cycle so that the last step feeds seamlessly into the first. Each step in the process has specific inputs, outputs, guidelines, and supporting resources. In my upcoming blogs, I will discuss each of the steps in detail but for today we will just take a look at the process as a whole:
- Recording the Past
- Exploring the Current Landscape
- Looking for Opportunities
- Validating the Plan
- Updating the Plan
If it seems too simple, that’s because it has to be simple so that sales teams will stick with it. The benefits must outweigh the costs. I have worked with several companies that have used account plans in excess of 100 pages! A 100 page account plan only insures that no one will read it, including the author! Keep it simple. We have added an account planning template to our CRM system that is easy to use and update. It is online and available to the entire sales team. By using a simple approach, we have made account planning part of our overall sales process. We can have productive conversations about specific plans within specific accounts while ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Recording the Past
It is important for every member of the account team to have access to a concise version of the account’s historical activity including:
- A snapshot of the client’s business
- Their purchasing history along with the value that was created or received
- Their services history along with the value that was created or received
- Any competitive footprint in the account with details
- Successes, References, and Quotes
- Problems, Issues, and Failures
Exploring the Current Landscape
You need to explore what is happening at your account currently. This information falls into three categories. You need to know what is happening related to your own activities. You need to understand any other internal activities that may affect you. You need to look at externally sourced information to bring context to the information that you already have.
Related to your own activities, you should have a good handle on any current evaluations, any ongoing service projects, and most important, any problems that could prevent additional activities from occurring. Other internal activities to search for should include any competing projects that may be looking to consume the same resources or funds as your own projects. Externally sourced information should include any press releases, key developments, relevant news items, financial performance, and executive role changes as well as industry related trends and announcements .
Looking for Opportunities
You should now have a good base of knowledge regarding your prospect or client. Based on the information from the current landscape, you can construct a roadmap for the future that includes:
- A short list of potential, qualified, and confirmed business issues that your client may be dealing with
- A map showing how your capabilities and offerings can address the short list of business issues
- Any appropriate references, white papers, or other relevant sales and marketing assets
- Validation through external and internal sources, contacts, and research
Validating the Plan
You should share the account plan and roadmap with your client or prospect in order to solicit validation and feedback. You can start by exploring the executive contacts that you have, matching them to the appropriate issues on your short list. You should schedule meetings with any executive that would be impacted by our plan. I would structure a validation meeting as follows:
- Confirm the value that has been delivered so far
- Confirm that your view of the current landscape is accurate
- Be prepared to address any current or past problems
- Discuss the issues short list, only discussing solutions for validated issues
- Offer an action plan to continue the process
Updating the Plan
It is critical to update the plan so that the whole account team can make effective use of the insights gained from the client meetings. The most important information in the plan comes directly from your clients; it is their perception that matters, not yours. You must be sure to update the short list of issues to reflect what you have learned. Political and organizational changes typically occur prior to being captured via the internet . This information is most accurate when it comes from the customer.
Once you have followed up on all of the action items, you are ready to return to the first step in the process, recording new activity at the account, revising our plans as you go.
Summary
Account Planning provides an important mechanism to keep your account teams focused on the big picture while still managing the day-to-day action items and opportunities. This process provides a higher level of service to your customers as you are more prepared for each interaction, operating more efficiently with everyone on the same page.
Stratascope can provide you with many of the supporting resources needed for successful account planning.
Next Post – The Core Problem with Sales Enablement
-Bruce A. Brien, CEO, Stratascope Inc.
