How to Write a Strategic Account Plan

How can you write a Plan to Penetrate and Grow a Strategic Account?

In order to gain the insights you need to create a winning plan, you must ask the right questions. Use this checklist as a guide. Use your plan in your strategic account reviews and to manage your account team.

1. Analyze your Target Account’s Business

Start with what is going on in your account’s business.

• What are the key trends in their industry?
• Who are their top prospects and customers?
• What are the top issues facing their customers?
• What are the critical trends in the geography?
• What is reflected in their financial reports and news about them?

2. Understand what is Driving the Account

You must understand their objectives and challenges.

• What are their strategic initiatives?
• What are the characteristics of their high-payoff customers/prospects?
• Are there verticals that they are winning in more than others? Why?
• What “pain” or business issues do they solve?
• What is their competitive position?
• What is their purchase history and decision-making process?

3. Clarify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

Conduct a SWOT analysis that examines how you can help this account.

• What Strengths can they benefit from? For example, a unique business model or capabilities.
• Which Weaknesses do you need to respond to? This includes the strengths of competitive and alternative solutions.
• Which Opportunities in the marketplace will you take advantage of… and help them take advantage of? How do you uniquely meet their compelling needs?
• What Threats in your selling environment will you defend against? Consider competitive moves, changes in technology, industry and regulatory standards.

4. Determine your Selling Approach

Consolidate the above insights the critical strategies and actions necessary to succeed.

• How do you help them accomplish their strategic objectives?
• What is your unique selling (value) proposition?
• Based on your SWOT, what are the critical few strategies to win in the account?
• What type of opportunities will you concentrate on?
• How can you leverage your differentiators? (Sales approach can be a differentiator.)
• What is your strategy to leverage current successes?

5. Engage the Resources you Need

Enroll the people and gather the knowledge you need.

• Which internal resources have the skills/connections you need?
• Who inside the account can help you win?
• Are there external resources that can support you (partners, people “in the know”)?
• What additional product/industry information do you need? What sources can provide it?
• How could you improve your selling and account management skills?

6. Create and Work your Plan

Use your plan as a guide to proactively produce your intended results.

• What are the high-leverage actions?
• Which resources are needed for each task?
• What are the due dates and key milestones?
• Do you take action and update the plan on a regular basis?
• Are you engaging your management, internal and partner resources?

If you don’t plan your work, you can’t work your plan. Winging it is the best way to lose a big opportunity you could have won!

Good luck and Good Selling!

How to Write a Sales Territory Plan

As published in Selling Power Blog, August 18, 2011

What are the critical steps in writing a successful Sales Territory Plan?

You may be wondering, “Where do I start?” The key is asking the right questions to harness the insights you need to create a winning plan. Use this checklist as a guide.

1. Analyze your Territory/Business

Start with what is going on in your territory/vertical market.

• What are the key trends in your geography/ market?
• Who are your top prospects and customers?
• What are customers buying?
• Based on your conversion rates, how much business do you need in your funnel?
• What is the gap between what you need in your funnel and what you have now?

2. Understand what Drives Customers to Buy

You must understand why they are buying or not buying your products.

• What are the characteristics of your high-payoff customers/prospects?
• Are there verticals that you are winning in more than others? Why?
• What “pain” or business issues do you solve?
• What compelling events drive the purchase?
• Are there specific products/services that you are selling more than others? Why?
• Why do they not buy your products/services?

3. Clarify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

Conduct a SWOT analysis that examines:

• What Strengths will you build upon? For example, a unique business model or capabilities.
• Which Weaknesses do you need to respond to? This includes the strengths of competitive and alternative solutions.
• Which Opportunities in your marketplace will you take advantage of? How do you uniquely meet your buyers’ compelling needs?
• What Threats in your selling environment will you defend against? Consider competitive moves, changes in technology, industry and regulatory standards.
• What is your unique selling (value) proposition?

4. Determine your Objectives

Consolidate the above trends into a few powerful objectives. Write specific, measurable goals (i.e. ‘I will add 5 new accounts in this vertical market’).

• Which vertical markets or geographies will you focus on?
• Based on the characteristics of your high-payoff customers/prospects, which accounts/opportunities will you concentrate on?
• What products/services/capabilities do you need to highlight in your plan?
• At your average selling price, how many opportunities do you need to add to your funnel?

5. Develop Strategies to Accomplish your Goals

Generate the top strategies to succeed.

• How will you further penetrate current accounts?
• What is your strategy to leverage current successes?
• What will you do to generate new leads?
• How will you improve your conversion rates?
• Where do you need to improve your selling process?

6. Engage the Resources you Need

Enroll the people and gather the knowledge you need.

• Which internal resources have the skills/connections you need?
• Who inside the account can help you win?
• Are there external resources that can support you (partners, people “in the know”)?
• What additional product/industry information do you need? What sources can provide it?
• How could you improve your selling and territory/account management skills?

7. Create and Work your Plan

Use your plan as a guide to proactively produce your intended results.

• What are the high-leverage actions?
• Which resources are needed for each task?
• What are the due dates and key milestones?
• Do you take action and fine-tune the plan on a regular basis?
• Are you engaging your management, internal and partner teams?

“It’s not the will to win that matters…everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

-          Paul “Bear” Bryant

Creating and implementing a well thought-out plan greatly improves your probability of success!

Guerilla Sales: 3 Key Account Research Steps Your Competitor Is Not Doing

So, your hard work in prospecting has paid off and you’ve landed an appointment with a big, publicly traded company.

To prepare, you’ve scanned through the latest press releases and the annual report, but you want to go one level deeper to make sure you stand well ahead any competitors.

Your extra effort will be well worth it. If you close this account, it could mean becoming the next sales superstar at your company!

That’s why we wrote this article. By following these three non-conventional steps, you’re going to show your prospect that you’ve done your homework and you merit their business.

Step 1: Study the Latest Investor Presentations

Public companies are required to present to shareholders and analysts at least every quarter. Many do it more than once a quarter.

These presentations are usually available to the general public for free. To access them, simply go to the company’s website and click on the Investors tab (or equivalent). Presentations to investors can be found on the “Presentations” tab (or similar).

Read one or two of their latest presentations (usually in PDF format). While these presentations highlight financial information, they will also be great resources for information on strategies and goals.

See an example of McKesson Corporation’s recent investor presentation by clicking here (PDF document).

Step 2: Read the Company’s Latest Earnings Call Transcript

Second, read the company’s latest one (or two) earnings call transcripts. These written transcripts can be a BIG eye-opener.

That’s because during the call, CEO’s typically share their latest strategies as well as their biggest challenges and pains. This information can be like digging up gold for a savvy salesperson, so make sure you do this step. It can pay off in a huge way.

Earnings call transcripts can be found for free at Seeking Alpha. Simply type the company name in the search box on the top right. As an example, here is the last earnings call transcript for McKesson’s Q4 2011 Results.

Step 3: Read The wikinvest Profile

Lastly, you can read the company profile on wikivest. This is a gem of a website that provides you with a good snapshot of a company’s basic information, strategies and challenges – for free! Simply type the company name in the search box on the upper left.

As an example, take a look at the wikinvest profile for McKesson Corp.

Conclusion:

These steps may take a little bit more work on your part, but it can pay off exponentially. Think about it: just one intelligent question on your part can make the difference between getting blown off and taking the opportunity to the next level.

The extra digging will also put you head and shoulders above any competitor going after the same deal (who did zero or minimal research).

Thanks for reading and we wish you happy hunting!

This was written by Silvia Quintanilla; this month’s guest author.

About Silvia Quintanilla

Silvia Quintanilla is President and Chief Sales Detective of Industry Gems, a custom sales intelligence company dedicated to helping salespeople win large deals with Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies. Learn more about us at www.industrygems.com.

If you sell solutions to the Fortune 1000, Silvia invites you to sign up for our Sales Gems Triggered Events newsletter at www.industrygems.com (subscription box on top left hand corner). In each report, we highlight the best “door opening” news that can help you get your foot in the door at a big account.

Copyright © 2011, Silvia Quintanilla & Industry Gems
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