8 Fundamental Elements of Strategic Account Planning
21 October 2022
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Strategic account planning is an important part of any business strategy.
It is a detailed process that helps you identify your most profitable customers and create strategies for strengthening those relationships.
Why Is Strategic Account Planning Important?
Strategic account planning is essential because it helps you identify and prioritize your most important customers and prospects.
It enables you to understand the customer’s business, how they buy and how you can add value to their business.
It also helps set the right expectations with internal stakeholders who may not be familiar with strategic account planning or its benefits.
Here are some fundamental elements of strategic account planning:
1. Objectives
Objectives are the specific results you hope to achieve to meet your overall goal. The purpose of an objective is to communicate the outcome and is, therefore, a measurable, quantifiable result or improvement you’re seeking.
In other words, objectives are what you want to accomplish. They should be SMART: specific (for example, increase revenue), measurable (how much more revenue?), achievable (is it realistic?), realistic (can we do this?), and time-bound (when will we accomplish this?).
An example of a good objective would be “increase sales by 15% in 90 days.” An example of a bad objective would be “increase sales more than others in our industry.” Why? Because there are no measurable metrics attached to the statement—and nothing concrete can be done with this information once it’s collected!
The HubSpot Global Sales Enablement Survey found that 40% of companies failed to meet their sales goals in 2020. This is a staggering number. It’s more than likely that your sales team isn’t achieving the desired results, so you must be careful about picking your goals.
2. Background
The first step in strategic account planning is understanding the client’s background. There are many types of clients that you may be working with, and each type has a set of specific needs or concerns.
For example, some clients are large organizations that have complex business models. They may be interested in learning how your company can help them reduce costs or increase revenue.
Other clients may be small and new businesses that need help building their reputation and brand recognition.
According to a survey conducted by Sales Insight Lab, 71.4% of respondents said that only about half of their sales prospects are a good fit for their sales.
It is essential to know as much as possible about your client’s background and goals to create an appropriate plan to develop an effective strategy.
3. Current Situation Analysis
The Current Situation Analysis (CSA) is a fundamental element of strategic account planning because it helps you understand your customer’s current situation and how they could be perceived in the market.
The CSA can be used to determine the following:
| 1. What your customers are currently doing to achieve their business goals 2. Whether or not what they’re currently doing will meet their objectives 3. What other products/services might be better suited for them exist. |
4. Buying Process
The process that buyers go through to make a decision is referred to as the buying process. The steps in this process can vary from one organization or industry to another, but there are five fundamental stages that most of them follow:
| 1. Need recognition: A buyer realizes that he or she needs something, like a new product or service. 2. Information search: The buyer searches for information to help them decide whether to buy and what brand/product/service is right for them. 3. Evaluation of alternatives: The buyer compares different brands/products/services based on their perceived value. 4. Purchase decision: The buyer chooses which brand/product/service best addresses his or her needs and then makes a purchase. 5. Post-purchase behavior: After making a purchase, the buyer may want more information about how well their choice works for them after using it. |
Gartner says that when a business makes a complex purchase, it’s common for six to 10 people to be involved in the decision. These people bring different information to the table as they discuss their options.
5. Value Proposition
A value proposition is a statement that tells customers what they value, why they should buy from you, how you will deliver on your promise to them, and how you will measure success.
A strong value proposition reflects a customer’s perception of what matters most to them, what matters most, and why buying from you can provide that benefit better than any other option on the market today or tomorrow.
According to Harvard Business School, a value proposition that’s clear and concise is more likely to be remembered by your prospect.
6. Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis is a key component of any strategic account planning. The goal is to understand your offering and capabilities and how they compare to your competitors. To do this, you need to dig into the numbers:
| 1. What are the competitor’s strengths and weaknesses? 2. How do their offerings compare to yours? 3. What are their capabilities, KPIs, pricing, and promotions? |
7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Future Outlook
A KPI is a measurable indicator of progress against strategic goals. It’s a valuable tool for measuring and monitoring business performance, identifying areas for improvement, and evaluating marketing campaigns.
Salesforce recommends tracking both foundational sales metrics and metrics that show the lifetime value of customer and employee relationships.
When developing your key performance indicators, you should consider the following:
| 1. Which KPIs are most important to you? Use these as your strategic focus points. 2. Is there enough information available to measure them? If not, what do you need for this data source to be available or created? Do you need more resources or personnel? Do you need access to other departments or third parties (e.g., an analytics company)? Do you need additional funding from clients/bosses so that these improvements can happen ASAP? |
8. Risks / Challenges / Opportunities (RCOs) Assessment
The RCOs assessment is when you identify risks, challenges, and opportunities and understand how they will impact your ability to achieve your objectives. Once you have that understanding, then you can address them.
These three elements must be considered in this process because missing one or two of them could undermine your ability as a strategic account manager to deliver value for your company successfully.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the importance of strategic account planning and how it can help you reach your goals.
It’s vital that you understand the different elements of strategic account planning and how they impact your ability to be successful.
Once you understand this process, you can begin implementing it in your organization.
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