Strategic Accounts – 4 Steps the Top Performers Take to Make the Most of Important Customers

Does it sometimes seem as if you are chasing after customers that all too easily flit away? Perhaps it’s time to do some serious strategic account planning. It may be that you are overlooking ways to make the most of your major accounts. Here is what you need to do:

1. Review
   Carefully review your key accounts. Don’t just focus on past revenue performance. Consider potential growth, margin, connections and strategic brand value. Think about each account in terms of what could happen and how they could grow if you launched an all-out effort to expand your relationships and deepen your knowledge of their industry, competitors, customers, products, strategy and business.
      
2. Select
   Have your sales team and key cross-functional stakeholders evaluate the list until you have narrowed it down to two or three strategic customers that fit your ideal target client criteria for a major account. Your team needs to understand that this will be an investment on your company’s part. Strategic accounts require time and effort. The focus is on future long-term growth, not short-term payoff.
   
3. Plan
   Create a plan that makes sense for each major account. One that is understood, believable and implementable in your unique sales culture.  Who is to be involved and how? Where is the potential? What relationships do you need to build? What do you know and where is your knowledge lacking vis-à-vis this key customer? Who makes the decisions? What competition do they face? What are their business goals? How do they plan to achieve them? How can your solutions help? Ask these questions and more until your account plan is clear enough to act.
   
4. Meet
   Set up regular review meetings…both with the major account team on your end and with key folks on the customer end. If you bring true value to your customers at these meetings, they will be glad to spend the time with you and your colleagues because you have earned the right to work with them as trusted advisors who want to grow their business…at the same time as you grow yours.

A strategic account plan should provide mutual benefit…measurable business value. If you are looking for sustainable growth with customers who don’t fly away, a strategic account may be the perfect answer.

Read this to See if Your Sales Strategy is as Clear as It Needs to Be to Create High Growth

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/strategic-account-planning-training/