Process to Increase Account Penetration
Posted by Jim Kasper on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 @ 04:35 PM
Hope and Luck Are NOT Sound Account Penetration Strategies
...but if you are relying on them to boost your sales this year, you just may be in the mainstream of sales professionals we speak with every day. In other words, if you are hoping your customers...
- Purchase higher quantities from you this year
- Try NEW products/services you are introducing
- Replace current competitor purchases with your offerings
...you are probably leaving your good fortune up to LUCK and CHANCE! This is NOT a sound strategy.
More and more sales managers want to know "exactly where sales increases are coming from."
The answers are NOT:
"I hope that XYZ customer will buy more widget units this year!"
"With any luck, we should replace our primary competitor at XYZ customer this year!"
Yet we continuously hear sales managers expressing their frustrations with they hear these very answers and doubts about achieving the stated goals.
There are 2 processes that are key to successful account penetration (synonymous with increasing wallet share and includes effective cross-selling):
- The Pre-call Plan
- The Account Plan
The Account Plan
Account planning is a consultative sales approach that:
· Plans what a customer/prospect will buy from you during a given timeframe, usually the customer’s fiscal year.· Outlines a strategy to sell more to “A” accounts.· Sets an accountability timeline for purchases (decision-maker accountability).· Creates buy-in from the top of the organization and provides a “buying roadmap” for other influencers.· Places control of the sales process in YOUR hands.· Plans to replace competitive products.· Helps partners and department heads achieve goals and strategic initiatives.· Greatly assists forecasting.· Takes “hope” out of the sales process.The benefits of conducting account planning are:· Strengthens the relationship and loyalty with the decision-makers· Facilitates you becoming part of the customer decision-making process· Shortens the sales cycle· Provides a barrier of entry to competitors· Helps create more accurate forecasts· Provides sales management with several accountability points · Provides a roadmap for you to hit sales forecasts
The best ways to utilize an account plan:
1. Use it as a “consultative selling” tool to enlist the decision-maker’s buy-in
2. Base quarterly meetings with decision-makers on the plan for purchase accountability Successful global sales producers told us that once they have written the account plan, it is easy to produce a pre-call plan to insure account penetration.
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