The sales team plays a vital role in the growth of any business. Most importantly, it helps to drive conversions and generate revenue. For this, they need to be efficient and effective in their approach. The best way to achieve this is through account planning.
This article discusses account planning and how it can help boost your business sales.
Why Does the Sales Team Need Account Planning?
Account planning defines goals, objectives, and actions to help the sales team focus on existing customers and key accounts. It looks at the bigger picture and sees what needs to be done to achieve those goals.
By using Salesforce software, you can easily track your accounts, their challenges and goals, and how much revenue they bring in. This will make you more efficient when deciding which accounts to focus on.
Here are some common reasons why sales teams use account planning in Salesforce:
- Help your sales team focus on key accounts and existing customers who will give you better results than new ones.
- To increase the long-term value of a customer relationship by deepening your understanding of their business needs so that you can better address them over time.
- To help you prioritize your sales activities and focus on what’s most important for your company.
- Also, create a long-term plan to help you understand how to best use your resources to achieve your goals.
Time Management
Account planning helps you to be more efficient and effective with your time. Account planning provides a framework for using your time more efficiently, which means you’ll get more done in less time. Account planning will help you stay on track with what needs to happen next if you’re working on a project that includes multiple stakeholders and decision-makers. It helps everyone understands their role in the overall process.
Account planning is a process that helps you to get clear on who your customers are, what their needs are, and how to best meet those needs. It also helps you understand the marketplace in which they operate, including competitors and industry trends.
Business Efficiency
A recent study states that 55% of businesses that employ account planning are expected to increase their revenue by 20% or more. At the same time, 27% of businesses experience better customer satisfaction year after year. The stats show the significance of account planning in enhancing your business efficiency.
Account planning helps you focus on existing accounts. Rather than chasing low-value, high-volume deals, account planners focus on the accounts that are likely to buy from them. This way, they can spend more time on high-value accounts and fewer resources chasing low-value sales opportunities.
Account planning helps you spend less on unproductive tasks and more time winning new business. By contacting customers who have a history of buying your products or services, you’ll save yourself hours of research and development and avoid costly trips to places they’re not interested in buying from you.
Better Communication
Account planning helps to improve communication with the sales team. It is because you can share information regularly and be more proactive in your approach. In addition, regular check-ins and updates help keep everyone on the same page, making it easier for you to solve problems as they arise.
Account planning also improves communication with customers. It allows them to have their say regarding what they want from your business, which means that you can focus on providing those things for them to build an even stronger relationship with them.
Account planning will improve communication between different departments within an organization, such as marketing and management too. It means there will be no miscommunication about shared goals or objectives, which makes it easier for everyone involved in these projects/tasks/goals etc.
Focus on Existing Accounts
A report from Invesp says that 60-70% of existing customers have a higher chance of buying from you again. On the other hand, only 5-20% of new customers contribute to your business sales. Existing customers are also likely to try newer products and spend approximately 31% more when compared to newer customers.
To make the most of account planning, you should focus on existing accounts that are already profitable and have the potential to grow even more. In addition, you want to keep these accounts happy and around as long as possible. If you’re lucky, they may even become lifelong clients that stick with you through multiple purchases over many years.
Focus on Accounts That Are Not Profitable Yet but Have The Potential To Be
You should also focus your efforts on accounts that aren’t yet profitable but could become so in the future if you do things right. Meaning that those customers see the value in what you have to offer and buy from your company again. In other words, this type of account is one whose revenue stream is empty but has potential for future profits because it’s still relatively new about its relationship with your business.
Identify Accounts That Are Not Profitable and Have No Potential To Be
Account planning prevents you from wasting time worrying about accounts that aren’t profitable and have no potential to be.
If you’ve been in business long enough, you’ve probably had a few of these. Maybe it’s an account you used to be able to count on for a lot of revenue, but now it’s just not worth the time or effort anymore. The key is focusing on where your attention will yield the most benefit, i.e., accounts that are still profitable and have growth potential.
Overall Sales Increase
Account planning helps identify and reach out to new customers, increasing overall sales. Account planners also help maintain existing customers by providing them with the products and services they need to succeed. Lastly, account planning helps convert prospects into paying customers by identifying their needs and ensuring that your company can meet them.
Forecast Sales Accurately
Account planning helps you to forecast sales accurately because it is a process that involves thorough planning and research, which helps you to understand the needs of your customers and how they will react to your product or service. In addition, it means that when it comes to forecasting, you will clearly understand what is being offered and why it’s relevant to the target audience.
The strategy may include the following:
- Budgeting for specific programs
- Creating relationships with the target audience
- Defining the target audience’s needs and wants
- Understanding how to communicate with them effectively
Strengthened Customer Service
Zippia reports that 72% of customers tend to leave your business after just one bad experience. Businesses worldwide lose approximately $75 billion in revenue due to customers switching to competition after bad customer service experiences.
Customer service is a key component of account planning, and account planners are responsible for handling customer service requests. Account planners can also help customers with any issues that may arise during the sales process, including billing or shipping questions.
In addition, customer service is a great way to retain your customers, as it shows them that you care about their needs and are committed to meeting their demands. The account planner’s job is to help identify and solve problems. They do this by listening to customers, learning more about their needs, and understanding which products or services would be most beneficial.
Increased Customer Retention Rate
It is especially true in the first year of a relationship with a new company. The customer retention rate is highest during this period and drops off after that. However, if you have a good account strategy in place, your sales team can identify what has worked for them in the past and continue using those methods going forward.
It means that they will be able to satisfy your customers by continuing to provide them with high-quality products or services relevant to their needs. You must also ensure they know about your business’s changes, upgrades, and new offerings.
Account Planning is a Key Sales Strategy to Help You Achieve Your Sales Targets.
Account planning involves identifying your target accounts and mapping out a plan to win them over. It helps you to focus on the right accounts and not waste time on the wrong ones.
Account planning is also an effective way to maximize the value of each salesperson on your team. By focusing on specific industries, products, or services, you can easily identify opportunities within each account. Then, each team member can effectively manage them to drive revenue growth.
With an account planning strategy, your sales team will feel more confident and be able to focus on customers who are more likely to buy. In addition, the better they know their customers and the more effectively they communicate with them, the higher their chances of closing deals.
