Recently on the blog we’ve been exploring the wide world of account planning. This is the grunt work of the sales world. It’s not the flashy business lunches, the cocktail hour, or the high pressure meetings that kick your adrenaline into gear. 

Account planning is the underground foundation that brings deals together. It’s the framework used to scaffold a deal from before that first cold (or hopefully warm) email to the prospective client to the implementation of whatever fabulous new product your client purchases. In short, account planning is the spine. Nothing works without it. 

I have to admit that I spent YEARS without taking account planning seriously. I have all the typical sales skills. I’m a good talker, highly persuasive, a creative problem-solver, and an excellent listener. So I can figure out what a client’s problem is, how to solve it, and put together a deal for them in my sleep. I rode high on those skills alone for a long time. But there’s only so far natural talent will take you. And for a lot of people, that’s far enough. Many sales professionals don’t want to move beyond the level of their natural talent; they’re content to stay where they’re comfortable and successful. 

But not us here at This Sales Life. You and I are always looking for ways to level up. Ways to make deals fool-proof. Systems to create that allow us to diagnose problems easily when deals do inevitably fall through; when “sales charm” isn’t enough to close a deal. 

Enter Account Planning. Account Planning, as I see it, consists of four distinct aspects. 

1. Research. You’ve got to put in the research if you’re going to craft the perfect account plan. This is always the beginning. Check out our recent article on 5 Tools for Researching Accounts. 

2. Questions. Create a list of questions you need answered by the client and questions the client may have for you. This will help you narrow in on what a client’s primary needs and top priorities are. If you need a place to start, check out 9 Questions to Ask in the FIRST Meeting. 

3. Organize. Here’s where you finally loop in the rest of your team. Taking all the information from your research and priority questions, organize a plan outline in a shareable format. Personally, I’m a PowerPoint man. 

4. Deal Plan. After you’ve met with your team and everyone’s on the same page, it’s finally time for a detailed account plan with delegated action items across the next 3-9 months. 

But Keril, you said this was an account planning 2-step not an account planning four part process. So I did. Let’s continue on then. 

The real two-step is between Questions and Organize. Formatting your research into a shareable format to work with a team is where you pivot from working alone to collaborating with others. This is when you make the move from solo exploration to group project. It’s the trickiest part in the process. And it’s easy to get wrong.

So, when transitioning from research and question time to organizing and deal planning, keep in mind the following: 

• Prep Your Team. The time for working alone is over. It’s no longer an isolated mission, you’re bringing in the troops. Have short conversations with team members in the hallway, mention what you’re planning in emails, and offhandedly at meetings. This helps to prepare your team for what’s coming so they’re not caught off guard by a brand new project seemingly out of the blue. 

• Ask for Input. This pivotal moment is also the opportunity to begin including other’s opinions and ideas. While you will present your own PowerPoint presentation about the prospective client, you’ll also want to spend a good chunk of the first official internal meeting brainstorming next steps with your team. 

• Make it Official. It’s all well and good to chat about a project vaguely in the hallway or ask someone for their opinion off-handedly, but at some point you’ll need to officially get this account moving. Schedule a meeting that your entire team can attend where you can share your thoughts in an organized manner (here comes that PowerPoint again) and spend time discussing next steps together. When this account gets rolling, everyone involved should know what their jobs are. 

Once you’ve made it official, the team can hit the ground running. Taking time to move gracefully between working alone on a project and bringing your team in is extremely important to the final outcome of a deal. Make sure you dance this 2-step carefully my friend, and your accounts will be much more stable because of it! 

Every new blog series at This Sales Life includes a juicy new freebie that’s only available for a LIMITED TIME! To accompany our new account planning blog series, we’ve created This Sales Life’s Exclusive Account Planning Template. (Cue fanfare!!!) 

Join This Sales Life’s email list and receive your account planning template TODAY! 

This free template will set you up for sales success by providing you with not only a spectacular example, but a clean sheet for you to implement it on your own time. 

If you’re enjoying our deep dive into account planning, make sure you snag this free resource so you can integrate the practice into your sales routine. It’s one thing to read about how account planning can help you close more deals and increase your commission, but it’s another to put this knowledge into action. Don’t leave this advice on the blog, take it home to make it work for you! 

Join the email list and get access to This Sales Life’s FREE Account Planning Template NOW. 

Keywords

Communication | Sales | Frameworks | Account Planning | Sales Professional | Sales Skills | Organization | Sales Habits | Sales Prospecting | Prospecting Tools | How Do I Account Plan