Why Systematic Account Growth?
~90% of growth comes from existing accounts (B2B).
However, this area generally does not receive its fair share of growth resources. Marketing is largely focused on new business campaigns and corporate branding. Account management checklists used during account planning prove to be inadequate as the actions needed to achieve stated ambitions quickly become out of sync with ground realities. That’s because accounts are similar only at the surface and execution is tough. So leading indicators remain largely unaddressed (i.e. client relationships, value delivered, perception, strategic goals mapping, innovation, competitive advances, customer experience, etc.).
Meanwhile, wins keep coming in. But growth does not clearly map to desired account health and strategy. The journey is unpredictable. Key risks continue to be just one external event away. Heroes are (rightly) applauded. New checklists are developed and review cadence is updated.
And the cycle repeats.
Sounds familiar?
There is a dire need for a systematic yet practical approach to accelerate account growth.
My new book (and associated course) focus on this specific topic. You will discover what the key pillars of account health are, and how marketing, sales, and practice teams can together deliver on crucial leading indicators to bring predictability and accelerate growth. You will engage clients on an experiential journey and refine the account growth motor skills of your organization. And, you’ll learn how to conceptualize and orchestrate effective tactics that lead to systematic account growth.
The target launch is March 2022. If you’d like to be part of the early previews, provide inputs to shape the story, and receive discount codes, then please subscribe for updates and early access.
Who this book and course is for?
Ask yourself these qualifying questions:
- Does my company sell complex technology solutions or services to enterprise clients?
- Will the revenue after multiple years be 5-10x (or more) of the initial project/program size?
- Do we want to be integral & consequential to the client’s strategic journey?
If you answered yes to these questions, and if you are in marketing, practice/product, or account management/sales, then this is for you. I cover specific strategies and tactics that are focused on account and client relationships growth. If you deliver projects, you will indirectly benefit too because I show how delivery experiences should be integrated into the growth journey.
What will be the results and when can I see them?
My goal is to provide you with the tools to create and execute an actionable account growth strategy.
By implementing the strategy systematically at your key accounts, you can expect to see a 20% increase in the qualified pipeline (new leads) within 90 days. You’ll also secure higher deal conversions & improved CSAT within 6 months. This growth can be achieved through various means such as selling additional products & services, increasing usage, selling to different line functions & business units, etc.
You will also be able to prepare non-key accounts for their transition to key account status over time.
Based on your average account size and sales cycle duration, you can easily compute what the impact will be. These numbers are pretty reasonable but they of course come with the usual disclaimers. Every account and execution is different.
The outcomes of the approach laid out in the book work because they map to what you already strive to do: Create and nurture relationships, demonstrate value, raise awareness, and help clients deliver with their ambitions.
How is this related to ABM – Account Based Marketing?
The term “ABM” has largely been repurposed to mean targeted marketing to acquire new clients. Here I focus on growing existing accounts, not on acquiring new accounts. The tactics are very different.
I’ll outline what I call the High-Low approach. Some tactics in our catalog will be high-touch and specific to a key account. And some activities will be low touch so can be executed more broadly. A combination of both types is needed for success.
The emphasis of this book and course is to create and reinforce solid value-based client relationships, raise client perception, grow existing business, and expand into new service lines and LOBs. It’s not about selecting a bunch of target accounts and then running digital marketing, email campaigns, cold calling, and other tactics.
All of us will wear marketing and sales hats. Our attention will be on deeper customer engagement and awareness to deliver key account growth.
Outcomes you can expect from this book & course:
- Understand what is needed to set up a successful Account Growth / ABM program
- Learn how to and then segment and prioritize your accounts to prepare a candidate list. Qualify your account to see if it meets the criteria. See how to broaden the criteria to include more accounts that don’t qualify right now but are good candidates for the future.
- Calculate your ROI from such a program – use the template provided. Create and execute a plan to secure support from other required stakeholders.
- Create the service catalog and tailor it for the identified accounts – Use the prebuilt service catalog template I provide in this course
- Set up the cross-functional team with shared KPIs against measurable milestones.
- Get into the nitty-gritty of execution – we’ll tackle a few key items in the catalog so you can get started immediately with those tactics to drive results
I have spent 20 years working in the trenches and have also had my fair share of back seat driving. I have created solutions, delivered projects, sold deals, marketed, managed partners, ran account centricity programs, and hounded folks for sales targets. The material reflects tangible experiences of what works and what doesn’t.
So this book and course are geared towards account growth by bringing the powers of an organization together.
If you care about account growth, then subscribe to be a part of this journey. I welcome your thoughts. A healthy discussion will lead to a better outcome for us all. Sign up to get updates and early access.