Dec8
Major Account Sales Strategies – Part II
Posted by Nick in Corporate Sales Training | 0 Comments
File under developing a major account sales plan, major account plans, major account sales plan, major account sales strategies, major account strategy, selling to major accounts, write a major account sales plan
Developing Major Account Sales Plans
Too many Major Account Sales Plans read like a Wall Street Research Report. While some of that account intelligence is important, I prefer to work with simple major account sales plans that focus on how to efficiently and effectively close the business.
Developing a major account sales strategy starts by developing a major account sales plan. That plan is the most important part of any major account strategy.
Major account sales plans are maps that lead to an order. Without a map, reps are lost and “lost” is not a word I like to use in a discussion about selling to major account. A rep’s major account sales plan should not only guide a rep to their destination (objective), it will also show the reps the shortest way to get there.
What do you think happens when the competition “wings it” while another rep is following a well defined major account sales plan? That’s why I cover major account sales plans in my corporate sales training.
I like simple major account sales strategies and plans that focus on four points…
1) What needs to be accomplished?
2) When must it be accomplished?
3) How will it be accomplished?
4) Who will accomplish it?
Major Account Sales Plans – Format / Structure
When a rep writes a major account sales plan, they assume they control all events and everything will happen as planed. We all know that will never happen but it’s the only way to begin the develop a major account sales strategy and plan. Circumstances will change so reps need to be flexible and constantly respond to those changes by updating their sales plan.
I remind reps to write their major account sales plans in pencil and to be sure to have a big eraser ready for action. Yes, a “Delete Key” works just as well! My point is to emphasize that reps must expect plans to go through numerous changes and revisions.
There are three sections to my major account sales plans,
1) The Goal
2) The Intelligence
3) The Map
As I said, I like very simple, very efficient and very “to the point” major account plans. I also want to assure you that these major account sales strategies are very effective.
1) Major Account Sales Plan – The Goal
What is “The Goal” of your major account sales plan? This is a very simple one sentence statement but never underestimate it’s importance. “The Goal” is the anchor for everything in your major account sales plan and every activity revolves around “The Goal”.
“The Goal” is a very specific statement that identifies…
A) The name of the prospect
B) What they will be sold
C) When it will close
Here is an example of “The Goal” for a Major Account Sales Plan,
” Sell the XYZ Company $100,000 worth of widgets by July 30th.”
Even if a rep knows nothing about the potential prospect (XYZ), the rep can still write an effective Goal statement.
Certainty the expected close date may change but that’s not an issue because Plans are meant to be updated.
2) Major Account Sales Plan – The Intelligence
The Intelligence or “The Facts” section of a major account sales plan is a long list of data that relates to accomplishing “The Goal”. Reps must take some time and write down everything meaningful that they know about the prospect.
It is also very important for these reps to also write down everything they don’t know and need to uncover about their major account. Here are a few statements that may appear in the “The Intelligence” section of a major account sales plan,
The XYZ Company is buying widgets from Widgetco
I don’t know how much Widgetco charges for their widgets
Joe Smith is the widget decision maker at the XYZ Company
XYZ’s leading competitor is one of our clients
I need information about Widgetco’s product’s strengths and weaknesses
3) Major Account Sales Plan – “The Map”
“The Map” is a list of all the action items that must be completed in order to achieve “The Goal”. When reps build major account sales plans around the things they already know while also having a plan to uncover all they need to discover, their chance of success greatly increases.
Every action item in the Map must be associated with a firm due date. Since this is a planning document, the dates may change but at least the reps are placing things in motion. Some examples of the action items you may find in a major account sales plan are,
4/1 – Request a Wedgetco competitive analysis report from Sam in Marketing
4/4 – Set appointment for 4/12 with Joe Smith at the XYZ Company to uncover,
* Any Dissatisfaction With Widgetco
* XYZ’s Procurement Procedures
* How Many Widgets XYZ Purchases A Year
4/4 – Notify my Sales Engineer that I’ll need him on a sales call at the XYZ Company on 4/12
As you can see, “The Map” is a very detailed section in a major account sales plan.
Reps must distribute copies of their Major Account Sales Plan to every member of their sales team and ask them for their advice on how to improve the Plan. Rps must insure all team members are updated when the major account sales plans changes or get revised.
Now, guess what’s the last action item on “The Map”?
7/30 – Pick up order from XYZ for $100,000 worth of Widgets… the same as Goal Statement that began the plan.
Everything must track back to “The Goal” section of your major account sales plan.
The next time you write a major account sales plan, I hope you’ll remember my advice and put it to good use.
Nick Moreno, Sales Consultant
National Sales Center
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