How can you use a sales funnel for account management?

All Customer Accounts should be allocated to a funnel, the most common criteria is pipeline to close - i.e where are they in your buying journey to purchase. A very underutilised but highly valuable criteria to measure is Sentiment, i.e the health of the relationship and state of the account. Poorly managed accounts and poor relationship experiences fast-track churn, no matter how good a 'product' may be.

Start by dividing up your accounts into groups according to factors like industry, degree of engagement, or potential revenue. This first stage in a sales funnel is similar to the top-of-the-funnel procedure. You can better customize your account management strategy by being aware of the particulars that make each account unique. Because of this segmentation, resources can be allocated effectively and in a personalized and targeted manner. It also helps account managers to focus their attention and efforts on high-value accounts that have the most potential for long-term relationships and growth.

For every identified account, state clear, quantifiable goals in a manner akin to the goal-setting stage of a conventional sales funnel. These objectives could be upselling opportunities, customer satisfaction measurements, or revenue targets. Account managers can better direct their efforts and ensure alignment with the overall goals of the organization by having a clear understanding of these objectives. Account managers are able to measure progress, monitor performance, and modify strategies in response to changing account needs by setting clear goals.

An underutilised measure of success in sales funnels in account management is customer health, measured with a traffic light system. This health determines your 'Right to Sell' to a customer, and how receptive they would be to a sales conversation. Green means the relationship is healthy and they would be open to more discussions and opportunities. Yellow means there might be issues or recent challenges that make the customer reticent in the relationship and less open to sales converations. Red means the account and relationship is in poor health and needs to be repaired or they will likely churn.

Formulate a thorough plan for every account according to their distinct objectives and requirements, just like you would during the planning stage of a sales funnel. Describe particular activities like targeted marketing campaigns, individualized communication strategies, and proactive problem solving. Adapt your actions based on the account's position in the funnel, including whether they need retention efforts or are in the nurturing stage. By using this strategic planning, account managers can be sure they have a plan in place to direct their interactions and get the most out of every account. This will ultimately contribute to sustained business success.

Customer satisfaction is a challenging metric as an Account Manager because it is Qualitative and can vary from situation to situation. Regular account checkups and engagement with the customer will give you a more accurate understanding of your customers satisfaction, as well as some open and honest conversations all in the interest of mutually improving the relationship.

Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge how well your account management efforts are working, such as revenue growth, customer satisfaction ratings, and retention rates. Reviewing these data on a regular basis enables prompt strategy modifications, guaranteeing alignment with changing account requirements and corporate goals. Account managers can make well-informed decisions, quickly address problems, and build on successes with this data-driven approach, which is similar to the iterative structure of a sales funnel. Organizations can optimize their account management strategies for long-term customer satisfaction and optimal performance by keeping a close eye on results monitoring.

Comparable to refining a conventional sales funnel, periodically evaluate and adjust every phase of the account management process according to the tracked outcomes. Determine areas that require improvement, simplify procedures, and take into account client and account manager input. Personalized and targeted approaches can be made by utilizing data analytics to obtain insights into customer behaviors and preferences. Organizations can improve productivity, boost customer satisfaction, and promote long-term business growth by iteratively optimizing the account management funnel.

In my years of research as a Customer Satisfaction Specialist we found that the Account Manager experience influences over 60% of a Cust Sat score. High engagement from the Account Manager = higher score. Account Management is about managing the 'people' side of your business, make sure you hire good 'People' persons to fill those roles.