How can you use account planning to improve your team's performance?

1 What is account planning?

Account planning is a method of creating and managing a detailed plan for each of your key accounts, based on data, insights, and feedback. It involves identifying your clients' current situation, desired outcomes, and potential obstacles, and defining your team's objectives, strategies, and tactics to help them achieve their goals. Account planning also requires regular monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment of your plan, as well as communication and coordination with your clients and internal stakeholders.

2 Why is account planning important?

Account planning is important because it helps you build trust, loyalty, and retention with your clients, by showing them that you understand their needs, expectations, and preferences, and that you are committed to delivering value and results. It also helps you increase your revenue and profitability, by identifying new opportunities, cross-selling and upselling, and reducing churn and attrition. Moreover, account planning helps you improve your team's performance, by providing clarity, direction, and motivation, and by enabling collaboration, innovation, and learning.

3 How to create an account plan?

Creating an effective account plan requires a systematic and structured approach that covers four main steps: research, analysis, action, and review. In the research step, you should gather information about your client, such as their industry, market, competitors, challenges, goals, pain points, decision-makers, influencers, and stakeholders. You can use surveys, interviews, reports, analytics, and social media for this. The analysis step involves assessing your client's situation, needs and opportunities as well as evaluating your team's strengths and weaknesses. SWOT analysis, gap analysis and value proposition are some of the tools that can be used here. The action step is when you define your team's objectives, strategies and tactics to help your client achieve their goals and overcome their challenges. SMART goals, RACI matrix and Gantt chart are some of the frameworks that can be used here. Finally in the review step you should monitor and measure your team's progress and results while comparing them with your plan and your client's feedback. KPIs, ROI and NPS are some of the metrics that can be used here. Don't forget to adjust your plan as needed and communicate and celebrate your achievements with your client and team.

4 How to implement an account plan?

To ensure successful implementation of an account plan, it is essential to keep your team aligned, engaged, and accountable. Communication is key - share the plan with your team and explain the rationale, expectations, and benefits. Encourage collaboration and leverage diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives. Stimulate innovation and reward creativity. Lastly, conduct regular feedback sessions with your team and client to evaluate the performance and impact of the plan. Recognize accomplishments and learnings, and celebrate successes.

5 How to improve your account planning skills?

Account planning is a skill that you can develop and enhance with practice and learning. To improve your account planning, you can seek advice and guidance from experienced peers, managers, mentors, or coaches. Read books, articles, blogs, podcasts, or webinars that offer insights into account planning. Additionally, reflect on your own account planning experiences to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Set specific and realistic goals for yourself and track progress and results. Lastly, seek feedback from clients and team members to act on.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?