I have been part of numerous organizations where the sales and executive team would meet to determine who their key accounts were and what the criteria were for qualifying as one. They would emphasize revenue was important but not the only factor. There had to be a strategic value to the customer – they were in the right vertical we were targeting, they had access or influence to a lot of other customers, their CEO was a well known personality, their use of our product or solution was very synergistic, etc.

What always struck me was that we did this AFTER accounts became customers. The focus was more on customers we wanted to grow or avoid losing but not on prospects we wanted to acquire. Why is so much thought put into identifying and supporting key accounts but not key prospects? Why did we have so many meetings with sales, marketing, product and customer success and create a detailed plan for existing accounts but not prospects?

Customer are stuck on the Lead Gen/Demand Gen Hamster Wheel

I think customers are typically comfortable staying on the lead gen/demand gen hamster wheel. Hunting for large accounts or “whales” as we call them is a paradigm shift that most companies are unfamiliar with. Everyone understands the old paradigm of creating brand awareness and hopefully through expensive and ineffective advertising you drive random prospects to your website. Then they become leads because they interacted with your brand somehow so then sales gets involved to qualify them. As you can imagine, when you have a net in the proverbial sea of prospects,  you tend to catch a lot of old boots and tires and the occasional fish. Some fish you have to throw back and some you get to keep.

Companies are very comfortable with this process as it is very familiar, and they think to some degree they can automate the process and produce repeatable and predictable results. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. It has been shown that sales wastes an inordinate amount of time qualifying leads and also that less than 40% of sales reps are making their quota. Does this mean that companies should abandon this strategy altogether?

Should we abandon our current demand generation marketing?

No! Companies will always need to create awareness in their marketplace and keep their feelers out there for relevant leads that may come through. However, just as companies have a concerted effort, and sometimes even a separate team focused on key accounts, they need to devote the same resources to key prospects which are strategic accounts. The best way to do this is to develop an account based sales and marketing approach to hunting and catching these large accounts or “whales”. The industry is clear on the benefits: highest ROI, increased deal size, larger annual contracts, increase in reputation, decrease in the sales cycle, etc.

Benefits of hunting “whales”

I think there are also numerous other benefits then just more revenue. Think of what landing a large logo does for your organization. Not only does it give the sales force a much-needed boost in motivation but it also provides you with a great logo and case study that you can peddle around to other prospects as well to build credibility. In addition, larger customers are also more mature and more demanding which is a good thing! They will help to guide your product management so it is aligned with industry trends and they will help your customer success organization to offer a much better service. Now you can start to see why there are so many benefits that create that impressive ROI.

How do I get started creating a strategic accounts program?

Most companies will never develop an official “strategic accounts program”. Instead, they typically hire or promote an account executive and say, “You have a strategic/named account territory now, Good Luck!” This is not the best path for success because the account executive does not typically have the resources they need to be successful. The AE is stuck researching each of their prospects, creating marketing material specific to the prospect or industry and figuring out how to use automation to engage with each of their customers. Marketing is typically focused on providing leads and not support account executives once they are engaged with a prospect, and so they are left to their own devices.

The goal of Account Based Sales and Marketing is to have a team that is aligned and focused on closing the identified strategic accounts. This dedicated or virtual team should partner with the AE in support of the account plans for each prospect. This includes providing all the pertinent research that not only helps to qualify the selected accounts but also help to create personalized and engaging messaging to help you stand out against your competition and provide instant value. In addition, the marketing function needs to create personalized materials (creative and copy) specific to goals specified in the account plan which may be industry or even account specific. These materials may include brochures, white papers, surveys, landing pages, email campaigns and other specific assets. Armed with these resources, the account executive has a much better chance being successful engaging with a prospect, who understands your solution and value and realizes you have taken the time to understand their needs and priorities.

But isn’t creating a Strategic Accounts program expensive and time consuming?

The greatest barrier to creating a Strategic Accounts program is the investment in time and money that is needed. Recruiting and hiring or upskilling new resources can be costly and lead to long ramp up times, especially when you are tasked with developing all of the new process required for landing a strategic account. Closing strategic accounts alone could take 6-9 months or more if the team is fully built and prepared. When you add another 6 months for ramp up of the team, the value and ROI seem to fade far into the distance and management may decide to commit funds to a more immediate ROI.

Another unforeseen cost could be the investment required in a new infrastructure. Account Based Sales and Marketing requires higher levels of data and personalization than traditional sales. You will need to collect and store all of that new data which may require new license fees, integrations and customizations. Typical CRMs are not setup for managing strategic prospects but more for opportunity and forecast management. You may need additional tools to gather intent, company and prospect demographics as well as create the personalized messaging and marketing automation required.

So what’s the solution? Outsource!

In these times of uncertainty with a potential (or real) recession, companies are very hesitant to invest in hiring new resources or buying new tools that will create a significant financial commitment. The answer is to outsource your strategic accounts program. Programs like CatchMoby, provide all the team, tools and techniques you need to start engaging strategic prosects for a fixed monthly cost. There is no need to hire or upskill resources or spend time buying or integrating costly platforms. We partner with your existing sales team, giving them all the tools they need to do what they do best – close customers. In addition, we start with a short term contract so if your priorities change over time, we can adapt to meet your changing needs or we can end the program as easily as we started.

Creating an Account Based Sales and Marketing program has clear benefits and is considered the best ROI of any investment you make in your sales or marketing department. The best way to get started by “dipping your toe in the water” is to outsource the entire program to a vendor like CatchMoby. Then you can see if the program is right for you without making a long-term commitment. You will also learn best practices along the way that you can apply to the rest of your sales force. There’s a reason we don’t go fishing for whales with a fishing rod – let the experts hunt them down for you and you’ll be reeling in a Great White before you know it!!