What are the key steps to developing a comprehensive account plan?

A comprehensive account plan is essential for managing and growing key client accounts. It involves a client analysis, SWOT analysis, defining objectives, identifying stakeholders, building relationships, mapping the decision-making process, financial analysis, competitor analysis, risk assessment, developing action plans, allocating resources, creating a communication plan, measuring and tracking key metrics, reviewing and iterating, promoting continuous improvement, and aligning the plan with the organization's strategic objectives. Regularly revisiting and updating the plan ensures it remains relevant and aligned with the client's needs.

Study your customer. It (information) is in the vast majority in the public domain. Understanding their priorities and initiatives will assist when you are looking to align to your organisations ability to assess the addressable opportunities and strategically align your resources. If you are mapping your offerings to where there is a need you are well on track to a mutually better engagement. Most of all be honest with yourself when preparing the plan as to achievable versus aspirational and call it out.

It’s about asking questions and listening! Ask the account the important questions.What do they need, want, not want and how best to do business with them.

Fact: Accounts change over time! Having a thorough knowledge of the client's challenges and goals is essential - yes, they have long term goals but they are also putting out fires. Coupled with the challenge that key stakeholders come and go. Quarterly reviews (scheduled in advance) are essential.

In order to build an account plan and have a comprehensive view of the merchant, we need to: - Map its main decision makers - Map competitors - Check historical growth and future plans - Confirm its ICP (Ideal Client Profile) - Understand its main products and services to the market - List its Tech and Infra Stack

Following up with the answers you got from your questions make sure you clarify those answers. Reinforce those answers and come up with some solutions to the answers of your questions. Clarify and define the answers and confirm the understanding that you have. Remember, people mean different things with the same words. “So with what you said, you’re saying…”

In my experience, clients have goals and expectations can sometimes be unrealistic. They have blue sky expectations. Be aware of what you can deliver, the last thing you want is to under deliver or have mismatch expectations about the outcomes. Defining specific and measurable objectives is essential and I found that the initial conversations need to be followed up with a written summation of what was said. Then you clarity with what you are trying to achieve for your client. The SMART framework is a great way to ensure that what was discussed is doable.

Strategy is the how in this proposition What is important is to review the answers obtained and decide if your strategy fulfills those needs. And remember “strategy Without Execution is Just Hallucination!”as Edison said.

I recommend the following - prioritize delivering value to prospects before seeking their contact information once a meaningful connection is established, then gather their contact details. Next, foster trust with potential customers through a gradual and consistent delivery of valuable content or interactions over time. This takes time. Facilitate the customer journey by addressing queries and providing assistance, enabling them to progress towards the purchasing phase independently. Exceed expectations by ensuring that the perceived value received surpasses the price paid - this will create a positive customer experience. Lastly, Encourage satisfied customers to share their positive experiences and the exceptional value they received.

Implementation is the secret to all strategy. Many people will come up with the strategy that is either not practical or functional! very often people create execution so that their strategy makes sense. Execution is everything! And as I always like to say, inspect what you expect.

One thing I've found helpful when planning for a specific plan of action for my clients is to schedule the planned actions via Microsoft Teams Boards - “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done". Each card was dated and assigned to either myself or a support team member.

The reporting of metrics is important as it highlights the progress, performance and outcomes of your plan of action. In my past role we have had dashboards to indicate the success of outcomes but at the personal level I have always used biannual reports to highlight what was, what is and what 'could/should' be. I think there is subtle difference in the outcomes of what could be and what should be. This definitely needs to be teased out.

In my experience, a critical yet often overlooked step in developing a comprehensive account plan is the emphasis on relationship dynamics. While assessing accounts and defining objectives are crucial, understanding the client's organizational culture and decision-making process offers invaluable insights. Establishing strong relationships with key stakeholders, identifying their unique preferences, and tailoring communication accordingly can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the account plan. This human-centric approach ensures the plan resonates more deeply with the client, fostering trust and long-term partnership.