Most companies can’t get Account Planning to stick as a sales discipline. They try. They hire consultants. They have big kick-off meetings and for a few weeks, everyone is excited. Soon, the excitment gives way to the daily pressures of phone calls, meetings, e-mails, travel (make your own list) and the enthusiasm fades like a cheap shoeshine. Worse, everyone gets cynical and realizes it was another management flavor-of-the-month initiative (cynicism is a huge culture-killer). Salesmen watch the leaders and the leaders are usually the first to drop the ball.
What goes wrong here? Leaders failed to lead. Leaders failed to make Account Planning important. Leaders, seeking a quick-fix, hired consultants to do what they themselves should be doing. As a result, they failed to connect the team to the rewards and benefits of a measure-twice-cut-once sales culture.
Salesmen are by nature, hard working and always on the run. A commonly heard objection to account planning is “I am too busy to bother with making charts for other people to inspect”.
Too busy?
Habit #7 in Steve Covey’s The 7 Habits is called “Sharpen the Saw.” Covey uses the analogy of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days straight without getting the tree down.
A passerby says, “What are you doing?”
The woodcutter snorts, “Don’t bother me, can’t you see I am busy cutting this tree down”.
The passerby shrugs, “Why don’t you try sharpening the saw?”
The woodcutter screams “I’m too damn busy to sharpen the saw!”
Rule #1: Don’t confuse being busy with being effective in the marketplace. What you are after is effectiveness.
What goes wrong here? Leaders failed to lead. Leaders failed to make Account Planning important. Leaders, seeking a quick-fix, hired consultants to do what they themselves should be doing. As a result, they failed to connect the team to the rewards and benefits of a measure-twice-cut-once sales culture.
Salesmen are by nature, hard working and always on the run. A commonly heard objection to account planning is “I am too busy to bother with making charts for other people to inspect”.
Too busy?
Habit #7 in Steve Covey’s The 7 Habits is called “Sharpen the Saw.” Covey uses the analogy of a woodcutter who is sawing for several days straight without getting the tree down.
A passerby says, “What are you doing?”
The woodcutter snorts, “Don’t bother me, can’t you see I am busy cutting this tree down”.
The passerby shrugs, “Why don’t you try sharpening the saw?”
The woodcutter screams “I’m too damn busy to sharpen the saw!”
Rule #1: Don’t confuse being busy with being effective in the marketplace. What you are after is effectiveness.
Effectiveness. That’s a good word. Let’s look at it-
ef·fec tive·ness, n. The ability of a program, project or task to produce a specific desired effect or result that can be qualitatively measured.
Making it Stick - Three Simple Disciplines: Learn it. Teach it. Coach it.
If you want Account Planning to stick and you want to reap the reward of lower selling cost, higher revenue, better margins, stronger customer loyalty, and a more motivated and energized sales force, you must deeply embed Account Planning into your company culture.
Learn it: The sales leaders need to become students of the Account Planning discipline. They must agree on a vision for Account Planning and be aligned on its purpose and benefits. Then, and this is really important, they have to teach it.
Teach it: That’s right. The sales leaders, NOT THE CONSULTANTS, must teach. Why? Think of the message this sends to the organization about sincerity and commitment. “The boss is taking this seriously. I better pay attention.” Also, no one learns more than the teacher so it this is a powerful way to embed the discipline. Finally, and this is the hard one...coach it.
Coach it: Spending major time here pays off 10x the effort invested. Regular coaching around the account plan with the team and with the salesman is the best way a sales leader can help move the needle, not only on sales results, but on customer loyalty and employee engagement.
A good Account Planning process focuses on helping the team deliver results and to continually elevate their game. In my next post, I will lay out the steps and the methods for running an effective account plan review.
Good selling!
ef·fec tive·ness, n. The ability of a program, project or task to produce a specific desired effect or result that can be qualitatively measured.
Making it Stick - Three Simple Disciplines: Learn it. Teach it. Coach it.
If you want Account Planning to stick and you want to reap the reward of lower selling cost, higher revenue, better margins, stronger customer loyalty, and a more motivated and energized sales force, you must deeply embed Account Planning into your company culture.
Learn it: The sales leaders need to become students of the Account Planning discipline. They must agree on a vision for Account Planning and be aligned on its purpose and benefits. Then, and this is really important, they have to teach it.
Teach it: That’s right. The sales leaders, NOT THE CONSULTANTS, must teach. Why? Think of the message this sends to the organization about sincerity and commitment. “The boss is taking this seriously. I better pay attention.” Also, no one learns more than the teacher so it this is a powerful way to embed the discipline. Finally, and this is the hard one...coach it.
Coach it: Spending major time here pays off 10x the effort invested. Regular coaching around the account plan with the team and with the salesman is the best way a sales leader can help move the needle, not only on sales results, but on customer loyalty and employee engagement.
A good Account Planning process focuses on helping the team deliver results and to continually elevate their game. In my next post, I will lay out the steps and the methods for running an effective account plan review.
Good selling!
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