Strategic Account Planning Brief

Instructions:

Use this template to develop your long term sales (account) plans for each of your prospect or client (customer) account for your sales organization. This plan is a way of organizing and managing you client account plans so that you can optimize the services and products that are offered to them. It will help you and other members of your marketing and sales teams understand their business model and identify their needs and how your organization can better fill them than your competitors. Fill in all information required in the blue text sections. You may delete sections and rows that do not apply to your business model.

Published By: DWS Associates

1032 St Johns Bay

Saint Paul, MN 55129

(651) 315-7588

© Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved

CLIENT/ACCOUNT: / Enter name.
CLIENT ADDRESS: / Enter address.
PRIMARY CONTACT: / Enter contact name.
CONTACT PHONE: / Enter phone number.
CONTACT EMAIL: / Enter email address.
ACCOUNT MANAGER: / Enter account manager name.
ACCOUNT TEAM: / Enter names of account team members.
PLAN PERIOD: / Enter plan year (period).
PLAN DATE: / Enter date of plan creation.
PLAN UPDATED: / Enter date plan was modified.
PLAN VERSION #: / Enter plan version #.

BACKGROUND:

CLIENT PROFILE:

Describe the customer’s business and mission statement.

PRIMARY CONTACTS AND ROLES:

Contact Name / Contact Title / Contact Role
Name / Title / Enter the contact’s role in the relationship and purchase decision making process. Are they an influencer, decision maker, have purchase authority, their budget responsibility?
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role
Name / Title / Role

CLIENT BUSINESS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

What are the customer’s stated goals and / or objectives?

CLIENT WANTS AND NEEDS:

What are the customer’s stated and / or observed wants and needs from a solution, service, and support perspective? What are they looking for?

CURRENT STATUS OF ACCOUNT RELATIONSHIP:

What is the current state of your company’s relationship with this customer? Are there any problems, etc.? What are the customer’s satisfaction levels with our company, our solutions, our service and support offering?

CLIENT INITIATIVES:

What projects have been initiated in response to the customer’s value drivers (stated goals and objectives, wants and needs)?

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

Describe the specific business problems that are addressed by your company’s solution, or product/service offerings. What are the main selling points of your company’s solution(s) offerings to this customer?

SOLUTION DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

Describe the current solution (product/service) offering(s) that this customer is purchasing. Include a full functional description of the solution and describe the major functions and features in terms of what they are, what they do, and how they meet the customer’s needs and wants.

CLIENT VALUE STATEMENT

Describe the value and benefits that accrue to this customer as a result of their acquiring and/or successfully using this solution (product/service) offering.

ACCOUNT SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strengths / Weaknesses
Enter your company’s strengths that directly impact your business with this customer. / Enter your company’s weaknesses that directly impact your business with this customer.
Opportunities / Threats/Obstacles
Enter relationship and sales opportunities with this customer. / Enter any threats (internal or external) and obstacles that may impact your business with this customer.

CURRENT MARKET POSITION

Give a description of your company’s market position with this customer relative to important competitors.

MAIN COMPETITORS AND COMPETITIVE SOLUTIONS

Competitor / Solution (Product / Service) Offering
Who are they? / What do they offer?

SALES POTENTIAL

SALES OPPORTUNITIES

Describe the sales opportunities for our company that exist within this account.

SALES STRATEGIES

What are the account team’s strategies, objectives, and tactics for achieving the indicated sales opportunities with this customer?

FINANCIAL FORECAST

Solution (Product/Service) Offering (include product, services, financing, fulfillment, etc. in solution description) / Current Opportunity ($’s)
For Existing Solutions or Products / Services Offerings / New
Opportunity ($’s) For New Solutions or Product / Services Offerings
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Solution / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Total Opportunity / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000
Grand Total Opportunity for All Offerings / $0,000,000 / $0,000,000

ACCOUNT SUPPORT / SALES OPERATIONS

COVERAGE STRATEGY AND PLAN

Coverage Provider (Change coverage provider to fit your business model.) / Relationship, Roles, Responsibilities with this Account
Account Rep / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Account Team / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Telesales / Telecoverage / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Marketing / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Product Marketing / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Marketing Communications / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Merchandising / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Public Relations / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Finance / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Customer Support / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Engineering / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Technical Support / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Operations/Warehousing/Fulfillment / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Remarketers/Resellers / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?
Other / What they are responsible for and what they do?

ACCOUNT ACTION PLAN:

Actions/Activities / Person Responsible / Time Frame
Start Date / End Date
List major action. / List person(s) responsible. / Date / Date

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY / PLAN

How will this customer be communicated with by the company? What kinds of marketing materials and marketing communications efforts will be directed at them: Email, newsletters, webinars, teleconferences, conferences, tradeshows, etc.? Timing? Frequency?

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STRATEGIES AND PLANS

What are the account team’s and company’s strategies and plans for improving customer satisfaction with this account?

CUSTOMER / TECHNICAL SUPPORT STRATEGY / PLAN:

What are the support strategies and plans for the solution offerings that this customer has purchased from your company: technical support, defects, returns, modifications, supplier/reseller support, etc.)

CLIENT FIT GUIDELINES AND RESTRICTIONS:

Describe any solution / installation / service requirements your and the customer’s responsibilities. List any restrictions, risk factors, etc.

SKILLS REQUIREMENTS:

Describe any training needs of the sales and supporting teams that will be required to meet the stated sales and relationship objectives of the company with this customer. Specify resources required to meet training requirements.

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