Revegy and Forrester, How to Drive Key Account Growth

How to Drive Key Account GrowthMark Lindwall, Senior Analyst

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited 2

Agenda

›Are You Leaving Money On The Table?

›Key Account Growth Strategies

›Engage Buyers With Empathy

›Embrace Complex Decision Making


Are You Leaving Money On The Table?

Understand accounts at a deeper level


Organize Accounts By Legal Definition

Account?

Account?

Account?Account?

What is an account?

Account?




Leaving Money On the Table

FedEx Source:

Total Revenue (TTM) 44,287 (Million) Morningstar

IT Budget as a % of Revenue 7% 3,100$ (Million) Forrester

Spend on Infrastructure 75% 2,325$ (Million) Forrester

Spend on Storage 17% 395$ (Million) Forrester

Looking through the lens of FedEx as a legally defined entity, Forrester estimates that FedEx spends roughly $395 million on storage.

Account win = $3.6 million!




Accounts are complex, but they are also entirely knowable – with the right approach


Implications for territory planning

Make a customer list based on a legal construct:

• Define and organize entities using legal and financial standards

• Segment territories and accounts to best solve customer problems.

Assign accounts based on how a company is legally structured and defined:

•Map current spending and identify upside opportunities inside existing accounts.

• Align resources to best solve customer problems.


Determine Your Account Growth Strategy

Use the Five-E Framework

AB

CD

Not all buyers are the same


AC

BD

Drive key account growth by moving from existing to desired relationship levels

Enrich

Enlarge

Extend

Expand

Elevate

Sell transformation solutions to C-

level execs

Sell process solutions to

current or new departments

Sell more products to

new budgets centers

Sell same more of same

to existing buyers

Sell new or complimentary

products to existing buyers


Implications for account planning

Inventory your account relationships:

• Analyze relationships at and within each relevant business entity.

• Identify which buyers you currently work with and what their decision drivers or motivations are.

Establish one or more of the five strategies, to move relationships to higher value:• Make rep assignments based on ability to align with

relevant buyer types. • Establish accountable account plans and supporting

actions to elevate relationship value.

AC

BD

Sample Visualization to Segment/Prioritize Accounts

Po

ten

tial V

alu

e

Current Performance

Sample Visualization – Large Account Strategy

FedEx Supply Chain

FedEx Trade Network

FedEx Home Delivery

FedEx Home SmartPost

FedEx Custom Critical

FedEx Office

FedEx TechConnect

FedEx Freight

FedEx Services

FedEx SupplyChain

FedEx Ground

d

d

d

Pen

etra

tion

Hig

hLo

w

SolutionTactical Strategic


The Answer Is Buyer Empathy. What’s Your Question?

Understand buyers at a deeper level

Common meeting agendas of sellers

Source: Forrester Q4 2013 Global Executive Buyer Insights Survey

What makes a conversation valuable for executives

Source: Forrester Report - “What Do Executive Buyers Find Valuable?“

Are vendor sales people frequently prepared for your meetings in the following ways?

Salespeople are misaligned with executive buyers

Are vendor sales people frequently prepared for your meetings in the following ways?

Salespeople are misaligned with executive buyers


IT decision-makers Business decision-makers

Base: 418 Global IT and business decision makers

Source: Executive expectations of sales interactions online survey, Q4, 2012

25%

26%Average

10%US

14%UK

How often do you accept follow-on

meetings?

27%

You get delegated to the people you sound like

…and relegated to their spending authority as well

You get delegated to the people you sound like……so message to their level


Implications for aligning with buyers

› Close gaps in buyer empathy, executive selling skills, knowledge, and behavior

› Improve account and buyer planning

› Provide buyer-centric sales content


Embrace Your Customers’ Decision Making Process

Navigate Agreement Networks


A traditional sales relationship

Your Seller


A more complex view of relationships

Manager

Vice-President

CIO

Your Seller

Processes

Today companies are an interconnected web of domains and processes

… comprised of many different departments and groups – each with budgets

Integrated workflows


Decisions and funding are determined by agreement networks

Multiple sales within a sale…

Your Seller

Altitude Levels

Role Maps

Implications for navigating agreement networks

Understand buyers altitudes and desired outcomes:

• Determine what level of buyers will be involved in decisions for your solutions.


Inventory your account relationships:

• Analyze relationships at and within each relevant business entity.


CEO Level

CXO Level

VP Level


Key takeaways

1. Sales and marketing professionals must understand and plan for growth across complex accounts.

2. Inventory account relationships and grow using strategies to elevate buyer value.

3. Prepare reps solve business problems (vs. pitching products) to align with executive buyers and budgets.

4. Equip reps to navigate agreement networks who make decisions and fund purchases.

5. To capture more wallet share sales teams need information and planning tools to execute growth strategies in key accounts.

Thank youMark Lindwall

[email protected]

@MarkLindwall