Step-by-step guide: How to select the right sales account planning tools?
Importance of Account Planning Tools Any solutions provider organization worth its salt understands that its customers are not looking for vendors, but strategic partners who can provide insights on market trends, customer preferences and more. Planning of key sales accounts, therefore, has become a necessity to monitor and manage the sales pipeline – for small businesses and large enterprises alike. Solution provider organizations are catching up to the task too, and are adopting – or considering adopting – tools to manage the practice better. But adopting the latest solutions does not equate to success, as there are plenty of factors that organizations need to consider. What are sales account planning tools/software? Account planning has become a necessity for sales organizations: It helps sales and marketing team members understand their customers and make better use of their time. This is especially important in today’s fast-paced world, where organizations are forced to be more agile and responsive. It also allows employees to gain insight into the customers’ needs, which can help them improve their service offerings and increase revenue – as well as reduce costs by streamlining processes. Traditionally, these tasks have been done using easily available tools or software – pen and paper, spreadsheets, or even text documents. In Gartner’s Future of Sales 2025 report, it predicts 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels by 2025. As B2B sales become more digital, technology and digital tools become central to Account planning. Sales account planning tools take the haphazardness out of maintaining account data, and help sales teams organize, prioritize and plan their activities. They can be used by any type of organization—not just the traditional B2B industry. There are several different types of sales account planning tools available, from software that comes equipped with a built-in CRM system (which incorporates all the customer data into one place), to enterprise applications that integrate with multiple platforms including email marketing automation, social media management, and lead management systems. Checklist: How to Select the Ideal Digital Account Planning Tool Why do we need sales account planning tools / software? Planning sales accounts is a strategic process that helps in the activities, focus on the right accounts and resources, and ultimately help achieve the goals set. Account planning tools help sales managers and executives understand both the current market situation and plan where they can be in three or four years. LinkedIn State of Sales 2021 found out that 77% of sales professionals say their sales org plans to invest more in sales intelligence tools. Such account planning tools also provide insight into how well each account fits within the overall strategy for achieving specific objectives—for example, if an engagement isn’t generating enough revenue per month (or quarter) then it may not be worth continuing because there’s no way for those funds spent on this client wouldn’t have been better spent elsewhere. Real-time tools are vital to success because they provide information on strategic accounts, and cross-platform tools are easier to use, and they churn out results faster by integrating data across departmental silos. They enable rapid-response decisions, by providing detailed analyses in visual forms like graphs and charts. They not only provide a lifeline for organizations to stay in business, but also build revenue and market share. What are the core functions of strategic account planning? Account planning strategy involves identifying key stakeholders, relationships, and opportunities that usually go unrecognized. These data connections are analysed and studied in graphs and charts. They aim to simplify complex information, so that sales teams and other stakeholders can take accurate decisions. Learn More: The Practical Guide to Sales Opportunity Management In order to do so, they have to perform several activities to understand the need and the issue faced by their clients. To strengthen the relationship and grow existing accounts, critical information needs to be captured to align features with customer priorities, and deliver value consistently. Account managers then draft action plans and collaborate with their customers to execute projects – and rise to the level of a trusted advisor. The number of different elements at play in sales account management, means sales professionals have to approach the process in a structured way. Understanding the parts which make the sales account planning process is essential to establish a working structure, and adopt tools that suit the needs of sales teams and their organizations. Analysing industry trends throws out information on issues that may impact the customer in the future. Sales teams can understand their need for change through this – be it changes to market sentiments, resource challenges, competitor issues, government regulations, or something else. Identifying areas of customer’s priority can help the sales team in formulating the bare bones of a working solution. Maintaining healthy customer relationships opens up avenues, like new divisions or business units – that should be documented. Also, documenting the history with the customer gives a clear view of current opportunities, and adding possible future opportunities to this list can make it more useful in the long run. Customer strategy maps help in determining which objectives and initiatives match with the capabilities of the solution. These maps detail out the goals, challenges, and culture of customer organizations, and makes it easy for sales team members to identify areas where most value can be provided to boost the customer’s plans. Assessing stakeholders by their role, influence, and affinity to the solution gives an honest understanding of strengths and vulnerabilities of the solution. With enough details, sales account planners can clarify key objectives – be it strengthening the customer relationship, increasing the perceived value of the solution, and more. Taking the customers’ view of the product/organization shows the USP of the solutions provider in a unique light. Articulating this USP better, makes current and prospective clients understand the need for the solution easily. Determining how to align the solution features with customer needs, and ensuring that it happens at rate that isn’t viable for competitors, goes a long way in changing a
Key Account Management Scorecard Template to Identify Key Accounts
DemandFarm proposes a 7-factor framework for Key Account Management teams to assess the maturity level of their key account management strategy. Provide a weighted score for yourself & assess areas for improvement. Get to know where you are doing well and where you need to improve as an organization. accounts.
Guide: Cross-selling and Upselling Explained
Successful strategies for satisfying the additional needs of customers beyond the primary product and increasing the quantity of the purchase decision. Learn more about how to cross-sell and up-sell in key accounts by understanding customer needs and goals, finding whitespace opportunities, making customized recommendations, and finding the right-person to reach out to deliver the right-message at the right-time. This cheat sheet contains quick tips and strategies on how to successfully cross-sell and up-sell in Key Accounts through focussed conversions, automation, incentives, retargeting, and demos.
What is Whitespace Analysis in Sales?
White space in sales is referred to a gap that a business can identify and use to scale its revenue with its products or services. White space analysis is the process of digging through the sales data to hunt for new white space opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling. This cheatsheet helps you to leverage your sales data to find out potential gaps in your key accounts. Find out what whitespace means, and 6 quick steps to execute whitespace analysis in your strategic accounts.
DemandFarm named as G2 Leaders in CRO in the Summer 2022 Report
Pune, July 21, 2022: Review site G2.com has recognized DemandFarm as a Leader in the Summer 2022 Reports. This is a validation of DemandFarm’s continued efforts in championing Digital Key Account Management and at being leaders in CRO. Additionally, DemandFarm was also awarded the G2 ‘Users Love Us’ badge for excellent customer satisfaction across its 25000+ user base. G2 is a review site that enables organizations to find the appropriate software and services to satisfy their needs by accessing over 1 million reviews. Here are some of the reviews that G2 users have left as a testament to DemandFarm’s excellence in Digital Key Account Management: “The flexibility of the tool and the deployment team. Demand farm allows you to shape the account plan to the needs of your business while offering best practices to guide you along the journey.” – Tom C, VP Global Sales Operations, Enterprise (>1000 employees) “The integration of the different modules makes it a valuable instrument for organizations to manage, monitor and adapt customer planning. It gives a total, transparent overview of all activities based on relationships with the different players in the power base.” – Bennie P, Sales Director, Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.) To read more reviews about DemandFarm, check out the G2 website here: https://www.g2.com/products/demandfarm/reviews#reviews ABOUT DEMANDFARM DemandFarm is a pioneer in the Digital Account Planning space with a productized solution approach for strategic account growth. Since 2016, DemandFarm’s SaaS-based products have enhanced Digital Account Planning for account and sales teams across the world. This is made possible by two primary products – ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, built around our proprietary Account Centric Sales Effectiveness framework. Both, ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, are native to Salesforce and connected to leading CRMs and sales tech platforms. Find out more about what DemandFarm has to offer here: www.demandfarm.com
Forrester Recognizes DemandFarm as a Mature Vendor in Account Based Sales Technologies
Pune, July 21, 2022: In the latest Forrester Landscape Overview Survey (2022), DemandFarm has been recognized as a Late Stage/ Mature Vendor in Account Based Sales Technologies based on the following three weighted criteria: Vying with top-ranked competitors in the market Length of company tenure Number of full-time employees. The shift to account-based selling in recent years has increased the need for mature technology that is able to capture account data, increase collaborative and insight-driven sales. Consolidating account data using key account management solutions can yield deeper insights that may be used to identify larger opportunities. Using DemandFarm’s industry-leading Account Planning and Key Account Management tools can maximize revenue and extend Customer Lifetime Value. Find out more about DemandFarm’s role in the industry in this report by Forrester: https://reprints2.forrester.com/#/assets/2/2335/RES176994/report ABOUT DEMANDFARM DemandFarm is a pioneer in the Digital Account Planning space with a productized solution approach for strategic account growth. Since 2016, DemandFarm’s SaaS-based products have enhanced Digital Account Planning for account and sales teams across the world. This is made possible by two primary products – ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, built around our proprietary Account Centric Sales Effectiveness framework. Both, ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, are native to Salesforce and connected to leading CRMs and sales tech platforms. For more information about DemandFarm, visit us at demandfarm.com
DemandFarm Highlighted as a Leading Solution in Digital Account Planning Tools by Gartner
Pune, July 21, 2022: DemandFarm is recognized as one of the leading solutions in the Digital Account Planning Tools category in the Gartner Hype Cycle for CRM Sales Technology. Trusted by more than 150 companies and 15000+ sales professionals globally, DemandFarm is spearheading the future of strategic account sales including improved collaboration, on-demand account intelligence and proactive risk assessment. As defined by Gartner in the report, “Account planning tools (APTs) unite internal resources — key account managers, sales account teams, marketing, service and success — around a common action plan for meeting revenue, service and relationship objectives of specific accounts.” The report predicts, “This technology category will likely reach the Plateau of Productivity within two years, but it could be impacted by developments in the sales force automation (SFA) and mobile sales productivity applications.” Gartner brings the spotlight on improved revenue growth and customer retention throughout the customer life cycle by using Digital Key Account Management tools like DemandFarm for analyzing the performance of strategic accounts. DemandFarm provides collaborative and data-driven Account Planning inside an organization’s CRM and makes the transition to digital Account Planning smooth and effortless. ABOUT DEMANDFARM DemandFarm is a pioneer in the Digital Account Planning space with a productized solution approach for strategic account growth. Since 2016, DemandFarm’s SaaS-based products have enhanced Digital Account Planning for account and sales teams across the world. This is made possible by two primary products – ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, built around our proprietary Account Centric Sales Effectiveness framework. Both, ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, are native to Salesforce and connected to leading CRMs and sales tech platforms. Explore DemandFarm’s Digital Key Account Management tools further here: www.demandfarm.com
DemandFarm accepted into Forbes Business Development Council
Forbes Business Development Council Is an Invitation-Only Community for Senior-Level Sales and Business Development Executives Pune, July 15, 2022 — DemandFarm, an intelligent, intuitive and adaptable digital platform to unlock Account Centric Sales Effectiveness, based out of Pune, has been accepted into Forbes Business Development Council, an invitation-only community for senior-level sales and business development executives. Milind Katti, COO & Co-Founder of DemandFarm, was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors. “We are honored to welcome Milind Katti from DemandFarm into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Development Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.” As an accepted member of the Council, Milind has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Milind will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts. Finally, DemandFarm will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team. “We at DemandFarm are really excited to be chosen as a member of Forbes Bizdev Council. The future of account planning will see a huge transformation in strategy, processes and resource allocation that moves the process from being seller-centric to buyer-centric with a digital-first engagement with customers. We believe our experience of having worked with over 100 companies globally in the space of key account management gives us insights, best practices that we can share with the community here and help them unlock key account growth” said Milind Katti, COO & Co-Founder, DemandFarm ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive. For more information about Forbes Business Development Council, visit forbesbizdevcouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com. ABOUT DEMANDFARM DemandFarm is a pioneer in the Digital Account Planning space with a productized solution approach for strategic account growth. Since 2016, DemandFarm’s SaaS based products have enhanced Digital Account Planning for account and sales teams across the world. This is made possible by two primary products – ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, built around our proprietary Account Centric Sales Effectiveness (ACsE) framework. Both, ‘Account Planner’ and ‘Org Chart’, are native to Salesforce and connected to leading CRMs & sales tech platforms. For more information about DemandFarm, visit us at demandfarm.com
The Shift Podcast on Digital Key Account Management with Anees Merchant, EVP, Global Growth from Course5i
Increasingly, customers prefer their B2B Sales interactions to remain virtual, Key Account Management has also transitioned towards a virtual direction where technology comes to the forefront as a key differentiator and enabler. Account Managers and Sales Leaders have to adapt quickly to these changing trends. Join Anees Merchant, EVP, Global Growth from Course5i and Dr. Karthik Nagendra, Chief Marketing Officer from DemandFarm on the first episode of the Shift podcast series where they share their experience in Key Account Management. Read a detailed blog analyzing the key points discussed during this conversation ‘Shift to Digital Key Account Management with Anees Merchant‘. To Unlock Key Account Management insights, follow the upcoming Shift podcast episodes by DemandFarm!