Accepted wisdom suggests that selling into your existing account base should be easier and cheaper than winning new logos. This may well be true when selling more of the same, however when it comes to adjacent or breakout growth, too often your incumbency does not deliver the commercial advantage one would expect.
Furthermore, COVID-19 has changed us all and the way operate, plans and operating models need revising. Pressure to grow revenue on existing accounts has increased and we must resist account plans being created to support forecasting internally focused rather than a customer centric strategy to deliver a win/win for you and your customer.
85% of companies that participated in a recent Gartner poll say there are “uncapitalised growth opportunities within existing accounts”.
Understanding customers’ rationale, their business strategy, ecosystem, stakeholders, as well as emotional engagement are fundamental to successful account growth. It is worth recognising that the required relationship for growth is almost the same as that for new business in the mind of the decision makers. Excellent service can enable renewal but growth of adjacent and breakout services requires a different set of decisions and evaluations.
Maximising the advantage of being an incumbent also requires and effective sales strategy, as experience shows that even when your customer has decided what they want to do and has a supporting business case, just being an incumbent provider has shown to have very little commercial advantage for breakout opportunities. Recent Gartner research shows that 78% of B2B buyers with new business needs are as likely to choose a new provider versus expanding their account with the incumbent.
Digital Distance specialists have deep expertise in the change required to drive account growth in the digital age. We provide a tailored collaboration session that facilitates the design led thinking required to achieve an effective and executable account plan, followed up by regular support sessions and agile best practice events as needed.
Prior to the workshop, our team will perform extensive customer research ensuring we have the background to drive deep customer focus during the session. Applicable to both private and public sector accounts, these workshops can be performed virtually or physically at either our training centre or at the venue of your choice.