| | By Lars Tewes
Much of our recent
work with clients has
been helping them
capitalise on key
accounts and finding ways
to continually add value
to clients so that they
can mutually benefit. As
part of any diagnostic,
we ask to have a look at
the account plans or
client development plans
that are in place and it
will be of no surprise to
most of you that the
majority of responses are
twofold: “we would like
to show you them but
honestly most of it is in
our peoples’ heads” and
“yes of course, here are
a few, but you will see
they have not been kept
up to date”. The
following article will
look at why account plans
seem to be so hard to
develop, what should be
in a simple but effective
plan and how to make them
stick.
Why are they so
hard to develop?
Firstly, as with a lot
of processes
consultancies develop
they end up trying to
make them do too much and
move away from the key
points that need to be
addressed. We stop being
consultants to ourselves
and create something that
we ourselves would tell
our own clients would not
work. What should be a
simple document has for
many firms become
confusing and too
complex.
Secondly, and although
hard to believe, there is
often a debate about what
format to use. Should it
be in Excel, Word,
PowerPoint, built into
the CRM? Where is it
stored, etc.? These are
often just unconscious
stalling tactics to stop
the plans from becoming
part of a person’s role.
It is essential to decide
on a uniform format, but
as with most things when
starting to form a new
habit, the then make it
stick for a while. The
pain of discipline weighs
pounds; the pain of
regret weighs stones! You
can always migrate to
newer versions at a later
date if necessary, as we
do in operations and IT.
Thirdly, and for one
current client, it is
about the discipline
around proactive business
development. It has not
become part of the
culture. For the senior
managers although it is
verbally discussed as a
key part of their role,
somehow it is put on a
back burner in meetings
and one thing leads to
another and it is not
done. Client delivery
comes first and therefore
making the time to have a
structured plan for
building relationships
and defining further
business issues go to the
bottom of the list.
“I can’t afford to
take time away from
delivery”; “I am too busy
to attend the client
development plan meetings
as an issue has arisen on
client site”; “We have
never made these things
work in the past and last
time I put a lot of
effort into creating one
and the leadership never
really followed-up on
it.” These and many more
comments like them are
very real in consulting
firms and need to be
addressed as a top
priority in client
development plans.
What should a
simple but effective
client development plan
include?
There are hundreds of
versions of account plans
in the marketplace, many
of which are
interpretations of
complicated spreadsheets
tailored from training | |
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| | courses. As mentioned
above, for most
situations what is
required is a simple and
relevant client
development plan that
does three things:
• Understand where we
are now with the client:
o Who are our
relationships with?
o Who do we not have a
relationship with but
should have?
o Who are the
competition?
o Briefly, what have
we done with the client
to date?
• Understand where we
(us and the client) would
like to go:
o What are the
client’s strategic
plans?
o What business issues
is the client dealing
with?
o What are our
relevant capabilities
that can be shared with
the client?
• Understanding how we
are going to achieve a
value-added relationship
from both sides.
o Goalsetting -
financial perspective
– forecast based on
opportunities and
possible needs not just
based on “we want a 20%
increase”.
o Goalsetting -
tactical perspective
– plan of action around
who is doing what.
o Goalsetting - key
relationships – how are
we as a team cultivating
them?
Choose the format you
are going to adopt. Our
clients that really make
their plans become part
of day to day life use
PowerPoint as a plan
template. Although not
most people’s immediate
first choice, it is
effective and quickly
adopted:
• It forces people to
keep on point and
summarise relevant
information. It is a
document designed to
encourage deeper
discussions and if
necessary you drill down
into the notes held in
your CRM system (which is
another topic to
discuss).
• It becomes a
powerful way to share the
plan with the team. It is
updated and each person
can see who is doing
what, their action
points, relationship
plans achieved and set
new objectives.
• Leadership likes it,
as it helps give true
visibility around each
the teams client
relationships and shared
understanding of clients
business issues (or
not).
• We have clients who
share certain slides with
their best client
relationships to help
build the wider network
and growth potential.
How do you make the
plan stick?
There is not a
consulting firm that has
not attempted to develop
client plans. Success in
the following nine areas
has become instrumental
in the overall success of
implementing the plans:
Ownership – Who is
responsible for the
success of the account
and have they committed
to making the plan work?
Just as the conductor of
an orchestra leads their
team, they ensure that
the right person is
brought in at the right
time and they themselves
are committed to taking
overall responsibility.
Regular Reviews –
These are at agreed times
depending on the size of
the client (division
within a client) but at
least once a month in
some shape or form. These
meetings should be
treated in the same way | |
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| | you would a meeting with
the CEO of your best
prospect. i.e. mandatory
attendance as something
new always comes out of
them.
Communication –
Account plans cannot be
in one person’s head.
They need to be
communicated to the team
as well as others in the
company. It is amazing
how often you will
discover someone else
knows someone you are
trying to track down.
Communicate progress and
share success stories
that can be replicated.
Hear and Ask
Mindset - All need to
play their part and not
just be in audience.
Often the junior
consultants / technical
experts are on client
site hearing business
issues that are in your
sweet spot. Are we
tapping into this
resource?
Education – With
the best will in the
world, creating a
template, no matter how
good it is, will only be
effective if time is
committed to educating
each person. Taking time
to train and teach each
member how to use this
plan will pay back
multi-fold.
Service-minded
attitude – The client
plan is about adding
value to the client not
just hitting a revenue
target. Most clients
would like to know that
they are important enough
to you that you have
taken time to think about
how you can add the most
value.
Teamwork – The
account team must be
engaged in the journey
and each member must know
their role even if they
are purely a technical
expert who is brought at
the right moment. People
buy from people and we
each have our own styles
which work for some but
not others – make the
most of the team.
Regular Reviews –
You will notice that this
is the second time I
mention this. You may
think it is so that it
allows us to have a nice
acronym
O.R.C.H.E.S.T.R.A©. You
maybe right! Joking
apart, most clients would
say that this should be
mentioned twice as if
they just committed to
regular reviews they
would have a much higher
average client revenue
size.
Accountability –
Everybody needs someone
to hold them to their
plan. Operations have
their processes mapped,
Finance have their
processes, Business
Development Managers may
not like it but equally
have to have their plan
mapped out and know
someone above them cares
enough to ask the tough
questions.
In summary, for most
consultants being seen as
salespeople is still a
big issue. However, once
they have proved their
worth and credibility
through successful
projects, it is essential
that each consultant
understands their part in
developing the client
relationship. Each should
have some stake in the
client development plan
no matter how small. They
are like the orchestra
that is being guided by
the client director who
is in essence the
conductor. The client
development plan is the
essential sheet of music
that provides the
structure to allow each
person to play their
part. | |
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