Sales
Strategic Account Plan
One page per key account: where you stand, what the customer wants, where growth is and what you do in the next 90 days.
- Time: 45 to 90 min, refresh quarterly
- With: Key account managers, account executives
- You get: A shared view of the account and a 90-day plan
How to use this worksheet
- Summarise the account in a few lines: size, business, what you sell today and how much it is worth.
- Write the customer's own goals and priorities for the year. Use their words.
- Rate your relationship and note who you know and who you should know.
- List whitespace: products, teams or sites where you could grow, with a rough value and likelihood.
- Name the risks and agree the 90-day actions with owner and date.
Who they are and what you have with them today.
Prompts and example
Ask yourself
- How much of their potential spend do you capture today?
Example
Fabrikam Energy: 2,400 staff, three sites in Germany. We run sensor monitoring at the Hamburg site since 2024 (EUR 180k a year). Renewal in 7 months.
What does the customer want to achieve this year? Use their words.
Prompts and example
Ask yourself
- What is on the CEO's or COO's agenda?
- Which of their goals does your offer help with?
Example
Cut unplanned downtime by 20%. Pass the safety audit in Q3. Reduce energy cost per unit by 5%.
Who do you know, how strong is the relationship and who is missing?
Prompts and example
Example
Strong with the plant manager. Weak with IT. No contact yet with the CFO. Old champion left in March: need a new one.
Whitespace and opportunities
Where could this account grow? One row per opportunity.
What could shrink or end this account?
Prompts and example
Example
Budget freeze announced for H2. Competitor X is piloting at Bremen. Nobody on the customer side owns the renewal.
90-day actions
Who does what by when?
Before you finish
- You can name the customer's top three goals without looking.
- At least two relationships beyond your main contact.
- Every action has an owner and a date.
Why plan accounts
Most revenue growth in B2B comes from existing accounts: more sites, more teams, more products. That does not happen by accident. An account plan forces a regular, honest look at where you can grow and where you are exposed.
Keep it short. A plan that is too long to update is a plan nobody reads. Review it with your manager and, where it fits, with the customer.
Recommended reading
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- Key Account ManagementPeter Cheverton
A structured approach to planning and growing your largest accounts.
- The Challenger SaleMatthew Dixon & Brent Adamson
Why teaching customers something new beats relationship selling in complex B2B deals.
- Mastering the Complex SaleJeff Thull
Diagnose the customer's problem and its cost before presenting a solution.