The account-based sales process is used by sales teams to identify and target key accounts that have the greatest potential for generating sales with the right prospects. The account-based sales approach is often used by organizations selling complex products or services to large, enterprise customers.
To be successful with account-based selling, salespeople need to be able to identify and qualify potential target accounts, build relationships with key decision-makers within those organizations, and create custom sales strategies for each account. They also need to be able to effectively manage their time and resources, as well as track their progress and results.
5 Things to do Now to Improve your Account-Based Sales
Think of this as a quick guide to account-based selling that you can share with your sales reps to implement or improve your sales process. This is definitely not a one-size fits all approach so feel free to personalize and customize this advice to make sure it's best for your message and the pain points of your customers.
Here are five important factors to prioritize as your target companies for your account-based marketing and sales.
1. Is Your Average Selling Price (ASP) High Enough to Justify AB Sales?
Average Selling Price is the average of your closed-won deals and captures the complexity of your sales process. If you have high a ASP you can justify taking an account-based approach. Additionally, recurring revenue streams from ABM and ABS efforts. The higher the ASP the more an account based selling approach makes sense.
2. How Much time do you Allocate to your Sales Cycle?
The length of your sales cycle from inbound to close tells you a lot about your sales process. Understanding the sales cycle can definitely inform your selling strategy. Short sales cycles don't involve a lot of people and may not be good for account based sales. It's longer sales cycles that need nurturing and personalization that fit the account-based everything model the best.
3. Market Maturity is an Important Metric to Consider
Market Maturity is level of awareness the market has for your product or service. This is a metric important for marketers and the marketing strategy your team puts together. If you're solving new problems with an innovative solution, an account-based approach is a good marketing and selling framework to leverage.
4. Target Addressable Market (TAM) and your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Your TAM and ICP determine your target sales outreach and strategy targets for your company. TAM is all of the companies that could be customers, while your ICP is more focused. Companies a better-defined TAM and ICP are going to have more success with account-based sales models because they are more precise. It's not about identifying thousands of accounts to target, instead, you're selling to the best available prospects.
5. Understanding the Decision Makers in Your Target Account Lists
With an account-based strategy, it's important to know who the decision-makers are. This simple account management focus will ensure that your messaging lands with the people that are going to drive the sale. Having the wrong buyer personas and contacts within your target accounts will lead to your B2B sales teams not getting meaningful responses. A decision-maker should be identified in every account for your ABS strategy to work.
Are Account-Based Sales Right for your B2B Sales and Marketing Teams to Use?
If your B2B sales and marketing teams are looking for a new way to increase sales and improve efficiency, it's time to consider an account-based approach. This type of strategy is especially beneficial if you sell products or services to large organizations with multiple decision-makers. With account-based selling, your team will focus on selling to a specific list of high-value accounts rather than trying to reach as many people as possible. This approach can help you close more deals and increase your overall sales.
