This is a template for annual planning for target accounts. Developed to be used as part of an overarching ABM (Account Based Marketing) initiative.

1. Overall set of ABM routines
Purpose
• Key account focus
• One team approach
• Personalized and
actionable account
plans (e.g., client
priorities, individual
clients / relationships
and owners)
• Marketing aligned with
account priorities
Annual
account planning
Quarterly
account review
Account
segmentation
Weekly/Bi-weekly
status checks
• Client needs and
priorities, how we
can help
• Current situation
• Competition
• Relationships
• Head/tailwinds
• Goals / targets
• Activation
• Account
priorities
• Marketing
initiatives
• Calendar- activities,
milestones, owners
• Major client, account
developments
• Pipeline and forecast;
performance against
goals / targets
• Progress against
priorities; marketing
effectiveness
• What is and isn’t
working; where help
is needed
• Stop/start/change list
• Updated view of
account calendar
• Market assessment
• Segmentation
• Criteria for
account types,
key accounts
• Personas
across account
types
• Resourcing
to market /
sell-in / support
• Mapping of accounts
to account type
• Ownership and
handoffs (e.g., leads
from mktg->sales
across buying stages)
• Recent client, account
developments
• Pipeline and forecast
• Across priorities:
• What’s
happened
• What’s
coming up
(incl. events,
content
releases,
launches, and
campaigns)
• Where help is
needed
• Leverages /
integrated with CRM
“The gameplan” “The intermission”“The field of play” “The huddle”
Planning Execution

2. Contents of the Account Plan
1. Account snapshot
2. Client’s strategic priorities
3. How we can connect the dots and address needs
4. Our competitive positioning at the client
5. Relationship mapping
6. Account goals for 2018
7. Account priorities and timing
8. Enabling marketing and insights initiatives
9. Featured products gameplan
10. Calendar and activation of a priority
Consistent
structure
Build from client
needs;
maximize near
AND long-term
sales (LTV)
Mechanism for
driving
alignment
across team;
sales &
marketing
interlock
Continual
usage, living
doc; don’t just
set + forget...
Ideally would do
it in CRM to
improve
actionability
Overview
Meeting
client needs
Where we
stand today
Achieving
our objectives
Action plan

3. 1. Account Snapshot
Quick, one
page account
overview
Update
continuously
over time
Classification
section
changes
based on
vertical
Penetration
based on %
of potential
Account Team
Actuals and Potential Revenue ($000s)Classification
Product Penetration
2,000$600 +400
2017A
2018T
Potential
• Account Type:
• Account Tier / Segmentation:
• Account Size (current, potential):
• Sales: Bobby Sales
• Customer success: Cindy Success
• Vertical marketing: Mike Marketer
• Insights: Katie Insights
• Product A
• Product B
• Product C
• Product D
• Product E
• Product F
• Product G
• Product H
Low High

4. 2. Client’s Strategic Priorities
Highlight
leadership’s
business
priorities and
marketing
priorities (can
be different)
Leverage public
statements,
client and sales
team feedback
Identify
challenges we
can help solve
Free-form
template to
capture ideas
from different
perspectives
The CEO’s agenda:
• …
• …
• …
The team’s focus areas
• …
• …
• …

5. 3. How We Can Connect the Dots and Address Needs
Tie directly to
client needs,
as jumping off
point for sales
opportunity
ideation
Address
needs and
desires of
multiple
parties /
multiple
wallets
This and
section #2
could be used
directly with
clients in joint
business
planning
How we can address the CEO’s agenda:
• …
• …
• …
How we can address the team’s focus areas:
• …
• …
• …

6. 4. Our Competitive Positioning at the Client With tight
marketing
budgets and
need to
differentiate,
critical to
understand
competitive
positioning
Get to right
mix of quant
and qual to
characterize
the situation
Tailwinds and
headwinds
highlight
competitive
opportunities,
challenges
Tailwinds
• …
• …
• …
Headwinds
• …
• …
• …
53%
75%
80%
40% 40%
30%
10%
5%
7%8%
4%
10% 1,0000%
Total
10%
8,670
60%
5%
1,000BU 2
5%
15%
10%
20%
20%
BU 1
10%BU 4 3,000
10%
5%
5%
5%
5%
3,000
5%
50%BU 3
0%
C2 C3 C4Competitor 1
BU 5 500
Share of spend $ spend
($000)
Us

7. 5. Relationship Mapping Prioritize –
understand
who makes
the buying
decisions and
has influence
Get specific
to be
actionable –
relationships
are one-to-
one
Delineate
between
central and
dept-specific ,
depending on
autonomy
Dept.
Individuals
Bold = critical
Relation-
ship Ownership / Influence
Relation
owner Current efforts
Dept 1 Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2


Dept 2 Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3
Stakeholder 4
Stakeholder 5
Stakeholder 6
Stakeholder 7







Dept 3 Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3



Dept 4 Stakeholder 1 
Dept 5 Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3



Dept 6 Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3
Stakeholder 4




 = supporter
 = neutral
 = blocker
 = no relationship

8. 6. Account Goals for 2018 Highlight major
account goals, in
line with both
client and
company
aspirations (find
win-wins)
Base on priorities,
how we can help,
relative
positioning
across units and
relationship map
Make as concrete
as possible, to
ensure solid,
actionable, and
high impact
priorities can be
built to address
them
Revenue
1. …
2. …
3. …
Adoption / usage
1. …
2. …
3. …
Client impact
1. …
2. …
3. …
Relationship
1. …
2. …
3. …

9. 7. Account Priorities and Timing –
from Client Impact to Revenue Establish
priorities based
on account goals
Build from client
impact goals to
establish
priorities that
could make a
significant
contribution to
revenue
Have a mix of
larger initiatives
(that require more
lead time and
stakeholders) and
more
individualistic and
discrete yet
significant things
Timing
Value
($000) OwnerPriority Product(s) Key client(s)
Q3-Q4$300-
500K
Person 1
Person 2
(A) … Product 1
Product 2
Product 3
Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Q2-Q4$200-
300K
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
(B) … Product 1
Product 2
Product 3
Product 4
Product 5
Stakeholder 1
Stakeholder 2
Stakeholder 3
Stakeholder 4
Q3$100-
200K
Person 1(C) … Product 1
Product 2
Stakeholder 1
Q2-Q4$50-
100K
Person 1(D) … Product 1
Product 2
Product 3
Product 4
Stakeholder 1

10. 7. Account Priorities and Timing – Relationship/Other
Identify specific
priorities to
establish
relationships and
pursue strategic
efforts that will
pay off in longer
term revenue and
assets
Timing
Payoff / impact
on our business OwnerPriority
Q2… Person 1
Person 2
(E) …
Q2-Q3… Person 1(F) …

11. 8. Enabling Marketing and Insights Initiatives
Identify the proof
points and
insights that
would help
achieve specific
priorities
Specify the
existing assets
that would help
sell-in and/or new
ones to create
Be clear on
owners and
timing, sync’ing
with the
timeframe
expected for
priority payoff
TimingOwnerPriority
Existing assets
to leverage
New initiative /
assets to create
Q2/Q3Person 1(A) ,,, • …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
Proof points / insights to
help achieve priority
• …
• …
• …
Q2/Q3Person 1(B) ,,, • …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
Q2Person 1(C) ,,, • …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …
• …

12. 9. Featured Products Gameplan
Look through
lens of focus /
strategic
products for
company
Assess revenue
and momentum,
articulate
current status
and (if slow or
lack of
progress) what
it will take to
accelerate and
efforts
underway
Featured
product
2017A
revenue
($000s)
2018F
revenue
($000s)
Change
($000s, %)
Current status
with account
Actions to accelerate
(if necessary)
Product A N/A $150K $150K … …
Product B $10K $100K $90K,
900%
… …

13. 10. 90 Day Calendar Use both for
planning and as
an active tracker
Tie directly to
what is required
to accomplish
priorities
Must have one
owner per
action item
Use in regular
weekly / bi-
weekly meeting,
in conjunction
w/ CRM
reporting...
Good snapshot
of what’s going
on with the
account
Apr May Jun
02. 08. 15. 22. 29. 06. 13. 20. 27. 03. 10. 17. 24.
Stakeholder 1
Prep
Outreach
On track
Sales
Sales
Activity
Sales
Responsible Status
Production
Product releases
Meeting
Upcoming events
Research QPR
Initiative 1
Sell-in
Research initiative 1
Market and insights
Initiative 4
Initiative 3
Initiative 2
Stakeholder 2
Marketing initiative 1
Waiting to confirm need
Conference Event
Sales
Prep
Outreach
Mktg
Sales
In flight
Meeting
Outreach
Write-up
Behind, need help reaching
In field
Write-up
On track
Campaign launch
Survey design Findings
Insights
Initial meeting
ExecutionSignedMeeting
Meeting
Success
Write-up
Slow response rate, need to push
SelectionOutreach
Campaign dev
Initial meeting
Outreach
Outreach
Ad pulse
Finding correct contacts
On track

14. 10. Priority Activation
Detail the plan for
activating against
each priority
(note: this is a
summary view)
Ensure clarity on
sequencing and
ownership
(including
handoffs between
mktg <-> sales)
Drive toward
clear outcomes
Be agile – set the
plan upfront, but
as we execute
and learn,
course-correct /
declare failure
early
Largely free-form,
given specificity
of initiatives
Key clients
Stakeholder 1
• …
• …
• …
Influencers
Stakeholder 2
• …
• …
• …
Decision Makers / Budget Holders
Stakeholder 3
• …
• …
• …
Stakeholder 4
• …
• …
• …
1. Setting the stage
(Sales, Success)
• …
• …
• …
Planned approach
2. Prep for session
(Sales, Vert. Mktg)
• …
• …
• …
3. Build enthusiasm
(Sales, Vert. Mktg)
• …
• …
• …
6. Win the business
(Sales, Success, VM)
• …
• …
• …
5. Follow-up discussions
(Sales, Success)
• …
• …
• …
4. Conduct session
(Sales, Vert. Mktg)
• …
• …
• …