A proactive, well-defined, and well-communicated client segmentation strategy that gives the organization the guard rails that dictate the organizational behavior in selling and serving clients accordingly. Some key steps in the process.
Category Archives: Account Management
The Transformation of Accenture through Client Segmentation
In the mid-1990’s when I was responsible for worldwide business development at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) we found that client segmentation was arguably the biggest challenge we faced. How did we know? As part of our transformation process we discovered the following symptoms.
All Clients and Prospects are Not Created Equal
Having worked with no fewer than 12 of the most well known professional services firms in this industry, both large and small, we’ve had a unique opportunity to see the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to business development and selling effectiveness within these firms.
Availability ≠ Authority
In general, for your solution to get funded in today’s challenging economy, you MUST have one or more powerful, credible champions who are willing to personally vouch for your solution. They can’t just be interested…they have to be committed. When the financial or operational executive questions the expense, your champion(s) must be willing to sometimes literally stand in the line of fire. If not, “do nothing” will win after you have spent lots of time in an account, utilized a lot of other sales-related resources and thought that you had a lot of momentum.
Should You Have a Territory Management Plan?
It’s likely obvious which approach I advocate – the proactive approach! In essence, if you’ll take the time and effort to develop a plan or a road map for how you will: Maximize your business with your current accounts, Focus your time on the right “new” accounts – and the likely solutions that would most benefit them, And allocate your time on your calendar to achieve these results. The absence of a territory management plan is purely reactive – and it doesn’t work well for most.