What Is Account Planning?
Account planning is a disciplined approach to managing strategic accounts. Rather than reacting to inbound interest or running generic sequences, account planning involves proactively mapping the account landscape, identifying growth opportunities, and building a coordinated strategy to expand the relationship.
A strong account plan typically includes:
- Account overview — business model, market position, recent performance, and strategic direction
- Stakeholder map — key decision-makers, influencers, champions, and blockers with their roles and priorities
- Opportunity assessment — current spend, whitespace, competitive positioning, and expansion potential
- Action plan — specific initiatives, outreach cadences, and milestones tied to account objectives
- Risk analysis — potential threats to the relationship and mitigation strategies
Why Account Planning Matters
Account planning is essential for enterprise and strategic selling because:
- Larger, more predictable deals — planned accounts close at higher rates and larger values
- Stronger relationships — understanding an account's business builds trust and credibility
- Proactive selling — anticipating needs rather than waiting for RFPs puts you ahead of competitors
- Team alignment — shared account plans keep AEs, SEs, and leadership on the same page
How Salesmotion Helps
The most time-consuming part of account planning is the research required to build an accurate account picture. Salesmotion eliminates this bottleneck by automatically generating comprehensive account briefs with financials, leadership profiles, strategic initiatives, competitive intelligence, and recent activity — updated continuously as new information appears. Reps can build informed account plans in minutes and keep them current without manual effort.