It's the buyer who decides when to buy, not the salesman

We regularly have the opportunity to review our clients account plans and regardless of the sales methodology being used we are constantly amazed at the poor quality of the information. This post is not about how to prepare a full account plan, but there is one aspect we want to focus on as we start a new financial year and that is client buying patterns.

Your clients are starting a new financial year just like you
Let's keep this simple, now is the time of the year when your clients identify the following:

• Their key priorities
• How much money they have to spend
• How they have prioritised that spending
• What their sign off limits are
• How budgets are released, quarterly, half-yearly or "zero budgeting"

Your sales teams need to find this out and write it down in their account plans. This will help them prioritise their activities; to put it bluntly they should be focussing where the budget is, this may not be with the people they usually deal with.

Do you know your client's buying patterns?

Do your sales people know how and when budgets are released and also when they may be put on hold. We have a client who does not finalise their budgets until the 2nd month of a new financial year, and more than this they have historically stopped signing up for new projects mid-way through the third quarter. This means we have to have closed the year's number in six months!

Let's not pretend the above is unique, it happens everywhere, just look back at the buying patterns of your customers, I am sure you will find similar patterns.

But how do I find out this information?
If your account plans do not have this information, you must go out and discover this. The obvious way to do this is to ask your contacts within the account. This is an important action, and sales managers should not let the "urgent" tactical activities get in the way of this important strategic activity at the start of the year.

If your existing contacts do not know, then you have already identified you have too narrow a contact strategy and you need to engage either at a higher level, where the budgets sit, or engage with Finance and Procurement to get a better picture.

It's not just about the budgets

Remember, there are rules for how the money is spent, make sure you understand them as this will help you understand how quickly an order can be placed.

• Is there a discretionary spend limit - can you operate under the radar and still get an order?
• Is there a "sign-of" process, does this involve some form of committee, if so who is on it and how often does it meet?
• Can you use an operational expenditure based solution to overcome limits in capital expenditure? Will the decision remain with the operational manager?

Account Plans are not just for the "big boys"

I am sure you have spent time defining your sales targets, regardless of how large your business is. The account plan will tell you how you are going to get the money out of your target accounts. Without a plan you are either relying on the fact that your sales people will do the right thing, or maybe you are hoping to be lucky.

It does not matter how large your company is - you can create simple account plans, that align with your desired revenue targets against the customer's needs and approach to spending. You may discover very quickly that you have over estimated or under estimated the potential in that account.

Be prepared to ask for help

If you are not happy with your account plans feel free to contact Accredit. We can give you quick feedback just by placing a comment on this blog, or we can work with you to ensure you are best placed to start the financial year in an effective manner.

Do you want to know more?

Either read our "Helping business drive sales" document, download the "Personal Business Plan" or contact mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com and Mark can take you through more detail.