This is the fifth post about targeting, and I will talk about account targeting. Since the subject of this post is strongly related to previously discussed content, I suggest you access the previous posts about the importance of sales force targeting, how to identify the right prospect, how to deliver the message according to target, and when to deliver the message.
Account Targeting
If you work in medical sales or marketing and your product is sold to a healthcare provider, like a hospital network, a clinic, a medical group, or a single hospital, account targeting is a strategy you should implement.
But what is it about? Account targeting is a strategy of defining and planning where and how to focus your sales and marketing efforts.
As discussed previously, targeting is essential, and it is not an abstract marketing strategy. On the contrary, account targeting can have a significant impact on sales.
Account targeting strategy
The account targeting strategy is the way you should identify and approach your best prospects. As for the single doctor, in account targeting, you should have detailed information on the ideal customer profile, the main criteria for selecting the accounts, and how you should approach them.
Target accounts are your most promising prospects, the ones that require low sales effort because they are a good fit for your product, and consequently doing business with them will generate high value for the company.
The goal of account targeting is to make the most out of all the resources being spent on a territory focusing on the most valuable customers.
How to implement account targeting
Ideal account profile
Account targeting requires a high level of cooperation and coordination between marketing and sales.
The marketing department determines the characteristics of the “ideal account”. The ideal account profile is a combination of hard and soft components like for a hospital, the size, the span of influence, the age of business, the quality of care, urban vs. rural, etc.
Your ideal account profile should also be based on past successful deals; your targeted accounts must have common elements with your most successful customers.
Once the profile of the ideal account is defined, the sales reps reach out to the accounts in their territory belonging to this segment and initiate the selling process.
The goal of this sales tactic is not quantity but quality. Account targeting ensures that the sales force focuses their efforts on all the potential prospects that are extensively scrutinized and where there’s a clear fit for the product.
If the sales reps have not yet had knowledge of the account, they should start the selling process by thoroughly investigating each qualified prospect.
This allows them to gain a deep understanding of the customer and their business.
Stakeholders mapping
In account targeting, the sales rep needs to be aware of the various roles involved in the evaluation and purchasing of the product. So, for instance, for large accounts such as hospitals, the end user, normally a healthcare professional, is the person who will be using the product regularly. Very often, the same individual acts as both the end user and the initiator.
Keep in mind that the initiator is the person who recognizes a problem and begins to explore a solution.
Initiators can require the help of influencers to sway buyers and decision-makers to make the purchase. Influencers can be internal, such as the head of a department, the hospital medical director, etc., or external, such as prominent KOLs.
On the other hand, the buyer is responsible for making the purchase, meeting the order minimum quantity, and sometimes negotiating some discounts. Whereas the decision maker approves an organization to make a purchase. This is typically an administrative person like the purchasing manager, the head of procurement, or even the CEO.
With this, we’ll see a high level of coordination between marketing and sales allowing a deep understanding of all the different stakeholders and the development of coherent messages.
As the sales opportunity moves through each step in the sales cycle, the sales rep and marketing department should continue to tailor the messages and provide valuable and relevant information to each prospect.
Conclusion
Account targeting is a simple strategy that allows you to effectively and efficiently use your marketing and sales resources.
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there,” this quote is frequently attributed to Lewis Carrol in Alice in Wonderland; although the quote is not correct the meaning is very relevant to account targeting. Sales and marketing integration, planning, and preparation are extremely important otherwise the sales force will end up somewhere hoping to sell. And as one of my mentors always said, “Hoping is not a strategy”.
Overall, you’ll agree that account targeting is not very complicated, and its basic principles are straightforward. By implementing the tactics we’ve listed above and having the marketing and sales team working together, you’ll identify valuable accounts more efficiently, reduce the sales effort, and grow better.
What other tactics do you think are useful in account targeting? Let me know in the comments below, and if you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with colleagues and suggest they subscribe or follow me on LinkedIn.