Start Building Account Plans That Actually Increase Revenue

Most account plans fail because they’re either too vague or forgotten entirely.

You end up chasing low-yield leads, scrambling during check-ins, or watching deals stall because a key decision-maker wasn’t on board. 

It’s a frustrating cycle, but the good news is that with a smarter approach you can turn your account plans into a tool that increases your revenue. 

This guide will show you how to create account plans that aren’t just documents, but actionable roadmaps to success. 

From identifying high-potential accounts to aligning with client goals and leveraging tools like Plan2Prosper, we’ll walk you through the strategies you need to focus your efforts. 

Identify Accounts With Revenue Potential 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to help everyone. But if you’re chasing every account without considering their potential, you’re not helping anyone. Not your clients, and definitely not your revenue targets.

Ever spent weeks nurturing an account, only to realize the account hardly spends anything? 

That’s the reality for many sales teams. When you try to be everywhere at once, you end up spreading yourself too thin. And while high-potential accounts are waiting, leads with a lower spending potential take up your time and resources.

If this sounds familiar, don’t worry, you’re not alone. But the solution isn’t working harder, it’s working smarter.

What To Do

To prioritize the accounts that will actually drive results, you need a data-first approach. The key is to stop looking at accounts purely by size and start evaluating their revenue potential.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Evaluate What’s Already Working

Review historical spend and growth trends. Which accounts have steadily increased their investment with you?

Identify the strength of existing relationships. Are there clients where trust is strong, but opportunities for expansion haven’t been fully explored?

2. Whitespacing

Whitespacing is identifying gaps in your client’s current product or service stack. Think of it as filling in the blanks, spotting what’s missing and presenting solutions that directly benefit their business.

Look at Salesforce. Their customers often start with foundational tools like Sales Cloud or Service Cloud. But what about the products they haven’t adopted yet? CPQ, Marketing Cloud, or MuleSoft could be the perfect fit for their next stage of growth. 

When you know a customer’s current setup, you can proactively suggest the right additions to help them succeed.

Tip: Don’t just sell for the sake of it. Think about how each solution adds real value to the client’s goals. 

3. Mini-Profiles

Once you’ve identified your top accounts, take the time to build detailed profiles. 

Include:

• Revenue history to understand where the account stands today.
• White space opportunities to pinpoint areas where additional products or services could add value.
• Specific goals for growth to clarify what success looks like for this account. Both for you and for them.

This process might take a bit of extra time upfront, but it ensures your efforts are laser-focused on accounts that matter.

Why It Works

When you narrow your focus to accounts with real growth potential, everything changes:

• Less wasted effort: You focus on deals that actually deliver ROI.
• More meaningful wins: You build stronger relationships with clients who see you as a partner in their growth.
• A clearer path to revenue: With high-priority accounts, your time and resources go further, leading to more closed deals and predictable growth.

Like we said before, this isn’t about working harder, but working smarter. By targeting the right accounts, you’ll create a more impactful sales process that delivers results.

Revenue Roadmap

How often do account plans end up as a list of vague ideas? 

You might jot down a target like “grow the account by 25%,” but without a detailed plan, that goal quickly becomes wishful thinking.

If your plan lacks specificity, it makes it harder to hit your revenue targets. 

Let’s face it: “Increase revenue” is not a strategy. What you need is something that breaks the big picture into smaller, actionable steps.

What to Do

A revenue roadmap is a strategy that ties every action to a measurable outcome. Here’s how to build one:

1. Set Specific Revenue Goals

Break down your growth target into smaller, actionable pieces. For example, if you’re aiming to grow an account by 25%, what does that look like in practice? Maybe it means upselling a specific product, solving a pain point, or driving increased usage of an existing service.

Align these actions with a timeline. Setting quarterly targets helps ensure progress is tracked and adjustments can be made as needed.

2. Back Up Your Goals With Data

Review the account’s current spend, past growth, and potential white space opportunities.

Be realistic. If the account doesn’t have room for additional products or services, targeting significant growth isn’t feasible. Instead, focus on retaining value and driving incremental improvements.

3. Keep It Flexible

An effective revenue roadmap isn’t static. Make it a living document you revisit regularly, adjusting based on client feedback, or changing priorities.

For example, if a client’s business focus shifts mid-year, update your roadmap to reflect their new goals. This keeps your strategy aligned and shows clients you’re proactive about meeting their needs.

Why It Works

A well-crafted revenue roadmap creates clarity. For you and your client. 

Here’s what it delivers:

• Trust and Alignment: Clients notice when your plan ties directly to their financial goals. This positions you as a partner in their success, not just a vendor.
• Accountability: Every action on your roadmap has a purpose, keeping you and your team focused on outcomes that matter.
• Better Relationships: A roadmap demonstrates your commitment to driving value, which strengthens client trust and increases the likelihood of renewals and upsells.

When you take the time to create a revenue roadmap, you’re creating a clearer path to achieving revenue goals. 

Revenue Focused Discovery

How many times have you left a discovery call not really understanding the client’s business?

For many sales teams, discovery is a quick process. Ask a few basic questions, check the boxes, and move on. But surface-level questions lead to surface-level solutions.

Clients might say they need faster processing or better integrations, but what does that actually mean for their bottom line? Without digging deeper, you miss the opportunity to uncover how your solution could directly impact their revenue, and that’s the conversation they care about most.

Clients don’t just want a product. They want results. If your discovery process doesn’t tie your offering to their financial goals, you risk losing deals to competitors who do.

What to Do

Reframe the process. Not as a sales pitch, but as a deep dive into the client’s business challenges and goals. Here’s how to do it effectively:

1. Ask Revenue-Focused Questions

Every question should help you uncover how your solution impacts the client’s revenue. For example:

• Instead of: “Do you need faster processing?”
• Ask: “How would faster processing improve your revenue? Are delays causing you to lose customers or miss opportunities?”
• Instead of: “What’s your biggest challenge right now?”
• Ask: “What’s your biggest financial hurdle this year? How does that affect your ability to hit your targets?”

By reframing your questions, you shift the focus from features to outcomes, positioning your solution as a revenue driver.

2. Think Like a Consultant

Approach discovery as a business consultant, not just a salesperson. Your goal is to uncover the “why” behind their needs:

• Why do they need better reporting?
• Why do they want more automation?

Tie these needs to broader revenue goals. For example:

• “I see you’re focused on improving your reporting. Is that to identify new upsell opportunities or reduce churn?”

This approach builds trust and demonstrates that you’re invested in their success—not just in closing a deal.

3. Reframe Your Offering

Stop talking about what you sell. Start talking about what they’ll gain. For example:

Instead of pitching your product as a way to “streamline operations,” highlight how it will shorten sales cycles or reduce customer churn, both of which directly impact revenue.

“With better visibility into your pipeline, you’ll identify stalled deals earlier, closing faster and increasing revenue.”

Why It Works

Clients don’t buy features, they buy outcomes. When your discovery process ties your solution directly to their financial goals, you’re no longer just a vendor. You’re a partner who understands their challenges, and their priorities.

Here’s how revenue focused discovery benefits you:

• Build Trust: Asking deeper questions shows you care about their success, not just your quota.
• Increase Win Rates: When clients see the clear revenue impact of your solution, the decision becomes easier.
• Strengthen Relationships: Framing your offering like this positions you as a strategic partner, making clients more likely to renew and expand.

In sales, understanding the “why” is everything. With revenue focused discovery, you’re not just creating value, you’re proving it.

Map Out Decision-Makers and Customize the Pitch 

Deals stall at the last minute because you don’t see objections coming. Often, this happens because one or more stakeholders didn’t feel their concerns were addressed.

Every decision-maker in a deal has their own priorities. The CRO might be focused on ROI and cost control, while the CTO cares about system performance and scalability. Meanwhile, the VP of Sales just wants a faster way to close deals.

If your pitch only speaks to one perspective, you risk losing the deal. To keep the process moving smoothly, you need to align with every decision-maker involved.

What to Do

Mapping out decision-makers and tailoring your pitch to their specific revenue goals ensures you’re speaking everyone’s language. Here’s how to do it:

1. Identify All Stakeholders

Start by building a clear picture of who’s involved in the buying process. This goes beyond just the person you’re speaking with:

• Decision-Makers: Who has the final say?
• Influencers: Who might sway the decision one way or another?
• Blockers: Who could derail the process or bring up objections?
• Champions: Who is advocating for your solution internally?

Use stakeholder mapping tools to organize this information visually, showing who reports to whom and what their roles are. During discovery, ask strategic questions to uncover everyone involved. For example:

• “Besides yourself, who else needs to be on board to move this forward?”
• “What are their priorities for a solution like this?”

2. Understand Each Stakeholder’s Revenue Goals
   

Every stakeholder will evaluate your solution through the lens of their specific objectives. Make sure you understand what success looks like for each one. For example:

• CFO: “How will this improve our bottom line?” They care about ROI, cost savings, and financial predictability.
• CTO: “Will this integrate seamlessly?” They prioritize operational efficiency, scalability, and system reliability.
• VP of Sales: “How does this help me close deals faster?” They want tools that improve win rates, shorten sales cycles, and streamline the process.

3. Customize Your Pitch

Tailor your messaging to each decision-maker’s unique goals. Avoid using generic presentations that try to cover everyone at once. Instead, craft your pitch to highlight the benefits that matter most to each stakeholder:

• For the CFO: Focus on the financial impact. Use hard numbers to demonstrate ROI and show how the solution saves money or generates revenue.
• For the CTO: Emphasize technical compatibility. Explain how your product integrates with existing systems and scales to meet future needs.
• For the VP of Sales: Highlight speed and simplicity. Show how the solution accelerates deal velocity and improves their team’s efficiency.

It might sound complicated, but that’s why we built OrgChartPlus.

You can get a deeper understanding of your prospects and customers and understand the political map by assigning lines of influence, conflict and other relationships between contacts, all within Salesforce. 

Get up and running in no time. Download the package from the Salesforce AppExchange page, add the buttons onto the account and opportunity page layout and have your sales teams closing deals faster. Start your free trial today!

Why It Works

Tailoring your pitch to each stakeholder’s revenue goals is a necessity. When you speak to what matters most to them, you eliminate friction.

Here’s what happens when you take this approach:

• Fewer Objections: Stakeholders feel their concerns are heard and addressed, reducing last-minute roadblocks.
• Stronger Buy-In: Decision-makers are more likely to champion your solution when it aligns with their specific goals.
• Faster Sales Cycles: By aligning all stakeholders early, you make the decision process easier and close deals faster.

Remember, deals don’t happen in silos. By mapping out decision-makers and customizing your pitch, you’ll build alignment and increase revenue faster. 

Regular Check-Ins 

Even the best account plans can be a waste if they’re treated as static documents. Often, sales teams create a plan, present it to the client, and then move on. 

Only to realize months later that progress has stalled or priorities have shifted entirely.

Without regular check-ins, you overlook upsell opportunities, and let risk indicators slip by unnoticed. Worse, clients can feel neglected, jeopardizing renewals.

What to Do

Turn check-ins into a proactive process that ensures alignment with both client priorities and revenue goals. Here’s how to make them count:

Set a Consistent Cadence: Schedule regular check-ins aligned with the client’s needs and your sales cycle. Consistency builds accountability and keeps everyone on track.

Focus the Agenda on Outcomes: Check-ins shouldn’t be generic status updates. Use them to:

• Assess progress toward the client’s goals.
• Identify gaps or potential roadblocks.
• Highlight measurable impacts like ROI, pipeline growth, or cost savings.

How Plan2Prosper Helps

This is where Plan2Prosper by SalesMethods takes center stage. Designed to work natively in Salesforce, Plan2Prosper transforms account plans into dynamic, actionable workflows that make your check-ins meaningful. 

Here’s how:

• Track Progress: The visual methodology framework makes it easy to see what’s been completed (green), what’s in progress (yellow), and where additional attention is needed (red). Managers can flag specific stages for review (purple), ensuring alignment across teams.
• Spot Risk Before It’s Too Late: The Plan Risk metric provides a clear visual, helping sales teams identify high-risk accounts early and pivot to address challenges.
• Make Actionable Recommendations: Plan2Prosper’s action plans connect tasks with owners and deadlines, ensuring every team member knows what needs to be done and by when. No more missed opportunities or forgotten follow-ups.
• Bring Data to the Conversation: The account overview feature consolidates performance metrics, pipeline progress, and historical insights into a presentable format for management and client reviews. With this data in hand, check-ins become opportunities to drive strategic discussions, not just administrative updates.

Why It Works

When regular check-ins are powered by tools like Plan2Prosper, they stop being formalities and start becoming high-impact opportunities to strengthen client relationships and hit revenue goals.

Here’s the payoff:

• Stronger Client Alignment: Clients see your ongoing commitment to their success, increasing trust and renewal rates.
• Proactive Risk Management: By identifying risks early, you can address challenges before they escalate.
• Increased Revenue Opportunities: Regularly revisiting account progress naturally uncovers upsell and cross-sell opportunities.

Account plans shouldn’t collect dust. With Plan2Prosper, every check-in is an opportunity to drive progress, uncover growth, and maintain alignment with your revenue strategy.

Conclusion

Now it’s your turn. 

Take these steps, refine your process, and start building account plans that don’t just sit on a shelf, they create meaningful, lasting growth.

Take this process even further with Plan2Prosper by making account plans actionable, and directly increase your revenue. 

Stronger relationships, faster sales cycles, and a sales process that delivers real results. Contact us today and start your free trial!