Account Management Software

Using account management software can help you better manage the relationship and selling activities with your customers. The software can be used companywide for all accounts, or you can create rules for usage that focus on only large or strategic accounts. Having all the relevant information available about an account is not only a benefit for the sales organization, but it is also valuable to other parts of the company as well, such as service, marketing, finance, and product development.

What Account Management Software Should Do

This specialized software must supply value to your company and the sales organization. It should add value to your company based on your products and services and how you go to market. For example, there are web centric companies, channel sales, and direct sales models that may or may not use partners. The variations in the way you go to market will affect the features and attributes that are most important to you.

The first thing to decide is what is important when dealing with your accounts. Some of the data you need to consider having in account management software are listed below.

Provide structure for profile information you need to know about your account

• Location and contact information
• Divisions
• Business units
• Organizational information
• Website links
• Key products
• News articles and links

Help you strategically create and implement account planning

• Account plan
• Action items and accountabilities
• Marketing programs
• Installed base
• Business development areas
• Service level agreements
• Support plans
• Service history

Help you understand the selling environment

• Key personnel
• Historical records
• Buying structure
• Key business issues
• Competitors of the account
• Customer satisfaction information

Provide valuable sales information

• Forecasts
• Opportunity plans
• Sales campaigns
• Pipeline information
• Sales reports
• Current contracts between your companies
• Dashboard and graphical information
• Database of customer transactions
• Operational guidelines

Results You Should Expect

To provide value to you and your company, account management software needs to provide output content that is valuable for day-to-day sales activities. Also, it should provide easy to use and accessible information such as:

• A comprehensive data base of all relevant transactions and information
• Purchasing history
• Invoice and billing records
• Sales records tailored for each sales person
• Reports that roll up through your management organization
• Multi departmental information
• Presentations relevant to the account
• Marketing collateral and reports
• Trend graphs
• Tables of relevant content

Conclusion

Having a good software package for managing your account interactions is an effective way of boosting productivity and adding to the bottom line. As with any software package, the data going in has to be current and accurate for it to provide value to you and your customer. Always implement software at a manageable pace. Decide what attributes and information are most important to your interactions with the account. Do your homework and due diligence. Choosing the right software for your sales operation is critical and the implications last a long time.

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