Account Planning Template

An account planning session is where the account team steps back from day-to-day execution to build a deliberate plan for protecting and growing a key account. It turns a reactive relationship into a strategy with named plays, owners, and goals.

When to use it

Run account planning quarterly for your most strategic and highest-potential accounts. New strategic logos warrant a plan within the first ninety days. Do not spread it across every account: reserve the depth for the accounts where focused effort meaningfully changes revenue.

Who attends

Bring the full account team: the account executive who owns growth, the customer success manager who owns the relationship and adoption, and sales leadership to challenge the plan and unlock resources. For the largest accounts, loop in an executive sponsor who can open doors.

How to run it

Start with an honest account snapshot so the plan rests on reality, not optimism. Map the relationships next, because deals are won and lost on people, and gaps in the map are gaps in the plan. Find the white space where you could expand, then name the risks that could shrink the account. Convert all of it into a growth plan with specific plays, owners, and dates. Close by committing to the top three moves for the quarter.

Facilitator tips

• Be honest in the snapshot. A plan built on wishful health is worthless.
• Map blockers, not just champions. Knowing your opposition is half the plan.
• Tie every expansion play to the account's priorities, not your quota.
• Limit the quarter to three real moves. A plan with twenty actions has none.

Common mistakes

• Confusing a plan with a forecast; the plan is the actions, not the number.
• Mapping only the friendly contacts and missing blockers and decision-makers.
• Listing expansion ideas with no owner, date, or connection to the buyer's goals.
• Writing the plan once and never revisiting it as the account changes.

Keep the relationship map, white space, and plays live across every quarter. Run it in OrgTP.