In cutting-edge industries, suppliers of various components and technologies will need to grow their business by partnering with large market players. Here are the interests, issues and methods of referencing a major account.

I – The challenges of entering a new account

What motivates companies to want to get listed with a particular account? There are several benefits to this, such as acquiring a larger market share, increasing revenue, having more customer references to facilitate the growth of the company… Getting referenced with new accounts is also a way to get out of the dependency on existing customers to ensure the sustainability and security of the company in case of crisis.

Account penetration can also be a way to promote expertise through a certification such as the EN9100 standard. Indeed, working with reference companies in the aeronautical sector such as Airbus or its large Third Parties will help to obtain this certification. The same goes for the certification of suppliers of certain major accounts. Some major players impose standards on suppliers, responding positively to these criteria ensures a quality of service and deliverability to all players in the industry.

II – The realization: how to get referenced?

• Rely on your history

The first step to successful account penetration is to gather all the key elements to create a sales action plan, which we call « Sales Plan Monitoring ». The SPM is a list of accounts that must correspond to the list of targets that will be contacted during your prospecting sessions. In order to carry out a successful sales action, an inventory of previous business cases is necessary. The analysis of this history will allow your sales department to duplicate the successes and correct the mistakes made during the unsuccessful deals.

In order to target companies and penetrate one or more customer accounts, it is therefore useful to rely on your past successes.  These provide key information (profitability, competitors, key contacts, details of the need) that can help prioritize your actions according to your chances of success. With the different key success factors identified and the evaluation of the sales volume you are able to achieve, you will be able to prioritize certain strategic segments or accounts. The priorities of the SPM are subject to feedback, as the establishment of the account plan is theoretical and must therefore take into account the reality of the situation.

• Knowing your targets well, a mandatory step for the success of your sales approach

Once these analyses have been completed and the list of accounts has been drawn up, it is important to gather as much information as possible about the companies you will be calling. The realization of an account plan will guide the penetration strategy you will implement. This research work allows you to know the accounts you are targeting and to have a sharp vision of the needs and decision processes you will face.

The account plan consists of mapping a company. It is an identity card of the organization: the different fields of expertise and their location on different sites, with the projects and programs on which the client is positioned. The realization of the account plan is then essential to identify the decision centers, the entry points and the relevant contacts within the different Business Units. Given the organization and structure of high-tech industries, obtaining this information and a 360° understanding of the target accounts is the main challenge in order to perform effective prospecting.

The ability to target and contact the right contacts in the different Business Units of a major account is a key skill that brings value to your client and is made possible by a deep knowledge of its organization, needs and projects, when carrying out the account plan.

At SURFEO, our expertise is based on 15 years of experience, 10,000 contacts, and in-depth knowledge of high-tech industries. Thus, our experts are able to guide you in your strategy and support you in your development process. Our knowledge of best practices in the various industries we cover (aeronautics, space, defense and energy…) allows us to effectively guide our clients’ penetration strategy in order to bring them maximum success in the deployment of their commercial approach.