A Different Way to Look at Growth

The classic hunter/farmer dichotomy among sellers is a bit overplayed to me. Why do they need to be so distinct? I’ve been selling for almost two decades now, and I can definitively say that the best salespeople hunt for great places to farm.

While some people are going to be better suited for one role than the other, is this a problem of fit or just a lack of accountability in the sales culture? Insisting on winning net-new business at the expense of nurturing some of your best customers is a mistake. The lack of perspective is hurting a lot of companies, so allow me to provide you with a new one.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece for my blog outlining a tool for account planning and growth. I didn’t expect it to get the response from my clients that it has. It’s almost always ranked highest of the takeaways people get from my workshops, and I’ve continued to work with and refine it since then.

Today, I’m going to lay it out for you in a way that will help you identify the biggest factors involved in growing your business and how you can most efficiently approach growth in the coming year.

Stop looking at new vs. old

What difference does it make if your growth comes from a new logo or one of your longest-standing and best customers? It all spends the same, right? Sometimes that ride-or-die client has big plans and will help you grow right along with them. Sometimes that new account isn’t much more than another line item in your CRM and a headache. I’ll also add that it’s easier to get $100 from a good customer than it is to get $10 from a brand new one, and at a lower cost of acquisition.

Like most other things in sales, you get what you ask for. If you ask your team for new accounts, you’ll get them. But do you strictly need new accounts or do you need revenue? That’s a serious question that deserves a good answer, and there’s a difference between the two.

The new paradigm: are they growable?

A focus on net new customers and revenues is an oversimplification of a timeless problem. Sales reps fall into the trap of babysitting their accounts, and growth suffers as a result.

The typical fix? Find new accounts.

That’s a little reductive if you ask me. While some of your favorite accounts are real time wasters, others have a ton of growth potential. The situation can get a bit murky, so let’s step back and look at it differently.

What if you started thinking less in terms of age and more in terms of potential? What if it didn’t matter how long you’ve had the account but considered instead how growable it still is? That’s a different question to answer.

The problem with old accounts is not their age but their potential to help you hit your number this year. I contend that you can keep 100% of your business with your existing accounts in about half the time you spend managing them. When you have the right conversations with those clients, you’ll realize which time investments are paying off for you and which aren’t, and you are likely to be shocked at what you’ll learn (more on that in a minute).

The next question: how accessible are they?

The biggest barrier for salespeople has always been access to decision-makers. This is typically what divides current customers from brand-new ones, so it’s a different way to look at the age question, with a few outliers.

You’ll have a few prospects who will take your call and indulge in a conversation, even take up your offer to attend some kind of event, but not buy from you. There’s also the odd customer who loves buying from you but never seems to have time to take a meeting. Access is correlated, but not directly, with spend.

Put it all together

Now that we’ve got two different ways to score our prospects and customers let’s do exactly that. Create a spreadsheet with three columns (here’s a quick example).

The first column is a list of accounts. I suggest you put your top 20 current customers there as well as 20 you really want to do business with.

The second column is a scale of 0-10 of how accessible these prospects/customers are. If they’ve never heard of or from you, they’re a 0. If you have a key to the back door or the building’s security alarm code, they’re a 10.

The third column is your assessment of their growability. On a scale of 0-10, how much revenue do you think they can realistically spend with you? Of course, you probably don’t know exactly what that spend will be, but it doesn’t matter. You know if there’s a lot or a little based on how well you know your current customers and what you know about your dream clients.

Now we’ll create a version of the Eisenhower Matrix. You’ve probably seen this in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits.

The vertical axis represents growability, with 0 at the bottom and 10 at the top. The horizontal axis is for accessibility, with 10 on the left and 0 on the right. Plot each account based on the coordinates in the spreadsheet you just filled out. An account with coordinates (5,5) would be smack dab in the middle.

The accounts in Quadrant 1 (top left) represent your best opportunities for growth. These are both growable and accessible. Make them your top priority. This is, relatively speaking, the lowest-hanging fruit in your territory. This is the Quadrant of Great Opportunities.

The accounts in Quadrant 2 (top right) represent the ones that have great potential but don’t offer you the access you need to realize it. This is the Quadrant of Opportunity Creation. Your mid-to-long-term prospecting efforts need to be applied here.

The accounts in Quadrant 3 (bottom left) represent a different kind of opportunity. These are likely your best customers. They’re a soft place to land after a frustrating day of prospecting. You walk through the employee entrance or are otherwise known as “authorized personnel.” The receptionist knows your kids’ nicknames and when their birthdays are coming up.

Therein lies the big problem. These accounts are, by your own definition, not very growable. I call this the Quadrant of Plausible Deniability. Sure, it’s work if you’re with customers, but are these accounts going to drive your business, or are you just afraid of what will happen if they go away?

Accounts in Quadrant 4 (bottom right) are neither growable nor accessible, so we’ll call this the Quadrant of Never Mind.

The points plotted on this chart help you prioritize the activities within each quadrant. For instance, a (10,10) is at the top left corner of Quadrant 1. That means big potential and plenty of access. What are you waiting for?

In Quadrant 2, a (4,8) probably deserves more attention (or at least different expectations) than a (0,6).

In Quadrant 3, a (6,4) should be considered differently than a (9,1).

Accounts in Quadrant 3 can still be valuable

What most reps miss in this diagram is the opportunity presented by the accounts in Quadrant 3. Sure, they’re not very growable, but these are typically your best, most friendly accounts. They want to see you grow and are willing to help. If you’re going to spend your time with them, make it count.

Have a vulnerable conversation with them. Ask them why they started doing business with you. Ask them why they keep doing business with you. At the very least, you’ll get specific messaging to help you attract those accounts in Quadrant 2 and move them closer to Quadrant 1.

If you’re feeling frisky enough (and why wouldn’t you?), you can ask them for referrals and introductions that may put some new opportunities in Quadrant 1 that you weren’t aware of prior.

Just because they aren’t growable and I think you should spend less time with them doesn’t mean they aren’t extremely valuable. These conversations will show you exactly how to spend half the time and resources with them but keep all of their business. They’ll tell you what’s most important about your relationships. You’ll quickly realize that you’ve made some poor assumptions, and there are also some clear places to redouble your efforts.

Your best accounts are your biggest fans. They’ve always been the key to your success, but now you have the visual aid to see exactly how valuable they can be.

Spend an hour or so this week doing this exercise. Perhaps even take the concept to your next team meeting and do this together.

The path to success in 2023 will be illuminated in front of you. All you’ll have to do now is the work.