Tier 1 · Know cold

Account planning

In one line

The living strategic artifact: where we are in an account, where the realistic growth is, who decides, and the next moves.

Fuller explanation

An account plan is a living operating document — not a CRM export — capturing account context, a stakeholder/influence map, SWOT, whitespace/growth analysis, 2-3 measurable objectives per quarter, and owned actions. The senior discipline is whitespace mapping: a grid of your services × the client's buying centres, where the un-penetrated cells are your expansion pipeline. McKinsey's framing: the majority of value creation comes from expanding existing relationships, not new logos.

Interview phrase

"An account plan is a living operating cadence, not a slide we refresh once a year."