What is Target Account Selling? Definition and Examples

As a salesperson, do you spread your efforts across many prospects, or do you focus on identifying and prioritizing key accounts that have the greatest potential for generating significant income for your business? If you concentrate on a select group of accounts that are most likely to bring in the most money, you practice Target Account Selling or Target Account Sales – you are a Target Account Seller.

Companies whose salespeople practice target account selling aim to increase deal sizes, win rates, and revenue growth by focusing their efforts on high-value accounts. They have carefully selected these accounts on specific criteria.

Mtdsalestraining.com has the following definition of target account selling:

“Target account selling (TAS) is a sales methodology that helps salespeople focus their time and energy on the accounts that are the best fit for their products or services.”

“The goal of TAS is to improve sales productivity by prioritizing the accounts that are most likely to close and have the greatest revenue potential.”

The Core of Target Account Selling

At the heart of target account selling is the idea of working smarter, not harder.

By homing in on specific accounts that align with your company’s strengths and offerings, you can tailor your sales strategy to meet the unique needs and challenges of these key *prospects.

* A prospect is somebody who you believe could become a paying customer. For the remainder of this article, the word ‘prospect’ will also include ‘customer.’

By targeting specific accounts, you increase your chances of closing deals, as your efforts are more targeted and personalized. Target account sellers often achieve better *conversion rates than those using traditional sales methods.

* The term conversion rate refers to the percentage of prospects you visit who end up becoming paid customers. If you visited 200 prospects last year, and 50 became paying customers, your conversion rate was 25% or 1-in 4.

3 Images of executives analyzing graphs and metrics and a definition of Target Account Selling
Image created by Market Business News.

How to Identify Target Accounts

Identifying the right target accounts is the first step in in target account selling. This process typically involves analyzing your existing customer base to understand which types of accounts generate the most revenue, have the best conversion rates, or have the greatest growth potential.

To create a profile of your ideal target account, you might look at the following factors:

  • company size,
  • industry,
  • geographical location,
  • annual revenue,
  • decision-making process,
  • market share,
  • growth potential,
  • technological adoption,
  • competitive landscape, and
  • purchasing behavior.

Once you have a clear picture of what your target account looks like, you can begin researching and identifying prospects that match this profile.

Your goal is to build a list of high-value accounts that you believe will benefit most from your products or services.

Building Relationships with Target Accounts

Target account selling isn’t just about making a sale; it’s about building long-term relationships your key accounts.

Once you have identified your target accounts, the next step is to engage with them in a meaningful way. This might involve personalized marketing campaigns, tailored content, or direct outreach from your sales team.

By focusing on the specific needs and pain points of these accounts, you can position your company as a trusted partner rather than just another vendor.

This approach not only increases the likelihood of closing the initial sale but also sets the stage for future business opportunities.

When talking to your prospect, listen carefully to what they have to say. Do not underestimate the importance of active listening. The world’s most successful salespeople are all excellent listeners.

Measuring Success in Target Account Selling

As a target account seller, you don’t measure your success just by the number of deals you closed, but by the quality of those deals.

Since this sales method focuses on high-value accounts, the impact of closing just one or two deals can be significant.

You will want to track metrics such as account growth, customer retention, and overall revenue generated from your target accounts to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy.

Put simply, it’s not just the number of sales you made that matters, but the income they generated.

Similar Sales Methods

In the world of business, there are dozens of sales methods. Below you can see the details of some that are similar to target account selling:

Like Target Account Selling, Enterprise Selling focuses on large, high-value accounts, often requiring a strategic approach tailored to complex organizations.

This method is almost identical to Target Account Selling, concentrating on specific, high-value accounts and aligning sales efforts to meet their unique needs.

Both involve a strategic approach to closing large deals, focusing on key accounts and decision-makers within those accounts to maximize revenue opportunities.

Similar to Target Account Selling, Client-Centric Selling emphasizes understanding and addressing the specific needs of high-value clients, fostering long-term relationships.

This approach, like Target Account Selling, focuses on providing tailored insights to key accounts, positioning the seller as a valuable advisor to drive deeper engagement.

Brief History and Today

Target account selling has been around for several decades. It started gaining traction in the 1980s as companies began focusing on high-value accounts rather than spreading efforts across many prospects.

Since the turn of the century, its popularity has grown significantly as businesses recognized the value of prioritizing key accounts for higher revenue and better conversion rates.

Many large companies today across various industries practice target account selling as part of their sales strategy. Some examples include:

  • Salesforce (USA)

A leader in customer relationship management (CRM) software, Salesforce focuses on high-value accounts to drive revenue growth.

  • Microsoft (USA)

With its vast array of products and services, Microsoft prioritizes key enterprise accounts, particularly for its cloud and software solutions.

  • SAP (Germany)

This enterprise software giant practices TAS to secure and grow relationships with large organizations needing ERP solutions.

  • Adobe (USA)

Adobe targets high-value clients for its creative software and marketing solutions.

  • BT Group (UK)

BT Group, a leading telecommunications and network provider, focuses on high-value enterprise clients, particularly for its IT and communication services.

  • Sony (Japan)

Sony practices TAS to prioritize key accounts in its various business segments, including electronics, gaming, and entertainment.

  • IBM (USA)

Known for its technology and consulting services, IBM targets key accounts to maintain and expand its large enterprise customer base.

  • Siemens (Germany)

Siemens, a global technology company based in Germany, uses TAS to target critical accounts in industries such as energy, healthcare, and industrial automation.

  • Oracle (USA)

Oracle uses TAS to focus on major clients for its database, cloud, and enterprise software offerings.

Final Thoughts

Target account selling is a powerful approach that can help you maximize your sales efforts by focusing on the accounts that matter most – the ones that generate the most income.

Target account selling can save you and your sales team a lot of time, and position your company for sustained success and long-term growth.

Good luck in your sales endeavors!