Joint account planning | Outbound Wiki

Joint account planning is a working session that turns a selected account into a shared pursuit. Start by choosing the account, then build the context and decide who will act. An AE and an SDR should shape the plan together before execution splits into separate tasks.¹ The process is V-shaped, with joint planning at the top.² The plan should give the team enough direction to act while leaving room to find a better route into the account.

Select the accounts

Use the opening session to decide where joint effort makes sense. The result should be a short list that both sides agree is worth pursuing.

Joint planning should select named accounts to pursue jointly during the quarter.³ Teams can identify overlap and agree how to approach those accounts together.⁴ One described output covers 8 to 15 named opportunities.⁵

Ask:

What makes this account a joint pursuit?
Where does each side have access, knowledge, or a reason to act?
What would the account gain from the combined approach?

Move on when both parties can explain why the account belongs on the shared list. If the reason depends on a vague hope of finding an opportunity, keep working on the selection.

Build the account brief

Once the account is selected, create a compact working brief that gives everyone the same starting point. Keep it close to the work so people can update it as they learn more.

A shared Google Doc with a one-page joint plan for each account is one workable format.⁶ An enterprise-selling plan can include account planning, knowledge transfers, and the account's history.⁷ If Sales Account Research is part of the process, enable Account Plans so the research can feed the plan.⁸

Write the account objective in plain language. State the change you want to create for the account and why the joint approach helps. Add the known history, current context, relevant overlap, and assumptions that still need testing. Keep facts separate from guesses so the team knows what to confirm in conversations.

Ask:

What has happened in this account before?
What do we know about its current priorities?
Which assumptions could change the way we approach it?
What would make this pursuit worth continuing?

Move on when someone who missed the planning session can understand the account, the reason for pursuing it, and the gaps that still need work.

Map people and the shared message

A plan becomes usable when it shows who matters and why the account should care. Map people before assigning outreach so each action has a purpose.

The planning workshop should document partner roles for each account, the shared narrative, and the target buyer-committee members.⁹ A joint-pursuit plan should list buying-committee members and assign shared ownership of the next step.¹⁰ Bring the buyer and champion into the plan where access allows.¹¹ Co-creating the plan can give buyers ownership, responsibility, and accountability for carrying it out.¹²

Record each relevant contact's possible role in the decision, the concern the shared narrative should address, and the connection that may open the next conversation. Keep the narrative consistent across both sides while leaving room for each participant to speak from their own relationship with the account.

Ask:

Who is affected by the problem or opportunity?
Who can influence the decision?
What does each person need to believe before the next step makes sense?
Which contact can help us test the shared narrative?

Move on when the team can explain who it wants to reach, what each person may care about, and how the proposed message connects to the account objective.

Turn the plan into owned actions

Convert the brief into work that people can carry out. Each action should make the next conversation easier to start or the account easier to understand.

Invite the revenue development team to pursue the account plan jointly with the direct request, "Let's mutually go after this plan".¹³ Assign each action to the person or side best placed to complete it, and record what must happen before the next action begins. Include the expected outcome, the information needed, and the handoff point so ownership stays visible.

Ask:

Who will make the next contact?
Who will provide the context or introduction?
What response or information would move the account forward?
When should the plan change if the response differs from the assumption?

Move on when every planned action has an owner and the team can see how the actions connect. If an action has two owners, define which person drives it and which person supports it.

Review and reset the plan

Use reviews to test whether the plan still deserves work and whether the actions are producing better account understanding. Change the plan when the account gives you new information.

Sales teams conduct account plan reviews.¹⁴ Account plans should be actionable and should stretch the account team's imagination.¹⁵ Joint planning leads can help coordinate customer territory planning and support co-selling success.¹⁶

Ask:

What did we learn since the last review?
Which assumption now needs to be removed or rewritten?
Are the assigned actions producing movement or only activity?
Does the shared narrative still fit what the account is telling us?

Move on when the review produces a clear decision about the next action, the owner, and the reason for continuing. Keep the account in the plan while the shared approach is creating new access or useful learning. Change the plan when the account gives you a different route.

What not to do

These mistakes turn joint planning into a document people consult after decisions have already been made. Catch them during the session, while the people responsible for the work can still change the plan.

Treat the AE's plan as a finished handoff to the SDR. Account planning should happen together.¹
Let the account list grow without a focused selection. The joint-planning output is intended to cover 8 to 15 named opportunities.⁵
Leave roles, the shared narrative, or target buyer-committee members out of the workshop record.⁹
Keep the buyer and champion outside the planning process when they can help develop the plan.¹¹
Write a plan that records ideas without actions. Account plans need to be actionable and stretch the account team's imagination.¹⁵

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