In the world of SaaS and services partnerships, one of the most-effective strategies for sourcing revenue and extending your salesforce, without additional internal costs, is by running account-development plays.

Whether you’re a services partner looking to attract sourced revenue from SaaS partners or a SaaS company aiming to leverage partners for more-comprehensive account-development, this approach revolves around strategic collaboration and organized execution.

Here’s an overview on how to implement account development plays to turn your partners into proactive collaborators.

Understanding Cross-Company Account-Development Plays

Services Partners (proactive sourcing): This strategy is primarily designed for services partners aiming to source revenue from their SaaS partners. It involves a proactive approach where the services partner aids the SaaS company’s sales reps in account development, providing valuable insights into account research, stakeholder research, and possible points of entry.

SaaS Companies: Tailored for mid-market and enterprise SaaS companies, this approach focuses on empowering your partners to assist in Account Development, effectively augmenting your sales team’s efforts in targeting and winning accounts. It’s about being prescriptive, selecting the right partners for specific accounts, and jointly pursuing account development in a structured fashion.

Services Partners – Detailed Execution Breakdown:

1. Identify Your Value: Start by understanding what unique value you can bring to the table. Why should your partner’s sales rep care about what you’re doing? Are you adding real value? You must offer something compelling to get something in return. Focus on giving first and providing tangible benefits to your SaaS partners.

2. Learn Priorities From Sales Leadership: Reach out to sales leadership at your SaaS partner’s organization to discover their priorities and challenges. By aligning your efforts with their needs, you can position your services as a solution to their specific problems, making your partnership invaluable.

3. Conduct Target Account Research: Ask for a list of top target accounts from your SaaS partner’s sales reps. Invest in account research to build detailed buyer maps and strategic plans for account penetration. This sounds complex, but once its been turned into a repeatable process, it’s a straightforward exercise.

Sample Buyer Map & Strategic Co-Sell Plan:

In your research, you can even go as far as scoring accounts FOR your partners if you have a more-sophisticated method of prioritizing accounts than they do. Reps love receiving this level of support.

4. Deliver Strategic Insights: Schedule sessions with the sales reps to present your findings and plans. By showcasing insights they weren’t aware of, you instantly set yourself apart with outstanding credibility.

5. Earn Account Introductions: Having provided significant value through Account Development, you’re now in a position to request introductions to their customers, if they’re not already being offered. This access is crucial for offering your services and expanding your revenue streams.

If their AE says, “What can I do for you?”, an example of a proper and “earned” response would be, “You have 4 accounts who have pain we solve for. I’d enjoy learning where you’re at and who you know in those accounts so I can formulate my own point of entry.”

During the process of learning, find your angle, make your introduction or advocacy ask.

Pro Tip: Be upfront about your expectations. Before you deliver all of this meaningful value, say something like this to the partner’s sales rep at the beginning of your relationship: “We’re ready to lean in and invest in helping you get into the accounts that matter. Now let’s say you love what we’ve produced and it helps you in these various accounts, may we count on you for some advocacy into a few specific customer accounts you manage in return?”

SaaS Companies – Detailed Execution Breakdown:

1. Select Target Accounts: Determine the top accounts you wish to target, focusing on those where you currently have no activity or where strategic partnership can create a breakthrough.

2. Choose the Right Partners for each Account: Be selective in partnering with firms that bring the most value to each account, especially those with expertise in the relevant industry or technology.

3. Teach the Account-Development Process: Share the Account Development methodology with your partners, ensuring they understand how to conduct thorough research, build buyer maps, and develop strategic plans in collaboration with your sales team.

4. Form Co-Selling Pods: Integrate your partners into your sales process, forming teams that work together on account development. This collaborative effort extends your sales reach without incurring additional costs.

5. Commit to Genuine & Transparent Co-Selling: The ultimate goal is to win business together. Ensure that the collaboration is authentic, with a shared commitment to pursuing and closing deals as a unified team.

Real-Life Example: Doubling Revenue and Flipping a Service Company

A professional services organization, specializing in implementing and managing Enterprise Marketing Automation, provided by its Anchor SaaS company partner (Acme) wanted to double its revenue and exit within two years. By engaging with Acme’s sales leadership, understanding their challenges, and offering tailored account-development support, the company was able to position itself as an indispensable partner and inside of 90 days was working with over 40 different enterprise account executives who were raving about the support they were receiving from the partner, while gladly introducing customers warmly to the services provider.

Through detailed account research, strategic planning, and providing actionable insights to Acme’s sales reps, the services company was introduced to Acme company’s customer base, resulting in the organization doubling revenue from $7M to $14M and attracting a suitor in just 16 months (ahead of schedule).

Conclusion

Whether you’re running the account development play as a Saas or Services company, the key to success lies in strategic collaboration, providing value first, and leveraging partnerships to extend your sales capabilities. By adopting these plays, you can effectively source revenue from partners, enhance account development efforts, and achieve mutual growth and success while sharing the costs of developing your most-important accounts.