The Power of Value Selling

13Land and Expand: Strategies for Account Penetration

My first field sales job was as an account manager—despite its widespread status today, the role was unique for my employer at the time.

All the field reps at the time covered a specific geographic area, a large geo‐specific area. My peers had territories like the entirety of New England and were calling on companies over a six‐state area. Others had smaller territories by comparison, covering a single state—for example, all businesses in Michigan or Ohio.

In contrast, my territory was not six states, but six named accounts. My objective was to grow our revenue in those accounts and those accounts only. I carried a $600K quota—and while that might not seem like a lot, it quickly becomes challenging when you're working with an average deal size of $10K. To accomplish this goal, I knew I needed to formulate a plan that would enable me to hit my number. The good news was these were large computer vendors I was selling into—Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Data General, for example, and I had 1 year to do it. I knew I needed a focused plan—the bad news was I didn't know where to start or how to attack my goal. And as we'll examine in this chapter, starting off with a strategy that directs where you'll spend your energies is vital to your future success.

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The concept of a land‐and‐expand strategy is simple on the surface: By closing a small piece of business in an account, you are then able to expand your footprint ...