Account Mapping is the cross-referencing of contacts and prospect data between partners either manually or through a platform.
Revenue builders such as leaders and managers in tech partnerships and strategic alliances utilize account mapping to drive revenue and fill pipeline.
Traditional manual techniques present multiple risks including inaccurate data and security risks. Free apps, like Reveal, present immediate and accurate results on a secure platform.
To leverage partnerships to drive revenue it is essential that Partnership Managers add an account mapping app to their tech stack.
What Is Account Mapping?
Account mapping is the process of cross-referencing contacts between two companies. This can be done by utilizing limited data, such as CSV files that only include account executives’ territories, or, it can include an entire CRM. Regardless the span of the data, account mapping is used to identify overlap and gain introductions to key decision-makers and to discover overlapping customers, prospects, and mutual opportunities.
How Account Mapping Helps Partnership Managers Drive Revenue in the Ecosystem
A Partnership Managers job is to leverage a company's partnerships to drive revenue. Utilizing account mapping, they are able to have a clear picture of what opportunities are available to their company. Based on individual OKRs and KPIs, the Partnership Managers are then able to utilize this information to decide who to partner with and in what capacity.
Account Mapping also allows Partnership Managers to drive revenue by expanding reach within the company's ecosystem. The old saying "It's who you know," doesn't exactly ring true here. For Partnerships, it's not only who you know but who they know as well. The further entrenched a company gets in their ecosystem the more channels they uncover to fill pipeline and drive revenue. Within an ecosystem, companies have shared accounts, customers, and prospects. Companies are not competing for these audiences attention and, instead, are able to collaborate to reach their shared audience together.
The Benefits of Account Mapping
To facilitate this collaboration—either by identifying who a company should partner with or by identifying how to effectively work with a partner—Partnership Managers execute account mapping which presents the partner’s presence in the selected accounts or prospects. It has been shown that deal size is likely to increase by 39% when done with the customer of a partner, which is why it is essential to draw upon the knowledge and information gained from a partner.
Further, account mapping provides a form of reciprocity between partners to create trust and encourage stickiness. Target accounts can be identified with partners that share an ICP, and then the strengths of prospects can be evaluated. Through this connection, each partners' sales team can be enabled. Allowing them to have warm introductions to prospects (as opposed to the dreaded and inefficient cold calling).
This whole process enables the sales teams to make the most of their initial contacts and can have added benefits throughout the sales process. The improved trust, driven directly by the partnership managers, results in an overall decrease in churn rate as customers recognize the value of working with the company. Similarly, the work conducted by the partnership manager gives the sales team an edge over competitors when communicating with prospects, increasing the chance of them being the ones to sign deals.
With the ability to decrease the churn rate and increase the number of new customers, this technique by partners directly contributes to the continued revenue growth of a company.
Why You Need An Account Mapping Tool In Your Tech Stack
There are several different methods for performing account mapping. However, they can typically be divided into two different types. The first group consists of somewhat archaic forms, while the second consists of modern, automated tools.
The manual creation of spreadsheets to compare information alongside your partners is one that has been done for decades and one that seemingly takes decades to execute. It is no secret to any partnership professional that manually compiling this information is very time-consuming.
As well as the time-consuming nature of spreadsheet creation, two additional downfalls make this practice questionable. The first is security. Sharing a Google Spreadsheet or Excel file with a partner filled with your contacts’ information isn’t something that allows for control. It’s a lateral handoff that includes metaphorical fingers being crossed that the data doesn’t land in the wrong hands or inbox. To put it simply, there is no GDPR compliance required or SOC II certification required for file sharing. Additionally, there is a large margin for error, as there is with anything that is done manually.
The second, and preferred, option is through using an account mapping tool. Through the use of these tools, insights available from account mapping happen much faster. Furthermore, adding an app to your tech stack allows you to regain control over your data. By utilizing a platform that is GDPR compliant and SOC II certified, you are able to customize what information you share and with which partner. Additionally, the data that you are able to pull is not only accurate but spans much further than just overlap with your partners. Through automated tools, you are able to dig deeper into the depths of your CRM and pull valuable revenue-driving insights that produce the type of ROI that you and your C-suite want to see from partnerships.
Account mapping is now a necessary step in partnerships and opens up the ability to increase win-rates, deal sizes, and integrations through insights. To take the next step towards driving revenue for your business by leveraging partners, try a free account mapping tool like Reveal. Sign up for free today and get started.
