Strategies for Cross-Selling to Existing Clients

The biggest value of ABM over time isn’t new logo acquisition, it’s expansion (NRR). Here are the top 5 ways to use your Account Based GTM to cross-sell, upsell and retain your existing customer base: Most businesses start their Account-Based GTM by focusing on new logos. That makes sense, of course. That’s where early revenue growth comes from. Knowing what new accounts to target, with what message, and understanding account signals is vital to early growth, etc. However, eventually, if you keep growing, there will be more revenue in your customer base than in new logo sales and customer expansion becomes as important (and eventually more important) than new logo acquisition. It seems intuitive, but organizational awareness and willingness to apply the same rigor from new logos to the customer base takes time. I’ve seen many companies with strong new logo motions fail to align Sales and Marketing across their customer base. If you find yourself in that situation… Here are 5 ways to increase NRR by applying account-based GTM to the customer base: 1. Align Sales and Marketing on white space in your ICP Just as in new logo acquisition, account-based expansion starts with a map of what accounts to target across Sales and Marketing. This map should be based on a white space analysis of your customer base, the accounts that have the most potential upside in your ICP. These accounts should be used as the basis of territory and demand planning in the same way net new accounts are. 2. Score by propensity to buy by product Too often I see accounts have one overall propensity to buy score, while product level propensity scoring is critical to using an account-based approach to scale net retention. 3. Focus on buying group engagement Buying groups within accounts should be thought of as the fundamental units of revenue of expansion. Marketing and Sales should have a joint focus on engaging the key personas for every product opportunity. 4. Orchestrate expansion journeys Orchestration, the automation of Sales and Marketing actions based on journey stage, is another powerful tool that is too often limited to new logo acquisition. It’s incredibly effective to map expansion journeys, the actions an account needs to take to expand from product x to product y, and automate those actions as the account progresses. This is a huge unlock for net retention. 5. Use competitive intent to trigger retention plays You can’t expand an account if it churns. Running specific account level Sales and Marketing plays when a customer shows competitive intent is an effective way to get ahead of customers evaluating other solutions. Remember: An Account-Based GTM is not a tactic. If you sell a complex solution, it’s critical you align Sales and Marketing across accounts that have the greatest lifetime value potential. As you grow this means more alignment across your customer base. Not just new logos.

Account Managers.... Uncovering your client's overall organizational initiatives is arguably the most important aspect to your success within your account set. Just because your main point of contact is in one department, does not mean there is no other pain, challenges, and opportunities elsewhere. For example, if your main point of contact is in the customer experience (CX) department, you need to uncover how their CX initiatives, goals, and priorities are aligned to the organization as a whole. This is where account planning and strategy comes in. Every account that you are aligned with, you need to have actionable plans and goals for them. How do you envision gaining more organizational insight? (Through POC, news, LinkedIn, company reports, etc.) What success stories of similar pain points, outcomes, challenges, can you show? What does their future additional ROI look like if they took on additional spend? How do you plan on delivering solution value to align to those initiatives? These are just a few questions you NEED to be asking yourself when preparing to cross sell. Depending on how well your relationship is with your clients, you need to strategize recommending additional areas on how/where your solution provides value. From firsthand experience, there is no better feeling than helping your main point of contact with their challenges and earning an opportunity to additionally help other departments. It is your job to be the trusted advisor, the dedicated business partner looking to help the overall company initiatives, not just one department. Good luck to all AMs out there! Don't leave opportunity on the table.

When I was at Salesforce, they doubled spend on new customers in the first 12 months. New customer acquisition is so tough right now. Nothing is more critical than retaining and growing existing customers. Here are some of the plays I learned at Salesforce: 1. Product Whitespace - Run a report for each Account Mgr - Show products purchased by account - Show products not purchased by account - Account Mgr can now call down accordingly 2. Stakeholder Whitespace - Run a report for each Account Mgr - Show key stakeholder roles by account - Show who we’ve contacted and who not - Show who we’ve met and who we haven’t - Account Mgr can now call down accordingly 3. Monitor Customer Health - Create a Customer Health Score - Scoring their usage of the product - Integrate this score into Salesforce - Run a report showing unhealthy accounts - AM can then call down on these accounts - And work to get them healthy before upselling 4. Find Expansion Signals in Product - Look for potential expansion signals - Example: CS Cases => Premiere Support - Example: Lots of data => Extra Data Storage - Example: Lots of emails => Sell marketing tools - Create reports AM can use to call down accounts 5. Leverage Renewal Event - Meet every single CFO ahead of Renewal - Ask if them they would like “Optimal Pricing” - Very few of them will say they want to pay extra - Ask to review their spending across the company - Get sponsorship to talk to other key stakeholders - Sell bigger package at renewal w/ bigger discounts These are just a handful of plays that worked for me. What would you add? 🤔 More on expansion here: https://bit.ly/4ad3iHy ✌️

How to turn your $3k client into a $15k client. Making more money isn’t just about new customers. It’s about keeping the ones you have. • Upsells unlock growth • Retention drives revenue • Cross-sells maximize value Lifetime Value (LTV) is the ultimate metric. But increasing LTV isn’t just about selling more. It’s about creating a seamless customer experience. Retaining customers is far more cost-effective too. • Studies show a 5% retention boost increases profits. • Profits can grow by 25% → 95%. Loyal customers trust your brand. So they're more likely to try new offerings. They also recommend you to others more often. So, how do you turn your $3,000 client into a $15,000 one? 1. Map Their Journey to Identify Upsell Opportunities • Your customer’s journey doesn’t end at the first sale. • Map out every step of their experience with you. • Identify pain points they encounter after the initial purchase. • Then, create upsell opportunities that solve those problems. For example, if you’re a SaaS company: → A $3k client might need advanced analytics later. So you offer a $12k enterprise plan with those features & position it as the natural next step for growth. Upsells work best when they feel like solutions. Not sales pitches, but logical extensions of value. 2. Build a Hyper-Personalized Cross-Sell Strategy • Cross-selling isn’t about pushing random products. • It’s about understanding your client’s unique needs. • Use data to identify what they’re likely to need next. For example, if you’re a marketing agency: → A $3k client might need email marketing services. Offer a $5k add-on to complement their current strategy. Bundle it with their existing plan for a seamless upgrade. Personalization is key. Make it impossible for them to say no. Show them how the add-on solves a specific problem. 3. Create a Retention Loop with Ongoing Value Here’s how: • Send monthly performance reports showing their ROI. • Host exclusive webinars or workshops for your clients. • Offer quarterly strategy reviews to refine their approach. For example, if you’re a consultant: → A $3k client might need ongoing strategy adjustments. So offer a a $10k retainer for quarterly reviews and updates. This keeps them locked into your ecosystem long-term. Retention loops turn clients into partners. They see you as indispensable to their success. When you focus on these strategies, magic happens. Your business scales sustainably and profitably - without having to take on more clients than you can handle.