Wine Glass Account Planning

For some of our most strategic accounts over the years, we always took the time to develop a robust account plan. One of the fun and rewarding features of these account plans was the “wine glass” analysis.

A wine glass analysis helps you understand the relationship you have with buyers and influencers at an account. Place a wine glass image next to the name on the org chart and see at a glance the depth of the relationships. The wine glass means that we have developed a personal relationship. This person would join us for a dinner or a cocktail. With the pandemic limiting social activities, we may need to find new ways to develop these relationships!

Use your account plan to assess your strategic penetration in the account. Map your products and services across divisions of the account and identify “whitespace” for focus. Use the account plan to help organize marketing and sales activities at the account. Below are elements of an Account Plan that you could consider:

Example Account Plan Outline

• Account Profile
  • Ambition statement
  • Briefing on install base and [Product] opportunities
  • Current Sales Numbers
  • Competitive Positioning
  • Strengths Weaknesses
• Org Chart and Relationships
  • Org Chart
  • “Wine Glass” Status
• ‘3 Cs’ Analysis
  • Continuations (extending current revenue)
  • Crop Rotations (switching out competitive or adding new solutions)
  • Colonizations: (leveraging success in division A/buyer A to division B/buyer B)
• Target Numbers
  • Value of proposals and probability of sales
  • Projected $ Revenue Pipeline
• Marketing Strategy
  • ABM Campaigns
  • Content Programs
  • Entertainment
  • 1:1 Engagement
  • Influencer / Coach Strategies
  • Quarterly Joint Account Planning