Terms

Account Mapping

Account mapping is the process of visually charting a target company's organizational structure, key stakeholders, and their internal relationships. Unlike a standard org chart, it captures both formal hierarchies and informal lines of influence to reveal how decisions are actually made. This detailed overview allows sales teams to identify crucial players, understand their roles and motivations, and develop a more strategic and personalized approach to engagement.

Benefits of Account Mapping

Account mapping provides a clear roadmap to navigating complex organizations, turning cold outreach into warm conversations. By understanding the key players and their influence, sales teams can significantly improve their effectiveness and close more deals, leading to a host of strategic advantages.

  • Insight: Gain a deeper understanding of a prospect's internal dynamics and decision-making processes.
  • Personalization: Tailor outreach and pitches to individual stakeholders' specific needs and pain points.
  • Relationships: Identify and connect with key decision-makers and influencers to build stronger partnerships.
  • Resilience: Mitigate the risk of deals stalling by engaging multiple contacts within an account.
  • Collaboration: Align internal teams like sales and marketing with a unified, customer-focused strategy.

Best Practices in Account Mapping

Effective account mapping is more than just creating a one-time chart; it's a continuous strategic process. To maximize its impact, teams should adopt a set of core best practices. These habits ensure maps remain accurate, actionable, and central to the sales strategy.

  • Strategize: Start by defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to focus mapping efforts on high-potential accounts.
  • Collaborate: Involve sales, marketing, and customer service teams to build a comprehensive map with diverse insights.
  • Visualize: Go beyond a basic org chart to map informal relationships and lines of influence within the company.
  • Update: Treat your account map as a living document, continuously refreshing it as roles and relationships evolve.

Account Mapping vs. Account Planning

While often used interchangeably, these two processes serve distinct but complementary strategic functions.

  • Account Mapping is a tactical process of visually charting relationships and key players within a target company. It excels at providing deep insights for personalized engagement but can be time-consuming to maintain. This approach is ideal for complex sales cycles where understanding internal dynamics is critical to success.
  • Account Planning is a broader strategic process for setting goals and creating a roadmap to manage and grow an account. It aligns teams on long-term objectives but can be resource-intensive. It's preferred when developing a comprehensive strategy for high-value enterprise or mid-market accounts.

Tools for Effective Account Mapping

A variety of tools can streamline the account mapping process, transforming raw data into actionable insights. These platforms help sales teams visualize complex organizational structures and manage relationships effectively, ranging from simple diagramming apps to sophisticated data enrichment services.

  • CRMs: Centralize contact information and track all interactions within target accounts.
  • Visualization tools: Create dynamic org charts and relationship maps to illustrate hierarchies and influence.
  • Data platforms: Enrich maps with accurate contact details and organizational data to fill in the gaps.

Challenges in Account Mapping

Account mapping is often hindered by incomplete or outdated data scattered across various platforms. Keeping maps current is a significant hurdle as organizational roles are constantly in flux. This makes maintaining an accurate view of an account a time-intensive task for sales teams.

Mapping informal hierarchies and influence is another major obstacle. Official org charts rarely reveal the true decision-makers within today's complex buying committees. This limited visibility can lead to misdirected efforts and stalled deals.

Frequently Asked Questions about Account Mapping

How often should I update my account maps?

Account maps are living documents that should be updated quarterly or whenever key contacts change roles. Regular updates ensure your engagement strategy remains relevant and effective as organizations evolve, preventing deals from stalling due to outdated information.

Is account mapping only for large enterprise accounts?

Not at all. While essential for enterprise sales, account mapping is valuable for any complex sale with multiple decision-makers. It helps streamline engagement and shorten sales cycles, regardless of the company's size or industry.

What's the difference between an org chart and an account map?

An org chart shows formal reporting structures. An account map goes deeper by illustrating informal relationships, influence, and the actual decision-making process, providing a more strategic view for sales teams to navigate complex buying committees.

Other terms

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Closed Won

Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.

Closed Won

Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.

Progressive Web Apps

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

B2B Data Platform

Learn about B2B data platform, including key benefits of B2B data platforms, choosing the right B2B data platform, challenges in implementing B2B data platforms.

B2B Data Platform

Lead Qualification Process

The lead qualification process is how you determine which prospects are most likely to become customers by evaluating them against specific criteria.

Lead Qualification Process

Account-Based Sales

Account-Based Sales (ABS) is a focused B2B strategy where sales and marketing teams treat high-value accounts as individual markets of one.

Account-Based Sales

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

Landing Pages

A landing page is a standalone web page created for a marketing campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking an ad or email link.

Landing Pages

White Label

White labeling is when a company puts its own branding on a product or service that was actually produced by a different company.

White Label

Ideal Customer Profile

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the perfect, hypothetical company that would get the most value from your product.

Ideal Customer Profile

Sales Development

Sales development is the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers to create a pipeline of sales-ready leads for closers.

Sales Development

Buyer’s Remorse

Buyer’s remorse is the sense of regret or anxiety that can arise after making a purchase, often questioning if it was the right decision.

Buyer’s Remorse

Applicant Tracking System

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that manages your entire hiring and recruitment process from a single dashboard.

Applicant Tracking System

Persona-Based Marketing

Persona-based marketing uses fictional customer profiles, or personas, to create targeted messaging for specific audience segments.

Persona-Based Marketing

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Rollback Procedures

Rollback procedures are a set of steps to restore a system to a previous, stable version after a failed update, ensuring minimal disruption.

Rollback Procedures

Firmographics

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of organizations, used to segment companies by characteristics like industry, size, and location.

Firmographics

Shipping Solutions

Shipping solutions are services or software that streamline the logistics of getting products to customers, from label printing to final delivery.

Shipping Solutions

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into trusted websites.

Cross-Site Scripting

Demand Generation

Demand generation is the process of creating awareness and interest in your products to build a pipeline of qualified leads for your sales team.

Demand Generation

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Sales Demo

A sales demo is a presentation where a sales rep shows a prospect how a product or service works and solves their specific problems.

Sales Demo

Smile and Dial

"Smile and dial" is a high-volume sales tactic where reps make numerous cold calls from a list, often with little to no prior research.

Smile and Dial

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the predictable income a company expects to receive from its customers over a one-year period.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Lead Generation Funnel

A lead generation funnel is a systematic process that guides potential customers from initial awareness of your brand to becoming qualified leads.

Lead Generation Funnel

Sales Enablement

Sales enablement provides sales teams with the necessary tools, content, and information to help them sell more effectively and efficiently.

Sales Enablement

Revenue Forecasting

Revenue forecasting is the process of estimating a company's future revenue, using historical data and market trends to guide strategic planning.

Revenue Forecasting

Intent leads

Intent leads are prospects who show buying signals through their online actions, indicating they're actively looking to make a purchase.

Intent leads

SFDC

SFDC stands for Salesforce Dot Com, a popular cloud-based CRM platform that helps companies manage their customer interactions and data.

SFDC

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Copyright Compliance

Copyright compliance is adhering to laws that protect creative works. It involves legally using content by obtaining permission or licenses.

Copyright Compliance

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic.

Knowledge Base

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

A Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) API is a web service that uses XML to exchange structured information between different applications.

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

Enrichment

Enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to get a more complete picture of your leads.

Enrichment

Sales Kickoff

A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event for a sales team to celebrate wins, align on goals, and get motivated for the upcoming year.

Sales Kickoff

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

Cohort Analysis

Cohort analysis is a behavioral analytics tool that groups users with common traits to track their actions and engagement over time.

Cohort Analysis

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Messaging Strategy

A messaging strategy defines what your brand says, how it says it, and where it says it to connect effectively with your target audience.

Messaging Strategy

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

Objection Handling in Sales

Objection handling in sales is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns about a product or service to move the deal forward.

Objection Handling in Sales

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Sales Automation

Sales automation uses software to streamline and automate repetitive, manual sales tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling.

Sales Automation

Lead Generation Software

Lead generation software helps businesses automate finding and capturing potential customers' contact information to build sales pipelines.

Lead Generation Software

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Canary Releases

A canary release is a deployment strategy where new software is rolled out to a small user group first, minimizing risk before a full release.

Canary Releases

Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.

Product Recommendations

Marketing Qualified Account

A Marketing Qualified Account (MQA) is a target company that has shown significant engagement, indicating it's ready for the sales team to pursue.

Marketing Qualified Account

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences are groups of potential customers who share similar characteristics and behaviors with your existing, high-value customers.

Lookalike Audiences

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Persona Map

A persona map visually outlines a target customer, detailing their goals, behaviors, and pain points to help your team build genuine empathy.

Persona Map

Lead Enrichment

Lead enrichment adds third-party data to your raw lead lists, creating fuller prospect profiles for more effective and personalized outreach.

Lead Enrichment

Channel Partners

Channel partners are third-party firms that help market and sell a company's products or services, acting as an indirect sales force.

Channel Partners

Consumer

A consumer is an individual or entity that buys products or services for personal use, not for resale. They are the final user in a supply chain.

Consumer

Sales Dashboard

A sales dashboard is a visual tool that centralizes and displays key sales data, metrics, and KPIs to help teams track performance and goals.

Sales Dashboard

Gamification

Gamification applies game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards to non-game activities to boost engagement and motivate users.

Gamification

User Interface

A User Interface (UI) is the point where humans and computers interact. It encompasses all visual elements like screens, icons, and buttons.

User Interface

Average Revenue per User

Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator that calculates the average revenue generated from each user or subscriber.

Average Revenue per User

Content Rights Management

Content Rights Management involves controlling the use and distribution of copyrighted digital media to protect intellectual property.

Content Rights Management

Predictive Lead Generation

Predictive lead generation uses data and AI to find prospects most likely to buy, helping teams focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Predictive Lead Generation

AI Data Enrichment

AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.

AI Data Enrichment

Custom API integration

A custom API integration is a bespoke connection between software, enabling them to communicate and share data to meet unique business requirements.

Custom API integration

Operational CRM

An Operational CRM is a system that automates and improves customer-facing business processes like sales, marketing, and customer service.

Operational CRM

Account Executive

An Account Executive (AE) is a sales professional responsible for closing new business deals and managing existing client relationships to drive revenue.

Account Executive

Value Statement

A value statement is a clear, concise declaration of the unique benefits a company provides to its customers, outlining its core purpose.

Value Statement

Bottom of the Funnel

Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.

Bottom of the Funnel

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

Audience Targeting

Single Page Applications

A Single Page Application (SPA) is a web app that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading new pages.

Single Page Applications

Sales Enablement Technology

Sales enablement technology refers to software and tools that equip sales teams with the resources they need to close more deals efficiently.

Sales Enablement Technology

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium tool helping sales teams find and engage with the right leads and accounts on the LinkedIn network.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Contact Data

Contact data is the set of details, like names, emails, and phone numbers, used to get in touch with a person or business for outreach.

Contact Data

Account-Based Marketing Software

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) software helps teams coordinate personalized marketing and sales efforts to land high-value customer accounts.

Account-Based Marketing Software

Business Development Representative

Learn about business development representative, including skills and qualifications for BDRs, & roles and responsibilities of a BDR.

Business Development Representative

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Email Cadence

An email cadence is a scheduled sequence of emails sent to prospects over a specific period to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Email Cadence

Sales Partnerships

Sales partnerships are strategic alliances where two companies co-sell products to expand their reach, generate new leads, and increase revenue.

Sales Partnerships

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

Sales Funnel

A sales funnel is a model illustrating the customer's journey from initial awareness to the final purchase, narrowing down leads at each stage.

Sales Funnel

Email Personalization

Email personalization uses subscriber data—like their name, interests, or past behavior—to create highly relevant and targeted email campaigns.

Email Personalization

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Point of Contact

A Point of Contact (POC) is the designated individual or department that serves as the main hub for information and communication on a matter.

Point of Contact

Responsive Design

Responsive design is an approach where a website's layout adapts to the user's screen size, providing an optimal experience on any device.

Responsive Design

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital strategy where businesses send targeted emails to prospects and customers to build relationships and drive sales.

Email Marketing

Customer Relationship Management Systems

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a tool that centralizes customer data to help manage interactions and nurture relationships.

Customer Relationship Management Systems

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown interest based on marketing efforts but isn't yet ready for a sales conversation.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Lead List

A lead list is a curated database of potential customers (leads) with contact information and other key data for sales and marketing outreach.

Lead List

Business Continuity

Learn about business continuity, including understanding key components, steps to ensure continuity, common challenges, & best practices.

Business Continuity

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.

Cross-Selling

Integration Testing

Integration testing is a software testing phase where individual modules are combined and tested together to verify their interaction.

Integration Testing

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is the percentage of recurring revenue kept from existing customers, including upsells, downgrades, and churn.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Sales Coaching

Sales coaching is a process where managers help reps improve their skills and performance through personalized feedback, training, and guidance.

Sales Coaching