Break into new accounts
Your place in the room is decided before you enter it.
Before the pitch, buyers define the problem, form preferences and decide who deserves consideration. StepUp.One helps your team become relevant to the people shaping those decisions.
Scope and investment
One target account. More than one possible way in.
The entry decision
Start with a reason this account should buy.
Your target list names the companies. The work begins by identifying a problem you can credibly solve, where it matters and the people who could move a decision forward.
The account entry brief
- A problem worth solving.
- An initiative, unmet need or change that makes your offer relevant.
- A credible reason to choose you.
- Delivery capability, relevant experience and evidence that support your position.
- A possible way in.
- A buying centre, existing relationship or partner through which to investigate the opportunity.
- An investment worth making.
- Enough commercial potential to justify the attention, capacity and time required.
Pursue. Investigate further. Defer.
How account selection works
When the target list is still taking shape, the investigation begins with relevant sectors and industries. Companies are qualified before account investment is prioritised.
- Sector
- Industry
- Company qualification
- Account selection
- Account ecosystem
- Operating playbook
When you already have a priority account, we start with your existing understanding and the important questions still unresolved.
Client experience · An enterprise data company
Technology was the starting point.
Finance opened the door.
The investigation extended beyond the usual data and technology audience. Finance became the opening.
The first room stayed closed.
CFO · Finance director · Finance VP
A Finance-led
first meeting.
The first
contract signed.
The decision behind the opening
For an enterprise data company, data and technology leaders were the usual targets. The investigation extended into buying centres across the business. Finance became the opening, bringing CFOs, finance directors and finance VPs into the relationship work.
A Finance-led first meeting followed. The first contract was signed within six months of that meeting.
The entry point and the wider buying group are not always the same. Finding another way into the conversation still requires understanding everyone who can influence the decision.
Client identity withheld. Illustration represents the work.
Account-based sales and marketing
Build the understanding.
Earn a worthwhile first meeting.
The same five phases support the work from account selection through continuing relationships. For Break In, they concentrate on earning a credible opening into first business.
Explore all 20 steps01Choose and map
Our role
We research your offer, investigate the account and recommend where to begin. Relevant needs, buying centres, existing relationships and potential partner routes shape the entry plan.
Your role
Commercial priorities, delivery capabilities, relevant proof and constraints.
An agreed entry brief, with evidence, assumptions and questions to investigate.
02Understand the people
Our role
We identify the people who influence, evaluate, approve or implement the purchase. Their responsibilities, priorities and existing relationships help determine where attention belongs.
Your role
Account history, specialist insight and introductions where available.
A buying-group map showing relevant people, known relationships and gaps.
03Build familiarity
Our role
We develop relevant reasons to engage, contribute where useful and make personal connections through the agreed channels. Responses and new information shape what happens next.
Your role
Expertise, approved material and direction on sensitive situations.
A record of contributions, responses and the next justified actions.
04Arrange the meeting
Our role
When there is a worthwhile reason to meet and willingness to engage, we coordinate the conversation and prepare your account lead.
Your role
The right attendees and the expertise the conversation needs.
A meeting brief covering the person’s context, engagement history, purpose and suggested questions.
05Keep the work going
Our role
We capture what was learned, coordinate agreed follow-through and continue developing relevant relationships. New information changes the account plan.
Your role
Substantive answers, delivery commitments and commercial leadership.
Clear next steps, updated account understanding and continuing relationship work.
Your team leads the customer conversation and makes the commercial commitments. StepUp.One carries the agreed groundwork, relationship development and coordination around it.
Every contribution needs a reason.
Understanding a stakeholder means understanding what could be useful to them.
A relevant observation on something they have published. Research connected to a priority they have expressed. An introduction to someone who could help. A thoughtful answer that draws on your team’s expertise.
If there is nothing useful to add, we wait.
How the work is reviewed
- The context
- What mattered to this person.
- The contribution
- What was shared and why.
- The response
- What they actually said or did.
- The next action
- What the evidence justifies.
A working standard for reviewing engagement.
Progress and timing
See what is changing inside the account.
Progress begins with a better understanding of the opportunity and develops through evidence of relationships and commercial movement.
- Account understanding
- The relevance of the opportunity, buying centres identified and important questions still unanswered.
- Relationship development
- Recognition, responses, introductions, expressed interests and willingness to meet.
- Commercial progress
- Qualified opportunities, first business won and revenue when it occurs.
The first 90 days establish the groundwork.
We agree priorities, investigate the buying centres and people, and begin useful engagement.
Each new relationship receives at least 90 days of useful contribution before we initiate a commercial ask. Existing familiarity carries forward. An explicit buyer request can be answered sooner.
Time elapsed alone does not make a relationship ready for a pitch or meeting.
The review informs where to continue, where to change the approach and where further investment may not be justified.
Scope and investment
Agree the coverage.
Understand the investment.
The scope begins with the accounts and opportunities you want to pursue.
Together, we define the priority buying centres, relevant stakeholders, professional capacity and responsibilities on each side. That gives the work a clear boundary and the investment a clear purpose.
Your proposal sets out the agreed work, fees, review arrangements and terms before the programme begins.
Bring one accountPractical questions
Before the work begins.
What if there is already a live opportunity or RFP?
We begin with the opportunity, existing relationships and permitted routes into the process. Work with people who already know you can continue from its current position. New relationships still need useful contribution and context. An imminent deadline does not create familiarity or guarantee access.
What if the incumbent is deeply established?
We investigate the incumbent’s position, the buyer’s needs and where your offer could be relevant. An unmet need, another buying centre or an ecosystem partner may offer a route in. Sometimes the evidence supports further investigation or deferring the account.
How much involvement does the account team need?
Your team sets priorities, corrects important assumptions, supplies expertise and leads substantive meetings. StepUp.One handles the agreed research, relationship development, meeting coordination and follow-through. Responsibilities and review arrangements are agreed at the start.
Does everyone need to be active on social media?
No. The appropriate route depends on the person and the context. Public engagement may help, but an existing introduction, partner relationship or relevant direct connection may be the better starting point.
Is a first contract guaranteed?
No. Buyer priorities, your offer, delivery credentials, competition and procurement all influence the result. The programme makes the account work explicit and reviewable. Meetings arranged, opportunities developed and business won are assessed separately.
A conversation about the work ahead
Bring one account worth winning.
Bring a target account and the business you want to pursue. We’ll discuss where you stand, the possible openings and the relationship work your team needs.
Bring one accountAlready working in the account? Explore Expand and Protect