Take the ALMS Challenge

No doubt you’ve heard the buzz about the ALS challenge—a truly innovative idea to create awareness and raise money to fight a dreadful disease.

There is another challenge out there that is gaining momentum and B2B sales consultants should take note—it’s called the ALMS Challenge. Here’s how it works:

• Pick one of your clients
• Conduct an audit of their existing Account List Management System (also known as the ALMS)
• If the account list suffers from any of these symptoms—out of date, accounts listed in alphabetical order, no reference to billing level of customers, no new business targets listed—it is time to take the ALMS Challenge and follow these steps with the sales manager from the organization you select:

1. Generate a top-down listing of all clients that have spent money with the sales organization in the last 12 months
2. Edit the list so that each client appears only once on the list (eliminating duplicates that have appeared more than once for some reason)
3. Determine the "KEY cut-off" level by counting down through the top 25% of all clients
4. The KEY cut-off is the dollar value of the smallest account to appear in the top 25%—KEY accounts make up 75% of the organizations revenue
5. Label all accounts above the cut-off as KEY accounts; all accounts below are SECONDARY accounts
6. Note that the cut-off level, and therefore these account definitions, are based on the entire client base, not each individual salesperson
7. Give each salesperson the official list of KEY and SECONDARY accounts which are assigned to them based upon the above analysis
8. Meet with each seller to select 5-10 non-spending, new business TARGET accounts using the organization's ideal customer profile
9. Allow each salesperson to select 5-10 EXTRA prospects (TARGETs in waiting)
10. Enter all new account data into the organization's computerized database and CRM
11. Instruct the sales manager to meet each seller weekly to discuss progress with KEY and TARGET accounts and maintain the system faithfully and publish current account lists as needed, but not less often than once a month
12. Use the system to print revenue projection forms and as a general management tool to ensure high focus on KEY and TARGET accounts
13. Share this process with another customer.

“Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principles of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration.”   Peter F. Drucker 

A properly installed ALMS—Account List Management System—adds focus and concentration on the following sales activities: 

• Increasing the billing of existing KEY accounts
• Minimizing KEY account attrition
• Converting new business TARGET accounts to KEY accounts
• Converting small spending SECONDARY accounts to KEY accounts

Take the ALMS challenge today!

If improving sales performance is your goal as a B2B sales consultant perhaps you should take the ALMS Challenge. Your clients will become raving fans, and you won’t have to dump a bucket of ice water on your head!