The essence of account management is, of course, motion. That account is being moved forward toward the next deal, the next close.
Such motion is divided up into clear steps. Broadly, these would be the steps of your company’s sales process­­ – that precise series of steps that take an opportunity (account) from lead all the way to close. Ideally, account management software would have your company’s sales process expressed visually in the pipeline form, showing where all deals stand in which stages.
Within each sales process stage, there are various activities and tasks which must be performed to move that opportunity through that stage and into the next. Such tasks and activities are often written up or recorded as best practices for a sales organization.
Ideally, Account management software visually expresses both its sales process, and the tasks and activities that make up each sales process stage. In doing so nothing is left to the imagination­­ – sales reps whether seasoned or green know where to go and what to do next to move that sale along.