Account Tiering aka The Bucket System

There are reps out there that get a Stage 1 opportunity and are working on getting this as a deal for the month. The thought is “I don’t have enough in my pipeline and I need more to hit this month.”

Wasted calories and a false sense of your true pipeline. I did this as a rep but came up with a different system while I was at Zendesk. I started then what I now call “The Bucket System”

What is it? It’s a scaled down version of account based marketing. More simply put it’s how I managed my inbound, outbound and customer strategies.

What did it do? Gave me incredible forecast accuracy while exceeding my quota. It was also a great mindset for me on the opp flipped over. What priority should I give this prospect?

Here’s how it worked:

Stage 1 opp comes in and it’s a good company with a decent title as the POC. In my discovery I find out that they are working on a project but there are no resources available until later in the year. Most reps would bump this to a Stage 2 and hold onto it forever.

A better strategy is to dead that opp out then re-classify it as a “AE Target Tier 1” under the account page in my crm. You have to have discipline on follow up but now the optics on that opportunity completely changed. It’s not a deal that is going to inflate my pipe rather it’s a very good dead opp outbound target. For those of you that have outbound SDRs assigned you can also classify it as “SDR Tier 1 Target.”

Furthermore you can look at an account like this one and build out a AE TARGET Tier 2 bucket. If it fits into your ICP then it’s more likely than not there is a similar project at the competition.

If your Tier 1s or 2s keep lagging on getting the project going then downgrade them to AE TARGET Tier 3 Bucket. Congrats, you now have a concrete, account targeted outbound strategy.

Here is a visual:

The system doesn’t stop there. You can apply this same strategy into your customer accounts (for those AEs who have access to upsell business). Your first instinct is my largest customer accounts should be my Tier 1. Incorrect.

If you have already sold everyone a license then it shouldn’t be a focus to sell more. The account is tapped out. Great job in pillaging the village but there is nothing left.

You want to focus on those accounts that started small but have a ton of green field left. A good way to tell is how many employees do they have? Bought 50 licenses but have 2000 employees? Great Customer Tier 1 target.

You can classify this tiered system in a number of ways. I always thought about it as Tier 1 is the most add on potential, Tier 2 is an account that adds frequently but in small chunks and Tier 3 are the accounts I have no traction in and/or inherited from the previous owner.

See below:

Another thing that is fantastic about the tier system is it helps when I go into territory. If I’m doing a 3-4 day trip then I’m going to meet with deals in my pipeline, high priority outbound targets and my best customers. I want to walk away from that trip ACCELERATING REVENUE. Which is money in my pockets.

Other perks from the system include a huge efficiency gain in my 1:1s. I can talk about an account as a committed deal, outbound tier 1 target or a tier 2 customer account. Having those classifications helps my manager understand what the priority is of the account.

When you zoom out on the buckets you can get an entire picture of it:

Not only did this help me as a rep but it set the stage for ABM strategies when I was an executive. Aligning with marketing to roll out a strategy to focused accounts is something you have to master. This practice is your first attempt in learning this (and if you screw up it only affects your pipeline rather than the whole company).

It also shifts your mindset on how you think about revenue generation. Give it a shot.