3 Ways for the Account Executive to “Land and Expand”
By Mark Ruthfield, VP of Sales, Yesware
 
The price is set, the paperwork signed, the deal done and on the books. As the person who brought in the deal, you’re that much closer to hitting your yearly quota, and you may even have a nice commission check to look forward to. 
Your work is done, right? 
No. Typically it’s just the beginning. In fact, the best salespeople know that closing a deal actually opens a door. More than any cold call or seller profile, customers are ideal prospects. They’ve already bought into your company, and they’ll be the most receptive to further communication and exploring something new—especially if they’re satisfied with their initial purchase. 
Laying the groundwork to make the upsell is a tactic known as “land and expand.” Unfortunately, this process is smoother in theory than it is in practice, and salespeople often miss opportunities because they don’t revisit these deals. The remedy, though, is simple: prioritize communication and relationship building in the following ways.
 
 1.     Nurturing your customer advocate
You’ve spent weeks, even months, developing a rapport with your prospect’s team. Once they turn into a customer, they’re an invaluable resource to you—especially the person who really pushed you through, even if he or she isn’t the end decision-maker.  It’s paramount that you keep in touch with this person to make sure they’re a happy customer and to potentially expand a deal down the line. Reach out semi-regularly to maintain that trust that you first built. 
Developing a drip campaign is a great way to do this. Drip campaigns allow you to write outreach upfront and set your send cadence so you can move onto other things until your prospect receives and replies. For example, you can schedule emails to send a month or two down the line to check back in and see if they have any questions or need help with anything regarding your product or service. You can also use drip outreach to share industry news or send relevant content in such a way that your send rate is spaced out and lays the groundwork for back-and-forth, sustainable conversation.
 
 2.     Flagging future opportunities to upsell
Your biggest deals can come from existing customers. It just requires patience, foresight, and you fostering a true partnership. Say you’re in sales for a software provider, and you just closed a deal with a company where your contact is the ultimate decision-maker (score), and really believes your product can help her team (double score). The company has a smaller sized team to use your software right now, but they’re projected to have exponential growth fast, growing nationally in the quarter, and internationally in the next year. 
In a case like this, set a reminder to follow-up with your customer at that future date, or schedule an email to send on that date to your AM, looping back around. You can also use tools to monitor coverage and set up alerts so you’re notified when your customer’s company makes an announcement, instead of having to manually track it.
 
 3.     Asking your champions for referrals
Who’s the most likely to put in a good word for you? Your happiest customers—and they’re your easiest way to win over a new customer. According to Harvard Business Review, customers obtained through referrals are actually the most loyal and more valuable.
Once you pass off a closed customer to your account management team, use your team’s internal communication to your advantage. Regularly sync up with your account manager to keep tabs on the status of the customer relationship. When the account is at a place where they are all onboarded, comfortable with your product or service, and have nothing but good things to say, it’s go-time. Your team’s AM liaising with the customer can alert you that it’s the opportune time to reach back out. Then, you can nicely ask them if they know of a peer in their industry who would similarly value your solution.
 
The Bottom Line: Communication is Key
While not all deals that come through will follow this pattern, those that do are invaluable. Being able to identify and capitalize on the opportunity is an essential skill for any salesperson. These deals are low-hanging fruit that can pad a monthly, quarterly, or sometimes even yearly quota. All it takes is a little extra communication.