An existing portfolio almost always holds more accessible potential than short-term conquest. It has to be read properly first: who buys what, which share goes to a competitor, which accounts went quiet without anyone noticing and which ones deserve a genuine development plan.
Reading the portfolio before developing it
A portfolio is read first through its structure. How many accounts produce the bulk of revenue, how many order once a year, how many have bought nothing for eighteen months. That simple segmentation, built from invoicing data rather than impressions, usually reveals several categories the company nevertheless treats identically. It forms the basis for everything else; without it, commercial effort spreads according to familiarity or geographic convenience rather than real potential.
Share of wallet: what the customer buys elsewhere
A loyal customer is not necessarily a well-exploited one. The decisive question is the share you hold of their purchasing in the category concerned. An account that has ordered regularly for ten years may still entrust you with only a fifth of its requirement, the rest going to two other suppliers. That information sits in none of your systems; it comes from asking, tactfully and of the right person. It changes the reading of a portfolio far more than any revenue analysis.
Key account plans and contact mapping
The most important accounts deserve a short written plan kept up to date. It records the people met and their actual role, the known requirements, the competitors present, the renewal dates and the actions decided for the year. On a large account the decision is shared across several functions: purchasing, technical, operations, sometimes management. Knowing only one contact exposes the company to losing the account at the first change of personnel or purchasing policy.
Dormant accounts and lapsed customers
Every portfolio contains accounts that stopped ordering without anyone noticing. They often represent more accessible potential than companies never approached: the product is known, delivery worked, a relationship existed. An honest re-approach that begins by asking what happened is received correctly in most cases. This reactivation demands few resources and can be worked in batches, during the quieter periods of the year when field activity naturally slows.
Concentration risk and dependence
A portfolio where three customers carry half the revenue exposes the company to a decision it does not make itself. Portfolio development therefore also means reducing that dependence, which requires measuring concentration, tracking the health of the major accounts and starting to broaden the base before difficulty appears. This work is rarely urgent, which is precisely why it gets postponed until it can no longer be carried out calmly.
Contact frequency matched to account value
Not every visit is worth the same. A high-potential account visited twice a year alongside a small account visited monthly reveals an organisation shaped by habit. Setting a frequency per segment — visit, call, administrative contact — makes effort proportionate to what is at stake. The rule has to stay workable: an over-detailed grid is abandoned within weeks, whereas a three-level distinction holds over time and is easy to check.
Renewals and price reviews in an established relationship
Renewals, indexation and annual reviews are appointments to prepare, not formalities. They set the margin across several financial years and offer an opening to widen the scope supplied. Arriving unprepared and rolling over the previous terms means letting the customer alone decide what the relationship is worth. Preparing means having the real volumes, the incidents that occurred, the services delivered outside contract and a reasoned position on what should change.
Continuity when a contact changes
A portfolio is often lost by accident: a salesperson leaves, a buyer is replaced, an acquisition changes the decision routes. Continuity is prepared before the event, by documenting accounts, introducing a second contact on the supplier side and keeping a written trace of informal arrangements. The discipline feels heavy while nothing happens; it becomes decisive on the day a relationship has to be rebuilt within a few weeks with people who were not there before.
How a Swiss Sales Partners mandate is set up
Swiss Sales Partners works on the portfolio within an agreed scope: segmentation, priority accounts, account plans and contact rhythm. The approach draws on more than 30 years of B2B sales, field sales, commercial management and sales-management experience, in the environments of Hilti, Egli Fischer (efco), Berner and Bouygues. No quantified improvement is promised. What is followed is coverage of the priority accounts, progress on the plans and the decisions taken at each review.
FAQ
How do you find out your share of a customer's purchasing?
By asking the right person at the right moment, without pressure. Internal estimates are almost always optimistic, and the gap with reality usefully redirects the account plan.
Should lapsed customers be reactivated before prospecting?
Often yes. The product is known, a relationship existed and the effort required stays lower than for a company never approached. The re-approach starts by understanding what happened.
At what point does an account justify a written plan?
When losing it would seriously change the year's balance, or when several functions take part in the decision. Around ten plans is usually enough in an SME.
What level of concentration is acceptable?
There is no universal threshold. What matters is measuring dependence, knowing it at management level and starting to broaden the base before an incident forces the issue.
How do you avoid losing an account when a salesperson leaves?
By documenting accounts, introducing a second contact before the event and keeping a written trace of informal arrangements that would otherwise disappear with the person.