Relationship Map

Building account relationships is all about understanding the people and the politics involved in the customer's buying decision.

With this understanding, you can devote your time to the right people, and talk to them about the right issues. It also helps you to avoid unwelcome surprises during the course of the sales cycle.

That's where relationship maps come in. The map provides a visual representation of:

  • The people in the buyer’s organization who are involved in your account.
  • Important information about each one, including their relationships with each other.
  • Each person’s level of support for you and your level of contact ('Coverage') with each of them.
  • Any business insights provided by each contact.
  • Actions that are due in relation to each relationship map contact, and their level of relationship with each member of your account team.

Each account can have a single relationship map. In addition, you can view versions of the map that only display contacts in a particular account division.

Each person on the map has a contact card. This makes it easy to see how everyone is connected, formally and informally, with other contacts involved in buying decisions.

Opening a Relationship Map

From an account record, click the Relationships tile (highlighted below) on the Account Plan launchpad to access the account relationship map.

The Relationships tile displays the following information regarding the contacts that are currently displayed on your map:

  • Number of mentors 'Mentor' is a Support value that can be assigned to a contact on a relationship map. It indicates a person who prefers your solution, and sells your solution to colleagues in your absence. They believe that your success is critical to their success..

  • Number of key players (contacts who are within the inner circle 'Inner Circle' is a Political Status value that can be assigned to a contact on a relationship map. It indicates that the contact 'controls outcomes'. They have Influence and decide what will happen in the organization. They are Key Players. The number of Inner Circle contacts usually correlates with the complexity and size of the account or opportunity. Typically, you have 2 to 3 Inner Circle contacts for an opportunity. The ultimate Approver is often at the top of the Inner Circle. This is the person who approves and funds projects and initiatives. Other Inner Circle contacts have the Approver’s ear when deciding which projects to approve. or political structure 'Political Structure' is a Political Status value that can be assigned to a contact on a relationship map. It indicates a person who is trusted by the Inner Circle and “makes things happen” for them. They have Influence and are Key Players. The number of Political Structure buyers usually correlates with the complexity and the size of the opportunity. Typically, you have 2 to 5 Political Structure contacts for an opportunity. of the account).

  • Number of non-supporters 'Non-Supporter' is a Support value that can be assigned to a contact on a relationship map. It indicates a person who prefers a competitor over you, or prefers business-as-usual or a do-it-yourself approach to your solution, or favours another project.

On the Key Players tab of the launchpad, you can view additional information about each key player. Click on their photo or name to open the account relationship map with their information panel on display.

Within an Account Manager plan, you can access each account and division's relationship map on the Overview tab. Click the Key Players tab on the Summary panel (highlighted in the example below), select the relevant account and click any listed contact to open the relevant relationship map.

To open a relationship map from the opportunity map, click the relationships icon (indicated below) on the relevant row. The relationship map opens in a new tab.

To open the account relationship map with only contacts of the relevant division displayed, click the relationships icon for that division.

Note: If you open a relationship map from an opportunity map, you will see additional tabs (as highlighted below) that allow you perform account planning at the account level. For further information, see Altify Account Planning.

More About Relationship Maps