Stop Dating Your Strategic Accounts

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Why Most Companies Are Afraid to Pop the Question

Let’s be honest: too many businesses treat their “strategic accounts” like casual flings.

Coffee chats. Polite check-ins. A few big presentations. Everyone smiles, nods… and then goes back to business as usual.

It looks like progress.

But it’s just dating.

The real question never gets asked:

Is this relationship going anywhere—or are we just wasting each other’s time?

The Proposal Test

In real life, asking “Will you marry me?” is terrifying. You’re risking rejection. But without it, you’ll never know if there’s a shared future.

Strategic Account Management is no different. If you’re too afraid to test the commitment, don’t fool yourself—you’re not building a partnership. You’re just funding an expensive situationship.

Four Brutal Checks Before You Pop the Question

Before you go down on one knee with an account, be clear on:

Growth Potential

Are they capable of growing with you, or have you already hit the ceiling? If there’s no room to expand, stop pretending there’s a future.

Reciprocity

Do they invest in you—or is it always you chasing them? If you’re the one doing all the calling, guess what: you’re not “strategic.” You’re a vendor.

Decision-Maker Access

If you can’t get to the real power, your “partnership” lives and dies in middle management. That’s not a marriage—it’s a situationship.

Your Value to Them

Are you mission-critical to their success, or just a line item in procurement? If they wouldn’t miss you tomorrow, stop dressing it up as “strategic.”

The Hard Part: Hearing “No”

Here’s the kicker: when you finally ask the bold question, some accounts will say no. And that’s a gift.

Because clinging to an uncommitted account is the fastest way to bleed time, money, and credibility.

The Takeaway

Stop dating accounts that will never marry you. Start focusing on the ones that see you as essential to their future.

Partnership isn’t a mood. It’s a choice.

If your accounts aren’t choosing you, have the courage to walk away.