If you’re in sales or customer success, you know account planning is a pain. Everybody talks about “strategic account plans,” but most teams end up with scattered docs, lost info, and way too many meetings about meetings. This guide is for folks who are tired of reinventing the wheel every quarter. I’ll show you how to use Momentum templates to cut the noise, keep your plans actionable, and actually move deals forward.
Let’s be clear: there’s no magic bullet. But a few guardrails can save you hours of busywork and make you look way more organized than you feel.
Why Account Planning Sucks (And Why Templates Help)
Account planning should be simple: know your customer, map the key players, and have a plan. But in reality:
- People waste time duplicating last year’s work.
- Everyone’s using their own spreadsheet or slide deck.
- Updates get lost in email or Slack.
- The plan is outdated the minute it’s “done.”
Templates won’t fix a broken process, but they force you to focus on what matters, and they make it easier to spot gaps. If your company uses Momentum, their templates are actually useful — not just checkbox exercises.
Step 1: Pick the Right Momentum Template
Momentum offers a bunch of templates for account planning — don’t just grab the first one you see. Here’s what actually matters:
- Standard Account Plan: Good for most teams. Covers goals, contacts, risks, and next steps.
- Executive Briefing: Stripped-down, meant for senior stakeholders. Skip the weeds, focus on outcomes.
- Mutual Action Plan: If you’re working closely with the customer on a project, this template keeps everyone honest about who’s doing what.
Pro tip: Start with the standard template, but don’t be afraid to delete sections you’ll never use. The less clutter, the better.
Step 2: Customize—But Don’t Overthink It
The big trap: people spend hours making the plan “look right” instead of making it useful. Here’s what you should (and shouldn’t) tweak:
Do: - Add your team’s common fields (e.g., renewal date, ARR, key contacts). - Pre-fill your preferred meeting cadence or check-in notes section. - Include a “red flags” area—trust me, you’ll need it.
Don’t: - Create a 20-tab monster template you’ll never update. - Add sections for the sake of “completeness.” - Get hung up on fonts or colors. No one cares.
Momentum lets you save your custom template, so you can actually reuse it next time. Set it and forget it.
Step 3: Make It Collaborative, Not a Personal Diary
A plan that lives in one person’s head (or hard drive) doesn’t help anyone. Momentum templates are made to be shared and updated by the team:
- Assign owners for each section. That way, you’re not always chasing the same person for updates.
- Use comments for quick context. Don’t write essays—just flag what’s changed.
- Link to real data (like CRM records) so people aren’t hunting for info.
What to skip: Endless “review” meetings. If you’re all in the same doc, just tag people with questions or blockers.
Step 4: Set Triggers for Updates—Not Just a Calendar Reminder
Most account plans die because no one updates them. Here’s how to avoid that:
- Tie updates to real events: Renewal coming up? Big change in the account? Trigger a review then, not just every quarter.
- Use Momentum’s reminders (if your team has them turned on) to nudge folks after key milestones.
- Keep updates short: Bullet points beat novels. If it takes more than 10 minutes, you’re overdoing it.
Honestly, if your plan always feels out-of-date, your template is probably too complicated.
Step 5: Review What Works—And Kill What Doesn’t
Templates aren’t sacred. If a section goes untouched for two quarters, kill it. If people keep pasting the same info twice, combine fields. Here’s how to do a lightweight review:
- Ask the team what’s actually helpful—and what’s ignored.
- Version your template every quarter or two. Don’t be precious.
- Make small changes, not total overhauls.
Warning: Beware of the “let’s build the perfect template” trap. You’ll waste time and end up right back where you started.
What Momentum Templates Do Well (and Where They Fall Short)
What works: - Consistency: Everyone’s talking about the same things, in the same format. - Collaboration: It’s easy to get input from teammates, managers, even the customer. - Integration: If you’re using Momentum with your CRM, you can pull in live data—no more copy-pasting.
What doesn’t: - Customization limits: Some fields are locked down, which can be annoying if your workflow is weird. - Overkill for simple accounts: For tiny deals, a full template may be too much overhead. - Still needs discipline: Even the best template won’t force people to actually update it.
Ignore the Hype: What Not to Worry About
- AI-generated insights: Nice in theory, usually generic in practice. Use your brain.
- “One-click” everything: Templates help, but you’ll still need real conversations.
- Perfect formatting: The only people who care are the ones not selling.
Spend your time on what actually helps the team close deals—or keep customers happy.
Keep It Simple, Review Often, and Move On
Account planning shouldn’t be a full-time job. Use Momentum templates to do the heavy lifting, but don’t let the process get in the way of real work. Start small, get feedback, and tweak as you go. The best account plans are the ones you actually use—not the ones collecting dust on the server.
Want to save time and reduce headaches? Streamline your workflow, keep your templates lean, and remember: no plan survives first contact with a customer. Adjust, share, and keep moving.