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The one workshop you need to deepen your understanding of clients and help grow the firm
A deep understanding of what clients want and need, today and in the future, is crucial for retention. As is having the proposition(s) to match. Enter: the Account Planning Workshop.
Alastair Barlow
January 31, 2026
Firms can’t stand still and expect to survive.
Clients’ needs are changing, and evolving your offer is the only way to stay relevant - whether that means adding advisory to your services, innovating within an existing advisory offer, or broadening and optimising your compliance support.
Of course, introducing new service propositions unlocks new revenue potential, too. As one of our Finance Takes The Piste guests explained:“Sales isn’t always about new business. Sales is also about making sure clients are happy.” Identifying new ways to meet the needs of your existing clients will increase the value of the account and hopefully keep them with you for longer.
The Account Planning Workshop (APW) is a strategic tool for expanding revenue within existing relationships. Put simply, it’s an internal session with two distinct aims:
To develop a deeper understanding of a client, their business, and the market they operate in.
To identify tangible, actionable ways to better support the client and grow the value of the account.
These insights are surfaced by reflecting on the client’s current opportunities and limitations, challenging your firm’s thinking or assumptions about what the client wants and what they value, then exploring fresh opportunities for your firm to support them.
As well as increasing revenue, an APW can help the firm innovate and stay competitive.