From Reactive Account to Strategic Growth.
How Magnus helped two global technology partners turn a transactional defence prime account into a coordinated, customer-led growth strategy.
From fragmented pursuit to a coordinated, customer-led account strategy.
Context
The largest global technology provider and the leading UK-founded technology partner both held positions inside a priority defence prime, but the account was being worked separately, reactively and largely through procurement. Engagement was transactional, executive access was thin, and neither organisation had a clear read on how decisions were shaped or where commercial value sat. There was no shared view of the opportunity and no joined-up commercial story. The two teams were competing for attention in the same account rather than presenting a single, differentiated proposition. The result was effort without direction: activity that struggled to move beyond supplier conversations into strategic ones.
Reframe
The shift was from selling into a fixed requirement to understanding the customer well enough to shape the opportunity. Magnus led the commercial research and customer intelligence that gave both teams a far deeper picture of the prime, how influence flowed across it, and where long-term value could realistically be built. That insight prompted a critical strategic pivot. When the original enterprise IT opportunity narrowed, commercial analysis showed the higher-value route lay in the prime's Programmes side rather than continuing down a path that had already closed. Effort was redirected towards the opportunities that could actually move the account forward.
Solution
Magnus, in partnership with Applied Influence, built the commercial system that turned scattered activity into a coordinated account strategy. Commercial and competitor research mapped the market opportunity and the defence landscape. Customer intelligence clarified how decisions were made and who mattered. At the centre sat a joint value proposition uniting both organisations, developed by Magnus, that aligned them around one commercial story: reseller pace and commercial flexibility combined with delivery capability, security confidence and defence-sector credibility. Magnus translated that proposition into targeted, persona-led messaging and a prioritised account plan, giving both sales teams a single, differentiated way to engage the account at pace while minimising risk to mission-critical change.
Innovation
What made the engagement different was that insight fed directly into commercial action rather than sitting in a report. Magnus connected commercial research, a shared account picture and a single value proposition into one working system, embedded into how the joint team engaged the account. AI-enabled commercial intelligence sharpened relevance, allowing the team to connect both organisations' capabilities to specific themes and stakeholders across the buying group. Strategy stayed live and customer-led, shaping engagement in real time instead of guiding it from a distance.
Impact
The programme moved the account forward by an estimated 6 to 12 months. The two organisations shifted from working in parallel to operating as a coordinated partnership with a clear, account-specific proposition. Positioning sharpened, executive engagement deepened, and the prime began to see them as one responsive partner. The approach supported an initial £500K win and around £2M of new pipeline, with those outcomes validating the strategy rather than defining it. Most importantly, it created the foundation for long-term strategic growth: a coordinated account, a shared story and new routes into the opportunities that matter most.
"The CGA helped us define our joint value proposition, tailor it to the prime's key stakeholders, and execute the campaign with greater speed and confidence, grounded in clear joint objectives and customer value."
Technology Partner, Joint Account Leadership
More like this.
Following an acquisition into a new market segment, Iron Mountain needed commercial rigour fast. Magnus sized the £3.6bn opportunity, defined the ICP across three verticals, and identified £15M in named account pipeline within 12 weeks.
Read the growth story →Magnus designed and embedded a Strategic Account Growth Accelerator across five business units, creating a £214m priority pipeline. A repeatable system to win strategic enterprise accounts.
Read the growth story →
Dynamic persona architecture and AI-powered content engine built to compete for scarce technical talent across AI, cybersecurity, and DevOps.
Read the growth story →Working a strategic account that's stuck in procurement?
Tell us what you're working on. We'll show you how a coordinated, customer-led account strategy applies to your most important accounts.