Why Corporate Accounts Are an Overlooked Goldmine for Partners

Corporate accounts (CAS), sometimes referred to as larger mid-market companies, are typically defined as those with between 300 and 1,000 employees. It is a segment that lies above SMB and below the enterprise level. There are more than 50,000 companies in the United States that fit the definition of a CAS.

Many partners, including myself, love to have prominent household brands on the customer list because it opens doors to new business. However, it is often challenging for smaller or medium-sized partners to start transacting with these large accounts. You often need to have a bit of luck, and luck should never be confused with having a strategy. Don't say no to enterprise customers, but don't bet the farm on winning them.

With CAS, you're dealing with smaller organizations where you, as a partner, are more likely to get in contact with the decision makers. CAS are often more localized, and your LinkedIn network can probably already connect you to the right people to influence.

Additionally, CAS are often well-structured as they're fairly large. They have formal IT departments led by a CIO. And they often have different vice presidents as stakeholders who are buying IT services and projects for the part of the business that falls under their individual responsibility. But CAS are often too small to have the capacity to do IT transformations only using their own staff. They might have a few specialists, but they can't cover everything, and that is where they will need partners.

As a Microsoft partner working with CAS, you will be able to make a significant impact because these customers need partners who can take on entire projects when they lack the necessary capacity. That means that you can create tangible results, and it's easy for the customer to measure the success because you've been running the full project. On the other hand, in the event of failure, it will be more difficult to blame the customer. Success fosters success, and when you've delivered a project that yields significant ROI for the customer, you will be able to suggest additional projects.

Another opportunity with CAS is that they are likely too small to handle all IT operations on their own. It might have worked in the past when IT was expected to work Monday to Friday between 9 and 5 because that was when people were using it. However, with both employees and customers increasingly accessing systems 24/7/365, it's often too expensive for a CAS customer to manage running a service desk, IT operations, and dealing with larger incidents themselves.

This is why it's an excellent opportunity for you, as a partner, to suggest the option of outsourcing directly to you.  In my experience, nothing builds better customer relationships than when you're delivering services around IT operations. It gives you a relationship where you will constantly be in touch with the customer on multiple levels, and you can have quarterly strategy sessions, which is tremendous for discovering avenues for more business opportunities.

Helping CAS find ways to decrease spending on IT operations is relatively straightforward, which makes it easier to build a successful business case and allocate funds in their IT budgets for transformational and strategically more critical areas, such as  AI.

In my experience, CAS customers are savvy and highly professional; they can smell unprofessionalism and incompetence miles away. After all, they are very successful and have grown into sizable organizations through hard work, great leadership, and a clear strategy (which may have evolved over the decades).

That means you should approach them with your A-game and have a long-term strategy for winning their hearts and minds. You will need to demonstrate in economic terms why your proposed project or service is a good fit for them.

You will also need to inspire them and curate suggestions to both the IT department and the line of business. These customers are always hungry for identifying what else they can do to become better, more efficient, and more profitable, so make sure that your people can lead conversations that are more about business outcomes and less about cute technical features.

It is also helpful to discover where these stakeholders find their inspiration and ensure you are part of their world. LinkedIn is, of course, essential, and it's where you can connect with people you don't already know. It's also a place to share knowledge that showcases valuable skills and experiences that are relevant to them. You will also have the opportunity to encounter them at various conferences and exhibitions. Organize your own digital and in-person events and invite them to join in. Just be sure to plan strategically with a long-term vision in mind. 

When you're successful with corporate accounts, make sure that you engage with Microsoft's SMC division. SMC stands for Small, Medium, and Corporate. Corporate accounts will often have a dedicated account manager or be served by an inside sales team.

With proven success serving these customers in the corporate accounts segment, you can approach the people at SMC and inform the relevant account manager about your success(es). Find out who is serving every one of the corporate accounts where you're successful, and where there's a worthwhile story to tell.

Keeping these account managers in the loop will allow them to appreciate that you've taken a load off their plate and that you are helping these customers succeed with Microsoft. After a while, once you have proven that you're a "giver," you can ask about introductions to other people at SMC that might have customers with similar needs, and you can carefully start having discussions about accounts that are underserved. However, be patient and first build trust, as it's easy to rush in and ruin it.

The beauty with corporate accounts is that they're fairly complex, decent-sized, and their needs for clever, innovative, and cost-effective IT are vast. When you create success, you build trustworthiness that will lead to you taking on a larger portion of their IT spend. And when you turn their IT spend into a profitable venture, that becomes a mutually beneficial relationship, which is the start of a successful long-term relationship that will transform not only the customer, but also you as a partner to grow.

In all types of businesses, trust takes time to build but can be quickly ruined. Corporate accounts are a sweet segment, so it's worth the effort needed to level up and become a trusted partner to serve these customers.

Posted by Per Werngren on September 16, 2025