Accord vs People.ai for account planning

Your account executives have access to incredible intelligence. People.ai shows them whitespace opportunities, relationship maps, engagement patterns, and AI-generated account research. The insights are actionable. The data is comprehensive.

But intelligence doesn't execute itself.

Here's what actually happens: Your top AE reviews the whitespace map, systematically pursues three expansion opportunities, conducts quarterly business reviews, and works stakeholder coverage like a chess game. Your average AE reviews the same map, thinks "we should pursue that," then gets pulled into the next urgent deal. Six months later, the account hasn't grown.

Same intelligence. Completely different execution.

People.ai tells you what opportunities exist in your accounts. Accord ensures your entire team systematically pursues them with the same discipline your top performers apply naturally.

Let's break down how these platforms compare and when each makes sense for your team.

What is People.ai?

People.ai positions itself as the enterprise revenue intelligence leader that helps sales teams navigate complex accounts by capturing and analyzing billions of sales activities. Their account planning application uses AI to auto-populate account plans with market research, automatically map relationships, visualize whitespace, and provide engagement intelligence.

People.ai excels at intelligence and automation—giving teams data-driven insights into account health, relationship coverage, and expansion opportunities, all native to Salesforce.

What is Accord?

Accord is an AI-Powered Revenue Excellence Platform that transforms your account planning process and methodology into enforceable playbooks where expansion deals actually get executed.

While People.ai provides intelligence as a separate layer that AEs must remember to check, Accord embeds AI directly into the execution workflow—automatically generating account research, drafting executive summaries, recommending stakeholders, and creating business cases right where reps are already working through their account planning process.

Here's how it works:

• Set: You create account planning playbooks based on what your top performers do—quarterly business reviews, stakeholder expansion, whitespace pursuit, multi-threading strategies, executive engagement. 
• Enforce: These playbooks become the workspace where account execution happens. As AEs work through required steps, Accord Intelligence automatically generates on-brand account research, drafts executive summaries using approved templates, recommends specific stakeholders for each placeholder role, and creates CFO-proof business cases. All without leaving the workflow.
• Score: Every action is automatically captured and scored, giving managers objective visibility into account planning quality and identifying which AEs systematically work their accounts vs. react to inbound.

The core difference: Embedded intelligence + execution vs. standalone intelligence

People.ai's approach: Provide comprehensive insights that reveal opportunities. Show AEs whitespace maps, relationship networks, and engagement patterns. Auto-generate account research. Give them everything they need to plan strategically—then hope they remember to act on it systematically.

Accord's approach: Turn account planning into enforceable playbooks where systematic execution is automatic, not optional. Strategic account reviews become required quarterly steps. Stakeholder expansion follows a structured methodology. Whitespace pursuit happens with discipline. Intelligence isn't separate—it's embedded in the workflow, with AI automatically generating research, drafting summaries, and recommending next stakeholders as AEs complete required steps.

Think of it this way: People.ai gives you a treasure map showing where gold is buried. Accord gives you the map and a step-by-step excavation process that your entire team must follow (with AI assistance at every dig site).

Feature comparison

Account intelligence & insights

People.ai provides powerful standalone intelligence:

• AI-generated account research from public sources (AccountGPT)
• Whitespace maps showing expansion opportunities
• Relationship maps automatically built from communication data
• Engagement intelligence showing who's active and who's not
• Health scorecards tracking account risk
• TAM visualization showing product deployment and prospects

Accord Intelligence embeds AI into execution playbooks:

• Automated in-depth account research (company priorities, initiatives, challenges) generated when AEs reach that playbook step
• AI-drafted executive summaries using your approved messaging and templates
• CFO-proof business cases created with the click of a button
• Stakeholder recommendations for each placeholder role 
• All outputs controlled by positioning you set at the playbook level, ensuring consistency and brand compliance

Account planning structure

People.ai helps you create account plans:

• Auto-populate sections with AI-generated research
• Customize templates for different account types
• Native Salesforce integration for visibility
• Scorecards to track account health

Plans are documents that capture strategy and insights.

Accord turns account plans into AI-powered execution playbooks:

• Strategic account reviews as required quarterly steps
• AI-generated summary pages that automatically draft executive summaries, account overviews, and business cases
• Stakeholder expansion with AI recommendations for each required buyer role
• Executive engagement built into the workflow with on-brand templates
• QBR outcomes that must be documented before next period

Plans are living workflows that drive systematic execution—with AI assistance at every step, no prompt engineering required.

Stakeholder management

People.ai automatically maps relationship networks:

• Shows connections between your team and the account
• Identifies relationship coverage gaps
• Tracks engagement frequency and recency
• Visualizes the org chart based on communication patterns

Accord Intelligence enforces stakeholder expansion with AI recommendations:

• AI suggests specific individuals for each buyer role based on your ICP and positioning
• Multi-threading requirements before pursuing opportunities
• Executive sponsor engagement built into playbooks 
• Champion development as a systematic step
• Stakeholder engagement through collaborative mutual action plans

People.ai shows who you know. Accord Intelligence suggests who you should know next—and makes it effortless to add them.

When People.ai wins

People.ai makes sense when you need:

• Comprehensive activity capture and automation across all GTM tools
• Data foundation for revenue intelligence and forecasting
• Native Salesforce integration for account planning documentation
• AI-powered research as a standalone reference tool
• Relationship intelligence as a separate visibility layer

People.ai excels when your primary challenge is data capture and insight generation, and your AEs already execute systematically against accounts (and remember to use separate AI tools).

When Accord wins

Accord is the better choice when you want:

• Enforced account planning methodology ensuring every AE systematically works their book (not just reacts to inbound)
• Execution consistency where average performers apply the same discipline as your top AEs
• AI embedded in workflows where reps already work—no separate tool to remember, no prompt engineering required
• Systematic QBRs as required playbook steps, not optional "best practices"
• Disciplined stakeholder expansion with AI-powered recommendations built into the workflow
• Whitespace pursuit that's methodical and consistent, not sporadic and reactive
• Revenue outcomes driven by execution quality, not just insight availability
• Cost consolidation replacing multiple tools (account planning + mutual action plans + QBR frameworks + expansion tracking + content generation)

The bottom line

Choose People.ai if you need comprehensive intelligence and your AEs already execute systematically. If your team has the discipline to review insights, plan strategically, and act on opportunities consistently—People.ai's intelligence layer is valuable.

Choose Accord if your challenge is the 80-20 performance distribution in your sales team. Your top AEs systematically work their accounts with quarterly reviews, disciplined stakeholder expansion, and methodical whitespace pursuit. Your average AEs have the same intelligence but execute sporadically. Accord makes President's Club account planning the standard by enforcing the behaviors that drive expansion.

Ready to see how Accord enforces account planning excellence with embedded AI? Book a demo to see systematic account execution playbooks powered by Accord Intelligence in action.