Sandler's KARE model is an account-planning tool that sorts every account into four groups (Keep, Attain, Recapture and Expand) so sales leaders and reps can set goals and spend their time where it pays off.
Most sales goal setting stops at one number: hit $X this year. That number doesn't tell you where the revenue will come from, which accounts deserve your time, or what to do on Monday morning. KARE answers all three.
The Four Parts of KARE
Keep: Protect your existing key accounts
Goal: Prevent churn and hold your revenue baseline.
Actions: Add more contacts inside the account, reinforce the value you deliver, move to strategic conversations, and make switching costs clear.
Attain: Win brand-new prospects
Goal: Bring in net-new business, often by replacing a competitor who isn't delivering.
Actions: Prospect around specific business pain, such as operational inefficiency or rising costs.
Recapture: Re-engage lost or dormant accounts
Goal: Win back past clients who left because of budget freezes, service problems or a switch to a competitor.
Actions: Approach with humility, acknowledge what went wrong, and explain what has changed since.
Expand: Grow inside current accounts
Goal: Increase your share of what the client spends.
Actions: Cross-sell other products, upsell higher-tier services, or reach parent companies, subsidiaries and sister companies.
How to Use KARE for Sales Goal Setting: 5 Steps
1. Sort every account into a KARE group
List every current account and target prospect in your territory and assign each one to Keep, Attain, Recapture or Expand. Accounts in different groups need different approaches. Treating them all the same wastes time.
2. Start with your personal goals
Before you set a number, define what it's for: an income target, paying down debt, more time off. Sandler's goal-setting approach puts personal goals first, so your sales number has a reason behind it.
3. Split your revenue goal across the four groups
Decide how much of your total goal has to come from each group. Keep and Expand give you predictable revenue at a lower cost to win. Attain and Recapture drive growth and replace the accounts you'll lose naturally.
Example: a $1,000,000 annual goal
KARE group | Share | Revenue goal |
|---|---|---|
Keep | 50% | $500,000 |
Expand | 20% | $200,000 |
Attain | 20% | $200,000 |
Recapture | 10% | $100,000 |
This split is only an example. Yours depends on your territory, your churn rate and your growth target.
4. Turn each goal into weekly activity
Give each group its own activity targets. For example:
Keep: quarterly business reviews
Expand: introductions to new departments
Attain: prospecting calls
Recapture: outreach to former clients
Some teams give each activity a point value and set a daily or weekly target, which makes the plan easy to track.
5. Set priorities on purpose
Many salespeople spend too much time with Keep accounts because those relationships are comfortable, and not enough on Attain, Recapture and Expand. Others neglect Keep and lose revenue they already had. Check where your hours actually go and compare that with the split you set in step 3.
Why KARE Works for Sales Goal Setting
Selling to an existing customer is commonly estimated to cost about 11% to 17% of what it costs to win a new one. KARE makes that cost difference visible. You can see which revenue is cheaper to protect, which is worth pursuing, and how much new business you need to cover the accounts you'll lose.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to approach sales goal setting?
Start with your personal goals. Then split your revenue number by account type (Keep, Attain, Recapture and Expand) and turn each piece into weekly activity targets.
What does KARE stand for in Sandler?
KARE stands for Keep, Attain, Recapture and Expand: the four account groups in Sandler's account-planning model.
Is KARE only for annual planning?
No. Many teams use it for quarterly planning, especially in Q4, to review accounts and set priorities for the next year.
Which KARE group should I focus on first?
It depends on your situation. In a downturn, protecting Keep accounts usually comes first. In a growth year, Expand and Attain usually deserve more of your time.
Can sales managers use KARE with their teams?
Yes. Managers can use KARE to match reps to account types, for example hunters on Attain and farmers on Keep, and to review pipeline by group.
Put KARE to Work in Your Sales Plan
A goal without a plan is a guess. We run private and public goal-setting sessions throughout the year. Contact us here if you’d like to attend or book a session for your team.
