Stop Ignoring the 20% – It’s the Heart of Your Growth Strategy

TL;DR

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, reveals that 80% of your revenue growth likely comes from just 20% of your customers, sales reps, and products. Yet, many organizations misallocate time and resources chasing low-value segments. Prioritizing your top 20% is a high-impact growth strategy that drives real revenue, retention, and team performance results.

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Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

The Overlooked Law of Growth Strategy

You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule, but do you know its real name?

It’s called the Pareto Principle. It’s a timeless concept introduced by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who discovered that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by just 20% of its people. Since then, the principle has shown up in nearly every industry and domain: 80% of results stem from 20% of efforts.

This couldn’t be truer, or more ignored,  in today’s growth-stage companies. The biggest missed opportunity? A lack of operational focus on the true revenue generators.

A Costly Case of Misplaced Focus

Our top 30 accounts represented over 80% of the organization's total revenue. You’d expect them to receive VIP treatment, but instead, they got minimal support.

Meanwhile, senior leadership poured time, energy, and budget into salvaging the bottom 10–20% of accounts. These were the underperforming or outright unprofitable accounts.

The result? The return on those bottom-tier efforts was negligible. In fact, the cost of trying to “fix” them outweighed any potential benefit. Worse, ignoring our top accounts meant missed opportunities for meaningful customer retention, sales growth, and account expansion.

This is why operational discipline and clarity in your growth strategy matter.

A Smarter Growth Strategy Starts with the Top 20%

You don't need more if you're serious about scaling your business. You need more of what already works.

Here’s how to identify your top 20% and embed the Pareto Principle into your growth strategy:

How to Identify Your 20% and Unlock Your Growth Strategy

Pareto Principle: Unlocking the 20%

1. Analyze Revenue by Customer

   Run a revenue and margin report to rank your customers. Focus on the top 20% of customers contributing to 80% of your revenue. These are your growth levers.

   
   

2. Review Sales Rep Performance

   Which 20% of your reps consistently drive net new business, upsells, and renewals? Study their habits and scale their practices across the team.

   
   

   Learn more about Sales Effectivity and Unlock your Growth

   
   

3. Evaluate Product Profitability

   Identify which offerings deliver the highest margins, customer satisfaction, and low support costs. Double down on those to boost both revenue and retention, then ditch the rest.

   
   

4. Audit Team Time Allocation

   Track how your team spends its time for one week. Is your energy going toward revenue-driving activities or reactive tasks? Shift focus to what moves the needle.

   
   

5. Launch a 20% Growth Sprint

   For 30 days, zero in on top accounts, reps, and products. Set specific KPIs and track revenue growth, customer engagement, and retention lift. Rinse and repeat.

Want Proof?

Research shows that prioritizing, not necessarily effort, is the real gateway to success, as noted by Harvard Business Review in their article Hard Work Doesn’t Always Lead to Success.

Final Word: Focus Drives Results

Ignoring the top 20% in your business is like leaving money on the table. When you prioritize where your revenue growth, sales growth, and customer retention already thrive, you build a repeatable, high-performance engine.

So, stop treating everything equally. Start building your growth strategy around what works.

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