Why Strategic Sales Planning is Important

Why Plan?  Just ask Alice.

   Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
                      Cheshire Cat:  "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
   Alice:  I don't much care where…
                      Cheshire Cat:  Then it doesn't matter which way you go.
   Alice:  …just so long as I get somewhere…
                      Cheshire Cat:  Oh, you're sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.

In Business Development ‘going the extra mile’ without a clear definition of where you are headed can make you feel like Alice in Wonderland - working hard but not getting anywhere.  To reach your sales goals you have to know where you are going, and then you have to follow a path that will take you where you want to go.  That's where strategic planning comes in. In the same way a road map helps you plot out a journey, a strategic plan charts the course of how your organization will reach its sales goals. 
 
In today’s competitive environment Design Firms and Building Companies must focus their energy to ensure that all members of the organization are working toward the same goals.  A strategic sales and marketing plan helps to provide direction and focus for all employees. It points to specific results that are to be achieved and establishes a course of action for achieving them. A strategic plan also helps the various departments within your organization to align themselves with common goals. Without a clear plan, expectations are developed in a void, priorities change constantly and there is little or no alignment with common goals.

You may already have an intuitive sense of your strategy - you know where your organization needs to be and many of the key sales and marketing activities that will get you there.  However, many times the strategy remains a virtual plan – locked in the heads of management and not well communicated throughout the organization. When your management team, business development, marketing, operations and even your customers know where you’re going, you position yourself for more predictable success.

Getting it done

Once you recognize the need to plan, you now have to get it done: facilitating the buy-in and commitment of your leadership team, business development and marketing.   The planning process does not have to be complicated but it takes some preparation. 

Following are three steps recommended by BluePrint Growth Consulting (www.BDBluePrint.com) to help you get started:

1. Understand where you are today.  Like all journeys, sales planning starts with a known position from where you can chart your course to achieve your goals.  Start by taking stock of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses and research what your competitors are doing.  Identify current trends in the Industry and clearly identify who your customers are.   Most importantly, take time to ask your customers what they value about your service and what you can do better to meet their needs. 
2. Clearly define where you want to go.  Set SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) for your team so you can measure progress toward your goals.  Make sure you clearly identify who is responsible for what and by when. 
3. Define a plan to get you where you want to go.  This is the tactical phase of planning and where your plan becomes actionable. It consists of mapping out your actual business development activities and marketing activities you will undertake to meet your goals.  

Implementation 

Once developed, the key to successful implementation is using the Plan to establish expectations for the sales and marketing team based on the sales goals and how your business will achieve those goals. 

In Sales goals are the engine of productivity.  One of the most powerful things about establishing specific goals in your Sales Plan is that it becomes your scorecard – it includes indicators for how you are doing in implementing your plan.  These indicators allow you to look critically at your sales and marketing activities and make adjustments on a regular basis. Quarterly reviews to analyze your results and make adjustments will keep your plan relevant and on target.

What does a Sales Plan look like?
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A good strategic sales and marketing plan looks out 3 to 5 years and sets out sales targets and tactics for your business, and identifies the steps you will take to meet your targets.  Most importantly, a good plan reflects the overall business strategy and has the buy-in of all your business departments.   It is essential to recognize that a sales and marketing plan is not just a document, book or binder.  What is important is that the Plan captures a defined process that defines how your company is going to achieve your goals.   

For more information about How to Build a Successful Business Development Plan for your Design or Construction Organization join us for one of our upcoming Workshops.