​For the Building Industry, market uncertainty makes sales planning and forecasting a difficult task. So, forecasting your business and preparing for changing economic conditions is essential.

Maintaining your competitive position requires a resilient plan to guide your sales and marketing activities through the coming year. But recent uncertainty in the market have rattled the industry and the Construction Industry Forecasts show slowing growth in coming months.

So, how do you manage your sales in a shifting economy?

Start with a Plan

Businesses can’t control the economy in which they operate, but they can control how they manage the economic conditions to achieve their goals. Importantly, Leadership must focus their energy to ensure that all members of the organization are working toward the same goals and are prepared to deal with changes in circumstances.
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A bad economy raises the stakes for Business Development and increases pressure to meet sales goals. So, business leaders need to prepare for what they'll do to perform under pressure. Good planning prepares management, marketing and the BD team for an effective responses when the pressure increases.

Pay Close Attention To Your Business Development Process

It is essential to recognize that a sales and marketing plan is not just a document, book or binder. A good sales plan is rooted in a defined process that lays out how your company is going to achieve your sales goals and manage change. This ensures that the plan can remain relevant in a shifting economy.

A sales and marketing plan looks out 3 to 5 years and sets sales goals for your business, and identifies the steps you will take to meet your goals. Most importantly, a good sales plan breaks down the next 12 months into specific, measurable, and actionable goals for each member of the team.  This will ensure that the Plan reflects the overall business strategy and has the buy-in of all your departments. 

Most importantly, a good sales plan breaks down the next 12 months into specific, measurable, and actionable goals for each member of the team.  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.

BluePrint Growth Consulting recommends 3 steps to help you get started:

• Step 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.
• Step 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. 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 well you are implementing your plan. These indicators allow you to look critically at your sales and marketing activities and make adjustments on a regular basis. Monthly and quarterly reviews to analyze your results against the market allow you to make adjustments as the economy shifts.
• Step 3: Draft a plan to get you where you want to go. This is the tactical phase of your planning and lays out specific actions to be taken toward your goals. In an uncertain economy it is important to consider alternative scenarios for the coming year that reflect best case, worst case and most likely case scenarios. This allows all members of the team to formally acknowledge that things can happen to change your plan and it allows time to think about alternate decisions. Discuss what you will do if your circumstances change so your entire team is prepared to perform under pressure.

Staying Relevant – Review and Adjust

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. Establish a schedule of quarterly progress reviews and make adjustments to reflect current market conditions and circumstances. In addition to measuring your progress against your plan goals, review the alternate scenarios considered and make the decisions that apply to the circumstances.
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Maintaining your competitive position in an uncertain economy requires a plan to guide your sales and marketing activities through the coming year. With proactive Sales Planning you will be armed to keep your finger on the pulse of the market and your customers, and armed to take action towards your goals.

With a clear plan that outlines where you are today, where you want to go, and how you will get there you will be in control of your future and positioned for success.

Here are 3 ways to get started now:

1. Email [email protected] us or call us at 856-430-2504 to find out how we can help you develop a Sales Plan to meet your goals.
2. Learn more about how we use our proprietary planning systems The BDblueprint and The SDblueprint to guide Client Success.
3. Join us for one of our Training Seminars for Sales Planning or Seller-Doer Training

Here is what one of our customers has to say about us...

 ...with Lori’s help, the Leadership Team created a 5-year plan to grow from 2 offices to 3 offices, from $150 million to $440 million (3x) in revenue, and from 30 to 65 Associates. Our actual results in year 4 of 5 is five office locations, over $800 million (5x) in revenue and 150 Associates. By the end of 2022, the target year, ADBI will be 5 offices with 160 Associates doing around $900,000,000 (6x)!! Thanks to the patience of Lori, and her skills in corporate planning and getting creative thoughts out of the ARCO leadership, we were able to position our company for this incredible growth."
Rob Steigerwald, CEO ARCO Design/Build Industrial, (Named one of the fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine) .

Define your Competitive Position

In today’s competitive market, organizations are leaving success to chance without a well defined position and a clear strategy for beating the competition.

3Q is the time to start to build your plan for next year

To meet your sales goals for next year, now is the time to begin to think about your Sales and Marketing Plan.  Annual Sales Planning is a process that cannot happen at a regular sales meeting or during a staff meeting.  It requires careful planning to ensure that the process is thorough and comprehensive. 

Start by scheduling your planning meeting now for the fourth quarter and spend some time and energy in this quarter gathering information and outlining the planning process.  BluePrint Growth Consulting recommends the following key steps to help you get ready for developing a great sales plan:

1.  Purpose & Clarity of Direction

If you do not have a clear sense of where you are today and where you are going you will not be able to establish common goals.  Make sure to take the time to clearly define your Vision, Mission and Values so you have a firm foundation for your sales plan.  Because these are the foundational elements of your Sales Plan be sure there is consensus on why the organization exists, and outcomes it seeks to achieve.   Take time before your planning meeting to assess the following:

• Mission – why you are doing what you do.
• Niche – core competencies, expertise, project type and/or specific industry sector.
• Vision – where you are trying to go.

These statements provide strategic direction and will clearly define your desired future so that you have a clear direction from which goals and objectives can be defined.

2.  Inventory Your Success

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.  Take stock of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses and look critically at your sales and marketing activities so you can be prepared to analyze your results and make adjustments for next year.  At a minimum take a look at:

• Proposal or Bid Hit Rates
• Marketing Programs and Results
• Sales Scorecards
• New Customers
• Website Statistics

 
3.  Know your Customers

Without a clear definition of who your customers are, what their needs are and how your services benefit them it is difficult to position your Organization in the marketplace. To get ready for a productive planning meeting, take time to segment and prioritize your existing and prospective customers:

• Segment your existing customers by market sector and identify which ones align with your purpose and direction.
• Identify how buyers in these sectors procure your services and what they value about the service you are providing.
• Conduct research to determine the growth of each market sector.

With this information available for your planning meeting you are prepared to make decisions about which customers to target and to how to prioritize your sales and marketing activities.

4.  Know your Competitive Position

Your organization may provide similar services as your competition, so without a clear definition of how you are different, customers are left with price as the basis of selection.  Focus on the following to clarify your competitive position:

• Assess your competition - Unless you have a market all to yourself, understanding your competition in each of your markets is essential to your success. 

• Review your Value Proposition -  Your value proposition is the thing that defines how your clients benefit from your service.  Before you start to draft a plan, make sure you understand your value, and if you aren’t sure what it is - ask your customers. 

Start now to meet next year’s sales goals

A well prepared sales and marketing plan helps to provide direction and focus for all employees and connects your execution to your strategy.  It points to specific results that are to be achieved and establishes a course of action for achieving them. Begin now to establish your sales planning process and position your organization to meet your Sales Goals. 

To learn more about how you can develop a Strategic Sales Plan to beat your competition, join us for one of our Workshops at the Society for Marketing Professional Services (eligible for 1.5 CPSM credits and 1.5 AIA CES LUs); or at Associated Builders and Contractors.  If you need some help getting started, contact us today.
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BluePrint Growth Consulting helps Organizations in the Building Industry position themselves ahead of their competition by developing great sales strategies and great sales plans.  www.BDBluePrint.com

For more about the essential steps in creating a strategic sales plan contact us for a free copy of our Sales Planning Blueprint:
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