Sales Planning - 4 essential steps

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. Start with these 4 steps:

1 Purpose & Clarity of Direction
If you do not have a clear sense of where you are today and where you are going, you and your team 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 you begin your plan 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 ensure you have a well-targeted plan, 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 the 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! 

A well-written sales plan becomes a playbook for your sales team as well as for everyone in your company who interacts with your customers. Your Sales Plan defines how you will beat your competition by adding value to your customers, and it captures what your customers expect and how you can deliver on your promises.  Start your sales plan with these 4 steps, and remember the importance of communicating it throughout your organization.

For help in preparing your Sales Plan contact Lori Sullivan:  [email protected]