How to Write a Sales Business Plan
Writing a sales business plan can feel like an overwhelming task, so break it into manageable bites. Begin by asking a few basic questions. What are your top three overarching goals? Do you have the right people in place to achieve those goals? What kind of compensation (pay) plan will you need to attract and motivate the right people? What support systems and materials will you need? With those simple steps, the process is under way.
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Instructions
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Evaluate what has and has not worked well before. Throw out the duds, think about what you learned from your efforts, and identify any successes you can replicate.
Think about the overarching goals and the staff you want to assign to each. Write an outline for what you want each salesperson to accomplish. For each person's outline, consider what kind of prospecting you want them to do, what specific accounts you want them to go after and which key accounts each person will support. Flesh out your sales support team, territories and quotas. Think through what kind of training each person may need. -
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Develop measurable goals for each salesperson. Include how many contacts they should make weekly and how may prospects those contacts should yield. Decide which prospecting resources (lists, trade shows, cold calls) are worthwhile and which ones are not a good use of their time. Determine how many follow-up calls are appropriate and how many new proposals each person should generate monthly.
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Develop a list of high-value target accounts and decide which ones you want each person to go after. Decide how many of these targets each person should call on each quarter and what percentage you expect them to close. Work with the salesperson to gather as much information as you can about each target. Identify the advantages of landing the account, as well as the obstacles in your way, and develop an action plan.
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Work with your sales team to get their suggestions and buy-in on the plan. Polish it into a document, make the assignments, write up the job descriptions, and weave all the plans into actionable time-lines. Now, go get 'em!
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit All images are courtesy of Microsoft Clipart.
