Sales Planning Basics
Sales Planning Basics
Because it's not easy to do it's easy to avoid doing - and that's huge mistake.
If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work, let's begin.
Who are your existing customers? Prioritize these customers two ways. First prioritize your customer list based on sales revenue. Then prioritize your customer list based on sales potential.
Who are your prospects? Prioritize your list of prospects based on sales potential.
Develop a sales call plan based on anticipated sales call frequency. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your best customers. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your second-tier, or medium-size customers. Then determine how many times a year you want to visit your small-size customers.
Do the same thing for your sales prospects. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your large sales prospects, medium-size and smaller sales prospects.
Once you've completed this exercise you can begin to map out a sales call plan based on geography and sales potential.
Prepare a basic sales strategy that includes a script for making appointments by telephone. Go here to learn everything you don’t know about selling on the telephone. http://bbp.infusionsoft.com/go/HSM/JM/ You should also prepare a list of questions to qualify the sales prospects and customers you visit.
And for Pete's sake take good notes. Taking notes shows that you are taking an active interest in the person you're talking to. Taking notes is also an indication of who's doing most of the talking. The more notes you have the more listening you've done. Your ears will earn you more money than your mouth.
Set achievable sales goals. Make your sales goals challenging and attainable. For each goal prepare a list of specific action steps with timelines.
When you achieve your sales goals be sure to celebrate your selling success. Then establish new sales goals you can begin working on. There's no time to dawdle.
Develop a basic marketing plan for your sales territory. Do your best to contact all customers and sales prospects monthly. Now, don't fall off your chair. I'm not suggesting you visit all sales prospects and customers every month - just contact them.
You can call, fax, e-mail, send an article, send a newsletter, and even send a postcard. When you do this systematically and professionally it's called marketing.
Learn how to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Being different is the first step to becoming memorable. Find out what works in other industries that can be adapted to the business you're in.
Have fun while you're working and let your sales prospects and customers see you as an authentic person - the real McCoy.
Don't ever be too busy to get smart. Read articles, periodicals, and business books to expand your mind and improve your thinking about the art of selling. Load up on sales tips you can use to grow your business and outfox your competition.
One of the biggest mistakes a majority of salespeople make is to get all tangled up in their work and not set aside time for this self improvement and self development.
The biggest key to effective sales planning is to make sure what's important is in writing. If it's not in writing it's not a plan and that's a fact.
You should recognize that most outgoing and extroverted salespeople prefer the people side of the business and not the planning side.
Success isn't an accident. Success comes quickest to those who are good at sales planning and focused on execution. When you combine planning with hard work and extra effort you'll soon find yourself in the top 1% of all professional salespeople.
It's been said that the only time you'll find success before work is in the dictionary. Sometimes it takes 20 years to become an overnight success.
The best advice I ever got was to "Plan your work and then work your plan."
Sales Planning Basics - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Meisenheimer's Website.
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The key to effective sales planning is thinking and preparation. One of the keys to successful selling is having a written game plan. I won't say this is easy because it's not.
Because it's not easy to do it's easy to avoid doing - and that's huge mistake.
If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work, let's begin.
Who are your existing customers? Prioritize these customers two ways. First prioritize your customer list based on sales revenue. Then prioritize your customer list based on sales potential.
Who are your prospects? Prioritize your list of prospects based on sales potential.
Develop a sales call plan based on anticipated sales call frequency. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your best customers. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your second-tier, or medium-size customers. Then determine how many times a year you want to visit your small-size customers.
Do the same thing for your sales prospects. Determine how many times a year you want to visit your large sales prospects, medium-size and smaller sales prospects.
Once you've completed this exercise you can begin to map out a sales call plan based on geography and sales potential.
Prepare a basic sales strategy that includes a script for making appointments by telephone. Go here to learn everything you don’t know about selling on the telephone. http://bbp.infusionsoft.com/go/HSM/JM/ You should also prepare a list of questions to qualify the sales prospects and customers you visit.
And for Pete's sake take good notes. Taking notes shows that you are taking an active interest in the person you're talking to. Taking notes is also an indication of who's doing most of the talking. The more notes you have the more listening you've done. Your ears will earn you more money than your mouth.
Set achievable sales goals. Make your sales goals challenging and attainable. For each goal prepare a list of specific action steps with timelines.
When you achieve your sales goals be sure to celebrate your selling success. Then establish new sales goals you can begin working on. There's no time to dawdle.
Develop a basic marketing plan for your sales territory. Do your best to contact all customers and sales prospects monthly. Now, don't fall off your chair. I'm not suggesting you visit all sales prospects and customers every month - just contact them.
You can call, fax, e-mail, send an article, send a newsletter, and even send a postcard. When you do this systematically and professionally it's called marketing.
Learn how to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Being different is the first step to becoming memorable. Find out what works in other industries that can be adapted to the business you're in.
Have fun while you're working and let your sales prospects and customers see you as an authentic person - the real McCoy.
Don't ever be too busy to get smart. Read articles, periodicals, and business books to expand your mind and improve your thinking about the art of selling. Load up on sales tips you can use to grow your business and outfox your competition.
One of the biggest mistakes a majority of salespeople make is to get all tangled up in their work and not set aside time for this self improvement and self development.
The biggest key to effective sales planning is to make sure what's important is in writing. If it's not in writing it's not a plan and that's a fact.
You should recognize that most outgoing and extroverted salespeople prefer the people side of the business and not the planning side.
Success isn't an accident. Success comes quickest to those who are good at sales planning and focused on execution. When you combine planning with hard work and extra effort you'll soon find yourself in the top 1% of all professional salespeople.
It's been said that the only time you'll find success before work is in the dictionary. Sometimes it takes 20 years to become an overnight success.
The best advice I ever got was to "Plan your work and then work your plan."
Sales Planning Basics - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Meisenheimer's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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