The First Rule of Selling: Have a Plan
The First Rule of Selling: Have a Plan
Our target market. What market (geographic/vertical/etc.) do we serve? Are we focused on one metropolitan area or internationally? As you move forward in implementing a sales plan, it’s important to know the scope of your sales efforts.
Our target customers. Few things are as basic to sales success as understanding our target customers – what types of businesses or individuals will use our services, their annual revenues or incomes, and how they will use our products and services. A good plan will also estimate the numbers of target customers that exist within the market that we serve.
Just as importantly, a good sales plan will define what is NOT a target customer. For most businesses, there are customers that are too small (and, believe it or not, too large) to serve profitably. Some of us will define our target markets by their values and the way that they do business, and eliminate those potential customers that are a bad fit. Remember – it’s okay to turn away bad business. In fact, it’s best to refer bad business to your competition.
Our ideal salespeople. What attributes do we want in a salesperson? Should they be high activity (lots of cold calling, prospecting, and presenting), or high relationship (less cold calling, more work with current accounts)? Is there a specific technical expertise that they need? Do we want them to travel? All of these things should be thought out and put on paper before any people are hired. Compensation plans should be included.
The key thing to remember here is that “selling isn’t selling.” A salesperson that might succeed in one sales environment may fail miserably in another. I firmly believe that the vast majority of salespeople truly WANT to succeed, and are able to succeed if they are correctly matched with their ideal selling environment.
Finally, be aware of what you can afford, and stick to it. If you have enough working capital to hire a 15-year salesperson with an impeccable track record, where the environment is a match, great. Do it. Just remember that you’ll pay for the privilege. Most small businesses have to give up something – prior training, experience, or track record – in order to find someone they can afford. That’s okay, too, just be prepared to supply more support to help the person succeed.
The quantity of people on the sales force. How many salespeople does it take to effectively cover our market? How often do we want to expand the sales force? Are support people (sales secretaries, telemarketers, etc.) needed? “Design” your sales force starting at the bottom, and work up.
While you’re designing, don’t overestimate. In the past, I’ve noted that one of the worst things a company can do is to “cattle call hire,” where they hire a greater number of salespeople than they can support and afford – figuring the good ones will survive and the bad ones won’t. Usually, the end result is the opposite. Good salespeople quickly figure this scheme out, and move on to better work environments. The ones that don’t achieve don’t have that option, so the employer ends up with a small, mediocre, and expensive sales force. Be diligent in interviewing and hiring, and hire what you need.
Growth plans. A good plan should cover revenue growth plans for at least the next three years, and should have a plan for hiring additional people as needed. With that said, there should be some basis for revenue growth (How much can each salesperson reasonably be expected to sell each year?), and sales staff growth (How many prospects/customers can each salesperson manage? At what level of company revenue can we afford new people?). A good sales plan will quantify all of this, and have certain objectives which trigger expansion. More salespeople do not automatically produce more sales.
The First Rule of Selling Have a Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Troy Harrison's Website.
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“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Most of us have heard that many times in our business careers, but it’s amazing how seldom it’s followed. We start out with the right intentions, but things get in the way. To be successful, nothing should get in the way of having and implementing an effective plan for selling our products and services. A good plan should include:
Our target market. What market (geographic/vertical/etc.) do we serve? Are we focused on one metropolitan area or internationally? As you move forward in implementing a sales plan, it’s important to know the scope of your sales efforts.
Our target customers. Few things are as basic to sales success as understanding our target customers – what types of businesses or individuals will use our services, their annual revenues or incomes, and how they will use our products and services. A good plan will also estimate the numbers of target customers that exist within the market that we serve.
Just as importantly, a good sales plan will define what is NOT a target customer. For most businesses, there are customers that are too small (and, believe it or not, too large) to serve profitably. Some of us will define our target markets by their values and the way that they do business, and eliminate those potential customers that are a bad fit. Remember – it’s okay to turn away bad business. In fact, it’s best to refer bad business to your competition.
Our ideal salespeople. What attributes do we want in a salesperson? Should they be high activity (lots of cold calling, prospecting, and presenting), or high relationship (less cold calling, more work with current accounts)? Is there a specific technical expertise that they need? Do we want them to travel? All of these things should be thought out and put on paper before any people are hired. Compensation plans should be included.
The key thing to remember here is that “selling isn’t selling.” A salesperson that might succeed in one sales environment may fail miserably in another. I firmly believe that the vast majority of salespeople truly WANT to succeed, and are able to succeed if they are correctly matched with their ideal selling environment.
Finally, be aware of what you can afford, and stick to it. If you have enough working capital to hire a 15-year salesperson with an impeccable track record, where the environment is a match, great. Do it. Just remember that you’ll pay for the privilege. Most small businesses have to give up something – prior training, experience, or track record – in order to find someone they can afford. That’s okay, too, just be prepared to supply more support to help the person succeed.
The quantity of people on the sales force. How many salespeople does it take to effectively cover our market? How often do we want to expand the sales force? Are support people (sales secretaries, telemarketers, etc.) needed? “Design” your sales force starting at the bottom, and work up.
While you’re designing, don’t overestimate. In the past, I’ve noted that one of the worst things a company can do is to “cattle call hire,” where they hire a greater number of salespeople than they can support and afford – figuring the good ones will survive and the bad ones won’t. Usually, the end result is the opposite. Good salespeople quickly figure this scheme out, and move on to better work environments. The ones that don’t achieve don’t have that option, so the employer ends up with a small, mediocre, and expensive sales force. Be diligent in interviewing and hiring, and hire what you need.
Growth plans. A good plan should cover revenue growth plans for at least the next three years, and should have a plan for hiring additional people as needed. With that said, there should be some basis for revenue growth (How much can each salesperson reasonably be expected to sell each year?), and sales staff growth (How many prospects/customers can each salesperson manage? At what level of company revenue can we afford new people?). A good sales plan will quantify all of this, and have certain objectives which trigger expansion. More salespeople do not automatically produce more sales.
The First Rule of Selling Have a Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Troy Harrison'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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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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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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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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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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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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