Do you want your sales to skyrocket? Build a strategic and tactical sales plan that will launch your organization far beyond your sales expectations? Do you want to grow and sustain the sales growth and prowess of your organization?

A sales plan defined

A sales plan should be short, simple and to the point. It’s basically a strategic and tactical plan for acquiring new business, growing an existing book of business, and making or exceeding a sales quota within your sales territory. Typically, a healthy mix would include 75% from new business, and 25% from add-on business from existing customers.

There are four basic parts to a sales plan:

1. New business acquisition strategies,

2. New business acquisition tactics,

3. Existing business growth strategies, and

4. Existing business growth tactics

Before you start, familiarize yourself with the following sales definitions:

·        Sales quota: This critical element of your plan sets the tempo of your efforts throughout the year and provides quarterly, monthly, weekly and even daily sub-goals for you to achieve.

·       Sales territory: This refers to the geographic area, list of named accounts or specific market niches you have been assigned in order to sell your products, services and solutions.

·        Strategies: The plan necessary to accomplish your goal.

·        Tactics: The steps necessary to carry out the plan.

New business acquisition strategies and tactics

Include the following four strategies in your sales plan: remember, these strategies are all designed to capture new customers and new market share.

1. Exceed your quota

·        Send 50 letters of introduction to new prospects each week

·        Make 50 cold calls of introduction to new prospects each week

·        Make 20 face-to-face contacts with new prospects each week

·        Create 10 proposals each week

·        Make five presentations each week

Your numbers will of course vary, but consistency of effort is the most critical element. What’s important here is that you calculate exactly how many contacts you’ll need to make in order to achieve your sales quota.

2. Increase awareness in the marketplace about my products, services and solutions

·        Join and participate in no less than three professional associations and organizations to which my best prospects and customers belong; share tips and best practices which showcase the benefits of your products or services,

·        Attend any and all trade shows and conventions that my best prospects and customers attend,

·        Purchase the mailing list of these associations and organizations and send either a postcard or a letter of introduction,

·        On a regular basis, contribute articles and white papers that address the interests and concerns of this population,

3. Increase awareness in the community about my products, services and solutions

·        Attend all Chamber of Commerce networking events,

·        Volunteer to speak at no less than 12 different organizations in your territory that show an interest in your products, services and solutions,

·        Volunteer time at three non-profit organisations,

·        Join and participate in no less than three networking groups,

Create a informational brief of interest to the community with a tag line provided courtesy of your company, to include mention of your products, services or solutions.

4. Obtain referrals from all new customers

·        Within 30 days of delivering your product, service or solution, ask each of your new customers for at least three names and phone numbers of someone they personally know who may have a use for your products, services and solutions

Obtain customer feedback, building a portfolio of testimonials about levels of customer service and product benefits. This can be helpful in creating new marketing materials or during sales presentations.

By Tony Parinello