New Year New Sales Plan

‘Tis now about the time you get to go through that fun-filled activity as a rep of telling your boss what you’ll do over the coming year, and how you’ll do it.

I recently came across a firm with a fine bit of tech kit. It’s in the digital space that aims to improve workflow productivity and reduce ‘paper’.

So. They produced a marketing budget for the coming twelve months. And with it, a page-and-a-half of explanation.

Not a million miles away from a sales territory plan, you might think. So what did it feature?

Under the rather underwhelming headline of the ‘marketing theme’, which incidentally, was to “put themselves on the map”, where these ten questions, answered;

1. our reason for existence
2. what sets my business apart from the rest
3. our ideal customer is
4. what’s most important to our ideal customer when they are buying what I’m selling
5. what we want to accomplish this year
6. the top 3 things that are going to get us there
7. how much will each (marketing) program contribute to our revenue/profitability
8. what will trigger our ideal customer to think of me
9. programs I am running to reach my goal
10. how much money will I need to get it done

To start with, I quite like the ‘ten questions’ vibe. It’d look quite cool on a single landscape slide, theme across the top, with two columns filled in, tonally perhaps in your corporate colour, with the (brief) answers.

For the quota-bearing salespro, there’s also some overlap here as regards the marketing questions above. The first six could almost come straight across for instance, as well as that one about ‘trigger’.

Other elements that we’d need to add include such as;

• the most important (prospect) role in our universe and how you’ll cultivate them
• the critical sales activity you’ll work in to each deal
• the key client ‘problem’ you’re on the look out for

And then there’s the numbers. We must put these in;

• growth
• volumes
• raw prospects required
• estimated close rates
• profits

…and all that.

The list above as I read it first, struck me as like something downloaded from the web after searching for ‘ten point marketing plan’!

Many salesteams have their own new year review structures to follow. If they don’t, then now is just right time enough to slate in a one-on-one with your boss to go through it. All it’ll take by way of prep is a couple of hours for you.

Make sure you have something that isn’t as wet as ‘to put yourself on the map’ as your headline theme.

Then there’s one final point you must address. A bit like the final one on this marketeer’s list. Put in the extra resource you’ll need to make it happen. Now’s your best chance to grab it, so lobby right away…