(By Loyd Ford) It is undeniable that having a solid plan to boost the power and production of your sales team can have a dynamic and Earth-changing impact on you, your revenue and the happiness of your sales team if done correctly.
As we approach the middle of the year, nothing says you can’t revise your plan to maximize how you leverage the back half of the year, especially with the changes in the market from inflation to fear by planning out the finish to your year. There’s a lot going on and the targets for sales move, don’t they?
As a great business plan lays out goals for the business, your final half of the year sales plan should lay out your objectives, best tactics, specific target audience, specific customer targets and the expected obstacles (as well as leaving room for the unexpected). If you do an exercise like the one, we are sharing, it refocuses your team in a most valuable way and can have an amazing ability to grow revenue through the end of 2022.
- Your sales plan should include information about your target customers, the revenue you want to see in the last half of your year, team dynamics and structure to get it done as well as the strategies and resources needed to hit those goals.
- You want a plan that clearly communicates your objectives.
- Plan your pricing responsibly and be nimble for opportunities; things change regularly. If you are more on top of this than the market, you will win, win, win.
- You want to provide a very specific strategic direction and make sure everyone on your team is on the same page.
- Outline specifics, including individual roles and responsibilities.
- Make a plan so every seller sees that management is willing to and committed to supporting them through the entire balance of the year.
- Consistently monitor individual sellers progress and give regular feedback as a part of your plan.
Any planning that you do, any process that you share should value change, opportunities and use of the speed of radio as an advantage.
Any sales planning process, coaching and monitoring should involve a passion-filled focus on problem-solving for clients and potential clients on the local seller level and this should be clearly supported by sales management and the company.
Sales Planning
You may be like us – we are big believers in both planning and process along with sharp execution.
- Encourage individual sales contact planning for every interaction with clients and potential clients.
- Always keep a keen eye on the market for your clients and potential clients (this is like keeping your ear to the ground, but more selflessly; focus on customers and their needs).
- Remind yourself and your team regularly that your plan must be the focus and focus can only come through sharp execution daily and wicked fast communication
- Determine with your team how you will define success for your goals individually and as a team.
- Always include sales forecasting at every level.
- Keep everyone’s attention by always coming with new ideas, opportunities for the balance of the year (and as you look at 2023).
- Continuously involve every member of your team regularly – you want stakeholders to have ownership of the plan and process.
- Focus on action consistently and make that missional and known to every team member.
Search For Trends
- Stress knowing more about your customer, their world, their competitive environment, their challenges around gaining new customers, getting customers to spend more time with them.
- Spend time with the data in your market and encourage your sellers to do the same while you teach how to turn data into dollars (this is all about specific client and potential client need now).
Keep your team updated on the progress in your plan and praise the reaching of smaller goals in public. Make it clear that your sales planning wasn’t a one-time meeting, but that you are making planning, strategy and process pillars of your business.
Always Watch Conditions In Your Market
And inside individual categories. Things can change rapidly and the focus must shift to the higher ground. Someone is always benefiting when things change. Our job is to find out who is benefiting and get in front of them with local marketing opportunities that can impact their business by becoming well-known as the team and/or individuals that solve problems.
We say this all the time. Most battles are won before the first shot is fired. This is true in war. It’s true in programming, promotions and sales.
Life comes at you fast. The balance of your year is coming. Plan to get your unfair share by planning, having a great strategy, focusing on process and sharp execution and you’ll arrive in 2023 looking like a boss.
Loyd Ford is president and chief strategic officer at Rainmaker Pathway Consulting Works (RPC). Reach Loyd at 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
