How to Simplify Sales Planning
Posted by Ron Snyder in Sales planning | 1 comments
You need tools, including apps, that enable the user to do their job easier, faster, better.
Let's take the case of sales planning apps, for example those that enable a salesperson to do
good territory or strategic account planning.
The app itself must be easy to use. It must provide specific functionality that gives the user
unique insight into their territory, accounts and enable the user to:
- Create strategic plans
- Gain insight into their target market
- Identify sales opportunities
- Prioritize their accounts and opportunities
- Identify and develop important relationships
- Establish competitive differentiation
- Take meaningful action to implement their plan
Further, it is important to have the app reside within the CRM/Sales Force Automation tool of
choice, making it easier to:
- Actively work the plan
- Enable team participation
- Coach the sales team
- Share best practices
- Respond to change quickly and effectively
- Report on and track progress
If your sales people had a tool like this, wouldn’t they do a better job and improve their
results?
4 Ways to Get the Most from Your Sales Plan
Posted by Ron Snyder in Sales planning | 0 comments
The best salespeople I know have a sales plan, check it regularly and update it often. In our
dynamic world, this has become imperative- to respond to the changes in our industries,
territories, accounts and competition.
1. Check/Update It Often
Have it with you or have it easily accessible (i.e. via mobile access). Keep it up-to-date so
that it reflects the changes in your selling environment. Reviewing the plan helps you see what
you are missing; key players, articulating important aspects of your offering, responding to
important opportunities and threats.
2. Have It in Your Sales Force Automation System
This enables you to easily refer to, review and update the plan. It also makes it visible to
other members of the team so they can help you achieve your objectives.
3. Review It with Management
Getting management input helps you catch something you missed and keeps the plan fresh. Further,
this enables you to get management support to get access to the resources needed as identified
in your plan.
4. Use It in Your Quarterly Business Review
Rather than either starting from scratch to prepare your quarterly business review, or starting
with an out of date plan from last quarter, using your current plan saves time. Many of our
clients present their quarterly business reviews out of our territory and account planning apps,
saving additional time.
The Ultimate Predictor of Sales Success
Posted by Ron Snyder in Sales planning | 1 comments
In the movie, "Money Ball," a young Yale graduate who has never played or managed baseball, comes
up with a better measure to predict a team's success. Rather than the traditional measures of
batting average, home runs, hits, etc., he said the objective is to get on base more often. If
you get on base more often, you will produce more runs and more runs will produce more wins. So,
they managed to “on base percentage” and took the Oakland A’s to the American League playoffs
spending much less money than other teams. Two years later, the Red Sox used this approach and
won the World Series.
The “Advance” is the analogous measure in sales. An Advance occurs when a
potential buyer commits to do something specific in a specific time frame that moves the sale
forward. If you earn more Advances and progress through the sales process more readily, you will
win more sales. So, the Advance is the key leading indicator of sales success.
It is important to create a clear picture of the stages in the sales process and the key
milestones within each stage. Management’s role is to use this to help the sales team navigate
from one stage to the next; achieving more Advances more efficiently.
Sales & Marketing 2.0 Conference Take-Aways
Posted by Ron Snyder in Sales planning | 1 comments
As I reflect on the Sales & Marketing 2.0 conference, I see that organizations need to:
- Connect with buyers- respond quickly, engage them via video (live, on-line, in email).
- Ensure sales and marketing align to identify, target and touch empowered buyers.
- Engage users. Make it easy for the to get full value from the tool/method.
- Identify and implement the critical few strategies and metrics that drive results.
- Integrate in one place your tools and methods that drive results (i.e. your CRM).
- Communicate across boundaries (internal functions, organizations).
- Use video more (prerecorded and live) because it brings back the person-to-person connection that is getting lost in today’s selling environment.
- Build support connections that are easy to generate (i.e. through networking, acquaintances) and expand my reach and impact- by being more active in LinkedIn, twitter… and facebook.
- Participate in and help develop the value of online communities by delivering valuable content, asking questions that illuminate and sharing my experience.
- Manage the conflicting priorities in a world that is moving at the “speed of thought.”
Engage buyers- once they want to talk with you, respond quickly, engage via video (live, on-line, email… Brainshark, imeet)
2010 resolution – Up sell and Cross sell
Posted by Steven in Sales planning | 0 comments
Want to sell more to your customers? Re-Prospect
More and more I hear sales leaders talk about up sell and cross sell with their team. The situation
as we all know is that it costs 80% less and takes 50% less time to sell more to people who are
buying from you, than to acquire new customers. The problem is that few sales people really know how
to accomplish this task. The method that I have found to work is simply to
re-prospect.
What the hell is re-prospecting you ask? It is simple, but not easy. Simply approach your
customers as if you know nothing about them and have honest conversations about them and their
business.
Want to sell more to your customers? Re-Prospect
Q4 Sales Plannning for Sales Effectiveness
Posted by Steven in Sales planning | 0 comments
Okay... Here we are. We are getting on close to fourth quarter. We have 3 months to complete the year and hit our number. Fortunately, this looks to be a less tough selling environment. So how are you going to approach your sales territory in the fourth quarter? How are you going to increase your personal sales effectiveness? Are you going to make more sales calls? More cold calls? Are you going to sell more to your existing customers? Try everything, all of above? Here are some ideas..
