You clicked to this page because you did not have a 2014 plan.
Writing a business plan is a great way to plan out your sales year...and even if you didn't do one in January, you still have the ability to write a plan for the remainder of the year.
There are many resources on how to write a sales plan. Please click on one of the links below....after that, check out how I do my plan.
Mike Weinberg provides this free template
Why should you have a business plan?
Ken Thoreson's take on business plans for salespeople
Here is how I go about writing a business plan. I ask myself some important questions, and I must work my way backwards.
You know your business, so you can figure out your metrics. The ket is being honest and realistic. If you aren't a strong cold caller, then you probably want to increase your deal size, as opposed to increasing the # of calls.
Good questions to ask yourself:
Once you create this business plan, you must consistently re-evaluate it. It should be a living document.
Get to work!
Writing a business plan is a great way to plan out your sales year...and even if you didn't do one in January, you still have the ability to write a plan for the remainder of the year.
There are many resources on how to write a sales plan. Please click on one of the links below....after that, check out how I do my plan.
Mike Weinberg provides this free template
Why should you have a business plan?
Ken Thoreson's take on business plans for salespeople
Here is how I go about writing a business plan. I ask myself some important questions, and I must work my way backwards.
- For example, If my goal is to earn $300,000 this year in commissions, I will need to sell at least 3,000,000 worth of product (at a 10% commission rate)
- Because my average sale is $250,000, I need to close at least 12 contracts this year. One per month.
- Because my close ratio is 25%, I need to present to 4 new prospects each month (48 for the year)
- Because I have to speak to 8 prospects in order to get one meeting, I need to speak with 32 prospects per month.
- Because I don't connect with every prospect (not everyone is reachable), I figure I need to make 100 calls in order to reach 32 prospects on the phone.
- With 4 weeks in the month, i need to make at least 25 phone calls TO UNIQUE PROSPECTS in a week...
You know your business, so you can figure out your metrics. The ket is being honest and realistic. If you aren't a strong cold caller, then you probably want to increase your deal size, as opposed to increasing the # of calls.
Good questions to ask yourself:
- How much do I want to earn this year?
- What do I have to sell in order to earn that amount?
- What prospects will I need to sell in order to achieve this goal?
- What is my quota?
- Is there a performance based promotion that I can reach this year?
- Does my company have a "President's Club" that I can shoot for?
- What can possibly stop me from achieving these goals?
Once you create this business plan, you must consistently re-evaluate it. It should be a living document.
Get to work!
