Do You Have a "Backup Plan" For Your Sales Strategy?
I was recently speaking with a friend of mine, Will Baccich, CEO of Global Data Vault. I was pleased to hear Will's business is thriving and growing. Global Data Vault (http://www.globaldatavault.com/) provides Advanced Data Protection, Online Backup for Servers, and Online Backup for PCs. In an uncertain world many companies and individuals are protecting their greatest asset - the information (in its many forms) they use to run and grow their business.
That got me thinking how Global Data Vault's success applies to my world of sales. My entire business of sales coaching, virtual sales management, and sales process automation services are all based off of tools, templates and documented techniques which have captured nearly two decades of entrepreneurial, sales and sales management experience. These documents allow me to "systemize" my services so I can sell more effectively, operate more efficiently, launch new clients, customize approaches to addressing specific client issues, and save time no matter what task I am conducting (whether billable client work or non-billable administrative work).
If I were to lose my data, then that would severely affect my ability to run and grow my business. So I recently signed up for PC backup services and have been very impressed and pleased with the quality and ease of use related to Global Data Vault's services. I now have a solid backup plan in case I lose all of my data due to my laptop getting stolen, corrupted or worse yet simply crashing without hope of recovery. In a sense what I purchased from Global Data Vault is "peace of mind".
The same "backup plan" principal applies to the profession of sales and sales management. Many business owners, entrepreneurs, sales leaders, and sales professionals come up with a strategy for how they will grow the business and achieve their sales goals and objectives. However, for most of these individuals that plan resides in their head and is not well-thought out and documented. In the beginning of each year this new "plan" is developed, numbers are verbally communicated to all relevant parties, and off we go! After just a couple months these same individuals are frustrated and not exactly sure how they will execute the plan from a tactical perspective to achieve their sales goals and objectives. It's easy to get distracted with daily emergencies and then enough time passes by that you forget exactly what you came up with for a sales strategy just a couple months back.
To address this issue, Sales Integrity provides a Strategic Sales Planning template and systematic approach to documenting, executing and achieving your sales (and income) goals and objectives. We recognize that coming up with sales and revenue targets is one thing but having a documented plan that helps you understand whether your targets are realistic, as well as help you understand the specific tactics you should employ to achieve your targets, is imperative to your sales success. This plan provides you the same "peace of mind" that Global Data Vault's backup services provide their customers.
Look at a Strategic Sales Plan as your "backup plan" (or a plan to back up your strategy) for how you will succeed in achieving and exceeding your sales and income goals. It is a plan you can execute from and refer to on a monthly basis to keep you on track. If you start to get off track you then take a step back (i.e. backup), refer to your plan, and make sure you are executing the plan the right way and not missing anything. Essentially, you should always have a documented plan to back up your daily, weekly and monthly activities and time spent towards achieving your sales goals and objectives. Otherwise you are wandering aimlessly throughout your sales day/week/month and just hoping you will hit your numbers.
So as a next step what should you do? First of all, determine if you have a well-thought-out sales strategy, with documented tactics, to help you understand whether your sales goals and objectives are realistic. If you don't have a plan then develop one. Once you have a plan developed, then share this plan with someone who will hold you accountable (known as an accountability partner).
Your accountability partner can be a CEO/Entrepreneur/Business Owner peer, your sales manager, a sales peer, a good friend or family member who understands your business enough to ask tough questions and push you to achieve your sales goals and objectives, or a sales coach you or your company has hired. Finally, schedule a recurring monthly (if not weekly or bi-monthly) meeting with your accountability partner to review where you are at versus your plan and to possibly adjust the plan based on what's going on in the market. This will ensure you are not forgetting valuable components of your plan and that you are doing everything necessary to achieve your sales goals and objectives.
If you want specific examples of how to accomplish these next steps, or have questions for me regarding Strategic Sales Planning, then feel free to post your questions below this blog or contact me directly through our website at http://www.salesintegrity.com/contact. Sales Integrity also hosts a monthly Sales Achievement Roundtable where we cover the topics addressed within this blog in more detail in a group setting. On Thursday, February 4, 2010 in Dallas, Texas our Sales Achievement Roundtable topic is "Strategic Sales Planning" where we will provide a template and discuss in detail how to apply strategic sales planning to your business. To learn more about that event, and to register and reserve your seat, click here.
That got me thinking how Global Data Vault's success applies to my world of sales. My entire business of sales coaching, virtual sales management, and sales process automation services are all based off of tools, templates and documented techniques which have captured nearly two decades of entrepreneurial, sales and sales management experience. These documents allow me to "systemize" my services so I can sell more effectively, operate more efficiently, launch new clients, customize approaches to addressing specific client issues, and save time no matter what task I am conducting (whether billable client work or non-billable administrative work).
If I were to lose my data, then that would severely affect my ability to run and grow my business. So I recently signed up for PC backup services and have been very impressed and pleased with the quality and ease of use related to Global Data Vault's services. I now have a solid backup plan in case I lose all of my data due to my laptop getting stolen, corrupted or worse yet simply crashing without hope of recovery. In a sense what I purchased from Global Data Vault is "peace of mind".
The same "backup plan" principal applies to the profession of sales and sales management. Many business owners, entrepreneurs, sales leaders, and sales professionals come up with a strategy for how they will grow the business and achieve their sales goals and objectives. However, for most of these individuals that plan resides in their head and is not well-thought out and documented. In the beginning of each year this new "plan" is developed, numbers are verbally communicated to all relevant parties, and off we go! After just a couple months these same individuals are frustrated and not exactly sure how they will execute the plan from a tactical perspective to achieve their sales goals and objectives. It's easy to get distracted with daily emergencies and then enough time passes by that you forget exactly what you came up with for a sales strategy just a couple months back.
To address this issue, Sales Integrity provides a Strategic Sales Planning template and systematic approach to documenting, executing and achieving your sales (and income) goals and objectives. We recognize that coming up with sales and revenue targets is one thing but having a documented plan that helps you understand whether your targets are realistic, as well as help you understand the specific tactics you should employ to achieve your targets, is imperative to your sales success. This plan provides you the same "peace of mind" that Global Data Vault's backup services provide their customers.
Look at a Strategic Sales Plan as your "backup plan" (or a plan to back up your strategy) for how you will succeed in achieving and exceeding your sales and income goals. It is a plan you can execute from and refer to on a monthly basis to keep you on track. If you start to get off track you then take a step back (i.e. backup), refer to your plan, and make sure you are executing the plan the right way and not missing anything. Essentially, you should always have a documented plan to back up your daily, weekly and monthly activities and time spent towards achieving your sales goals and objectives. Otherwise you are wandering aimlessly throughout your sales day/week/month and just hoping you will hit your numbers.
So as a next step what should you do? First of all, determine if you have a well-thought-out sales strategy, with documented tactics, to help you understand whether your sales goals and objectives are realistic. If you don't have a plan then develop one. Once you have a plan developed, then share this plan with someone who will hold you accountable (known as an accountability partner).
Your accountability partner can be a CEO/Entrepreneur/Business Owner peer, your sales manager, a sales peer, a good friend or family member who understands your business enough to ask tough questions and push you to achieve your sales goals and objectives, or a sales coach you or your company has hired. Finally, schedule a recurring monthly (if not weekly or bi-monthly) meeting with your accountability partner to review where you are at versus your plan and to possibly adjust the plan based on what's going on in the market. This will ensure you are not forgetting valuable components of your plan and that you are doing everything necessary to achieve your sales goals and objectives.
If you want specific examples of how to accomplish these next steps, or have questions for me regarding Strategic Sales Planning, then feel free to post your questions below this blog or contact me directly through our website at http://www.salesintegrity.com/contact. Sales Integrity also hosts a monthly Sales Achievement Roundtable where we cover the topics addressed within this blog in more detail in a group setting. On Thursday, February 4, 2010 in Dallas, Texas our Sales Achievement Roundtable topic is "Strategic Sales Planning" where we will provide a template and discuss in detail how to apply strategic sales planning to your business. To learn more about that event, and to register and reserve your seat, click here.
Labels: entrepreneur, sales, sales achievement roundtable, sales coaching, sales management, sales manager, sales planning, sales professional, small business owner, strategic sales planning
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6:10 PM
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