Will you make it through the current economic turmoil?

 

Part 5.1 - Execution Power: Direction

 

Overview... where we are at so far
A quick summary as to where we are at so far along the journey of making it through the current economic turmoil. In the first newsletter of this series I told you that there are just 4 key codes that must be in place if you want to unlock the power of your sales team and navigate your way through this current economic turmoil and beyond. In Part 1, we looked at the 4 types of salespeople that make up a sales team and why your biggest bunch of losers may also be your greatest opportunity. We discussed whether or not you have the right people on your sales team to carry your company through the rapids of economic.

 

In Part 2, we looked at the first of the 4 Key codes you'll need to construct a highly functional sales team the first of the 4 Key codes you'll need to construct a highly functional sales team - Sales Strategy.

Then in Part 3 we examined the second Key code: Process Power: The key to creating predictable, consistent and repeatable sales revenue generation.

Knowledge Power was the third of the Key codes required to unlock the power of your sales team and navigate your way through this current economic tumult. This area was further subdivided into the three types of knowledge salespeople must have to reach their potential. The first one looked at: Self-Knowledge Management.

Self knowledge was followed by the second of the three types of knowledge: People Persuasion Skills. 

Finally we looked at the final type of knowledge required for salespeople to reach their potential: Product knowledge. 

Today we will examine the fourth and final Key code, “Execution”. This Key code will also be examined over 3 newsletters:

1. Direction
2. Action
3. Consequences

 The 3 Elements That Ensure Execution

Whilst most salespeople have a sales goal, a goal that is either imposed upon them, or one that is self selected, having a goal is one thing, but knowing the route that needs to be taken to achieve that objective is another thing entirely!

There is a well known expression which says, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This most definitely applies in the selling arena. Better and more effective planning is the key to producing consistent and predictable sales numbers. More effective sales plans will create build and nurture a healthy sales pipeline. A well thought out and well managed Sales Performance Plan will ensure that your salespeople attain their sales quotas and meet your revenue goals. Having an effective Sales selling plan will also help you to even out those frustrating revenue peaks and valleys.

Most sales plans are simply “a number"!

In my role as a sales strategist, I have seen many supposed sales plans, but on closer inspection, most of these “sales plans” are simply numbers to be achieved. They tend to only feature the specified objectives that are expected to be accomplished. Examples of these include:

• Develop two new distribution channels for the XYZ product range
• Exceed our sales budget by $300K in the first two quarters
• Add 20 new accounts 
• Retain 80% of the current customer base 
• Achieve a 42% margin
• Achieve $600K sales with the new XYZ product range
• Achieve total territory sales of $1.25 million

A Sales Performance Plan must provide details on how that number or objective is expected to be achieved. It specifies exactly what needs to be done, by whom, and by when in order to achieve the goals outlined in the plan.

The quickest way to build a sales plan is to divide your sales revenue objective in to two buckets.

Bucket 1 = sales that you can count on. In other words, sales revenues you can “COUNT ON” will typically come from the following sources:

• Re-orders
• Promised orders
• Known upgrades
• Service contract renewals
• Quote bank – likelihood of closure (this number must be based on prior sales conversion rates and must always be conservative as we always expect to do better than we do in reality)
• Back/forward orders
• Average (percentage) repeat sales from existing customers(this number must be based on prior repeat sales averages and must always be conservative)
• Over the counter sales
• Existing channel partners/agents (based on previous years averages)  

The best way to calculate the amount of sales revenue you can expect from the above revenue streams is to review your sales from these areas over the last financial year or two. Then, by using averages, conservatively estimate what you can expect those streams to generate in the year to come.

Bucket 2 = sales revenues you must “HUNT FOR”.

“HUNT FOR” sales represent the gap between the sales you can COUNT ON and your actual sales revenue budget. “HUNT FOR” sales revenues are derived from your marketing and prospecting efforts. “HUNT FOR” sales are generated from those prospects who have not yet become customers or regular customers. Your “HUNT FOR” sales have not yet made it into your sales pipeline.

Typically one’s “HUNT FOR” sales will come from the following sources:

• Selling additional products/services to existing customers
• Broadening the penetration of your key accounts into other departments
• Whipping up new business
• Selling new products/services to both existing and new accounts
• Selling more existing products/services to both existing and new accounts
• Bundling or packaging groups of products /services together to meet customers’ needs or solve their problems
• Selling higher margin products/services
• Increasing sales through existing channel partners or new agents/distributors.

An effective sales plan will also include a brief description of the actions required in order to achieve each specific goal. The sales plan must briefly specify the following:

• Who: Who are the individuals responsible for achieving what needs to be done?
• What: What is required to be done to achieve the goal?
• When: By when must the required actions be done?
• Tactics: What tactics will be required to achieve the goal?
• Resources: What resources will be required to achieve the goal?
• Measures: How will success be measured, by whom and when?

To find out how to create a detailed sales plan refer to my book “Bulletproof your Sales Team” for a comprehensive, step by step recipe on how to build one.

As the saying goes, “Direction is more important than speed”. If you don’t know where you are headed then any road will get you there. The challenge when it comes to selling is that our revenue raising journey is limited by time and resources, therefore one cannot afford to just take any route towards achieving our sales goals. You must have a plan. You must have a direction.    

"We Are So Busy Looking At Our Speedometers That We Forget The Milestone.”

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