Once the process is completed, no one revisits the plan, and typically, there is a non-existent or poor plan of inspection to make sure the key elements of the plan are being executed (assuming there is a strategic plan to support the numbers). There is rarely a discussion about what happens if the plan isn't being executed or there is failure to hit certain benchmarks throughout the year that indicate success in hitting the goals. Also, the goals may be set, but they are negotiable, and usually, nothing happens when the producer is failing to do what needs to be done to hit the goal.

The worst part of most strategic sales planning efforts is that at the end of the year, if producers are between 85% to 100% of their agreed-to goals, they will probably avoid any corrective actions and keep their jobs. This renders the whole idea of establishing goals essentially useless. And the truth—most salespeople really are not motivated by the process... or the goals. Team goals are sometimes eventually met, but only because a few met or exceeded the goals (80/20 rule).

Some may consider this sort of a strategic sales planning rant, but it is really just the truths I have observed over the years. Now let me share with you what I know is the key to this.

Your organization is perfectly designed for the results you are getting today!

Truthfully, our goal here is to prompt you to begin thinking about the results you are getting from your current strategic sales planning process. If you take a look at individual as well as collective results, are you happy with the outcome? Is the outcome as good as it could be if everyone hit their goal? Is everyone hitting the goal? If so (now this may appear to be contradictory), then maybe their goals are too low. If too many people are not hitting their goals, then maybe there is something wrong with either the process or the people. Regardless of the cause—if your team is not a high-performing sales team that consistently outperforms the previous year, then something is wrong!

Here are 10 truths that will help you improve your individual and collective strategic sales planning results:

1. "Motivation is an inside-out job" (Mark Victor Hansen)
2. Your salespeople, unless they own shares, don't care about reaching goals that help drive shareholder value.
3. Your salespeople have individual dreams, aspirations, and financial requirements that they do care about and want to achieve.
4. If you have the right people, their own drive for success will always exceed any goal/quest you present to them.
5. People want to have extraordinary lives—but they need the chance to define what extraordinary is!
6. People have to know what it means to be successful, and they need to know, in advance, what it means to fail.
7. If you raise the bar, the right people will work to clear the bar.
8. If you give people minimum standards for performance, 80% of the time they will perform to the minimum standard rather than to the goal.
9. If you take the time to have personal goal discussions with your people, then take the time to:
   
   1. Have supporting activity discussions
   2. Schedule time to revisit the plans—regularly
   3. Find out to what level they will manage themselves
   4. Get permission to coach them the moment you see they are failing
   5. Set the bar for extraordinary and clearly discuss that anything short of the agreed-to objective is failing
   6. Discuss the disciplined approach you will take to help them succeed
10. Catch them early. At least 80% of your salespeople, maybe even all of them, at some time in the year, will begin to fail in executing the plan. Catch them early, address it, agree to a plan of action, and then take action.

It is early in the year, and now is the best time to make sure that your strategic sales planning is based on a strong foundation of truth. Let us know how we can help.

Think about it: What do you need your salespeople to do in the field? Most leaders would say: sell consultatively to build long-lasting relationships. What better way to build that competency with your sales team than to demonstrate it with consultative coaching?

According to Google’s AI tool, “Consultative sales coaching is a type of training that helps sales teams learn how to understand their customers' needs and offer solutions.” Isn’t that exactly what you want your people to do in the field? Think about the individuals on your team and those who consistently produce beyond the expected. There is something more than just their skills that drives their behavior and success. There is the Will to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals and the skill to execute.

Consider this example:

• A lower-performing salesperson without developed consultative skills will present earlier in the sales process than is prudent, before learning about the prospect's problems, consequences, and reasons for buying from them. They likely receive many "think-it-overs" from their prospects after presenting, and their pipeline is full of unqualified prospects.
• A high-performing consultative salesperson uncovers compelling reasons for prospects and customers to buy from them by using active listening skills to ask good, tough, and timely questions. And they do not present solutions until they have a deep understanding of the problems and know that the prospect both must and will fix the problems.

Now let’s apply this to consultative sales coaching:

• A non-consultative sales coach will typically not spend enough or any time debriefing with their salespeople on key meetings. They do not have established coaching hours on their schedule, and they do not know the personal goals of their salespeople, so they do not really know what motivates them. When they talk to a salesperson about how a prospect or client meeting went, they are likely to tell them what to do instead of asking consultative questions like, “What did they say when you asked them what their current provider has done to help them fix the problem?” or “What did they say when you asked them how long the problem had been going on?”
• Sales managers with consultative sales coaching skills will ask many questions and help the salesperson understand what they have not yet uncovered about the opportunity. They demonstrate consultative conversations with their coaching.

Consultative sales coaching matters because it is personal, based on the salesperson’s situation, drive, hopes, and dreams. Sales coaching is crucial for every organization because salespeople who report to a manager with strong consultative coaching skills tend to have 26% more closable late-stage opportunities.

Most sales coaches move up through their company because they are good producers and, because of that, are adept at selling themselves. However, they may not be as skilled at coaching their salespeople. Sales managers need a coaching system so they know when and how to intentionally and effectively coach their salespeople.

Here are the 9 Skills in our Consultative Coaching Skill Development Plan below and the link will take you to a landing page with 9 short audio clips to help you build your skills.

1. Debriefs effectively after significant calls
2. Effective on joint calls
3. Asks quality questions of their salespeople
4. Understands the impact of a salesperson’s Sales DNA
5. Can demonstrate an effective sales system
6. Is effective at getting commitments from salespeople
7. Consistently coaches skills and behaviors
8. Understands the impact of a salesperson’s Will to Sell
9. Is effective at onboarding new salespeople

Find out more about how to be a consultative sales coach here.

Here are 6 key concepts for innovation in sales:

1. Do Whatever It Takes. We call this WIT, and top producers in sales understand that they really must do whatever it takes—assuming actions are ethical and legal, of course—to help their clients, sell the next deal, and attain their goals. What this really translates to is commitment: commitment to taking the time to think broadly when it comes to a prospect or an opportunity and doing what the other salespeople do not do. This might mean staying later at work to send a communication that includes helpful resources, or it might be calling a client to ask who they might know that would benefit from meeting with you. Bottom line, WIT translates to innovation in sales because your prospect or client benefits from your willingness to serve them to your fullest potential. How committed are you or your salespeople to doing whatever it takes for your prospects and clients?

2. Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs. Napoleon Hill said, “Your only limitation is the one you set in your own mind!” This applies to everything in life and certainly impacts success in sales. High self-awareness is especially important for salespeople. Self-awareness helps you better understand the belief systems that you're consciously or unconsciously bringing into your sales calls. It also helps you understand how you might interpret a client's response to you. Here are some examples of self-limiting beliefs and more supportive beliefs: “Prospects are honest” vs. “I maintain healthy skepticism about what prospects tell me.” “Any lack of results is due to my competitors” vs. “Any lack of results is due to my own efforts.” We all have beliefs; however, being self-aware and analyzing what happens when these get in the way of a sale demonstrates innovation in sales.

3. Eliminate Non-Prospects from Pipeline. True or false: You or your salespeople have stuffed the pipeline with prospects that will not close, and you know it. There is safety in numbers, another saying, that when it comes to pipeline is unfortunately not true. Top salespeople are adept at fully qualifying their prospects along the process and eliminating them as soon as possible from their pipeline when they know that they are not qualified. In most cases, these salespeople have some mental or actual checklist they follow to understand if a prospect “fits” their criteria. Here is our Prospect Qualifying Scorecard that can help you and your salesperson make sure to eliminate non-prospects from the pipeline sooner rather than later.

4. Follow a Sales Process. The data is clear on this one: 93% of top producers follow a stage-based systematic sales process. Following a process keeps them from skipping a step in the buyer-seller journey. For example, do you or any of your salespeople skip too quickly from uncovering a problem/pain issue to providing a solution? This is a common example of not following a sales process because the salesperson has skipped over fully uncovering and understanding how painful the problem is, if the prospect has the time, money, and resources to fix the problem, what the decision-making process is, and if they are committed to fixing the problem. Following a consistent and systematic sales process is like following the instructions for assembling a piece of new equipment. It helps to ensure that it is constructed properly and will work! While sales processes themselves are not new, being adept at effectively executing a sales process truly is innovation in sales.

5. Prospect & Bring in New Business. This one is clear and short. Prospect every day. Find all potential avenues to reach prospects that fit your target. Innovation comes from the execution of this effort, as most do not execute on a daily basis. Prospecting for a salesperson must be Job #1.

6. Overcome Rejection. This is one of the most important findings from the sales evaluation that we utilize—the pioneer and leader in the industry, Objective Management Group. Here is a short description below:

   a. When this is a Weakness, an individual might feel hurt and hesitate for some period of time before reaching out to a prospect after being rejected.
   b. When this is a Strength, an individual might get back on another sales call immediately after being rejected without feeling hurt.

Elite salespeople are fast to get back on the wagon, and doing so helps them move on to the next, perhaps more positive experience, so that they do not dwell on the negative perspective of being rejected by a prospect. Top producers also take the time to analyze what happened and identify what went wrong in their process, enabling them to self-correct. In this area, innovation lies not in recognizing errors but in learning from them and applying those lessons to future opportunities.

Sales Prospecting Tips

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

1. Respond promptly: 63% of buyers expect a response to their inquiry the same day. (Training Industry)
2. Make the calls: Pick up the phone and call someone. Do it again and again, every day.
3. Leverage reviews: Ask for testimonials and introductions from top clients. According to Training Industry, 69% of small businesses rely on reviews first to select potential providers.
4. Stay committed: It takes 14 attempts to reach a contact, but most salespeople give up after 3-4 attempts. If you are simply more committed than the salesperson sitting next to you, you will see greater success.
5. Love the word ‘no’: Qualify prospects early to avoid wasted time.
6. Use tools: Scorecards can save time by identifying high-quality leads. Download our free Prospect Scorecard here.
7. Determine the decision-makers: Present only to those with the authority to say yes or no.
8. Qualify priorities: Always close the initial call with this question – “Is your problem just a problem, or is it a priority?” That will help you better qualify prospects.
9. Bridge the generation gap: Tailor your approach based on generational preferences—boomers value connection, Gen X appreciates efficiency, millennials expect transparency, and Gen Z thrives on authenticity and digital tools.

Sales Planning Tips

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

10. Create a work plan: Put your 2025 work plan (not business plan) in writing, sign and date it, make a copy for you and your manager, review it during each and every coaching session. We have a sales work plan template you can download, here.
11. Be consistent: Commit to measurable weekly activities for business growth.
12. Guard your time: Treat appointments with yourself as sacred.
13. Follow the process: Avoid rushing to close; qualify leads and understand their needs.

Selling Tips

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

14. Be personal: Use technology, but don’t rely on automation.
15. Hold your value: Don’t sell off of price or discount. If you are selling a quality product, believe in the quality and don’t waver. Not every prospect is going to be a fit for your business and that’s okay. Go find more that do and don’t settle.
16. Focus on helping: Stop worrying about selling somebody something and start worrying about helping somebody. Simply have a goal of making somebody smarter for having met with you.  Try to find some way to help them.
17. Create urgency: Salespeople should have a reasonable sense of urgency around selling. Managers should create a reasonable sense of urgency with your salespeople/teams.
18. Consider these 3 non-offensive closing questions: Do you believe I fully understand the business challenges you have shared? Based on what I have shared with you, do you believe I can help you with these problems? Would you like my help?

Sales Mindset Tips

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

19. Pursue with purpose: Remember – your ability to pursue greatly exceeds the prospect’s ability to ignore.
20. Value time: There is no such thing as time management; time manages itself very well. Everyone gets 1,440 minutes each day no matter how great or how poor a time manager we are. Use it wisely.
21. Find your fuel: Discover your motivation and let it drive you.
22. Stay the course: If you aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, then you have what we call “conditional commitment.” Great salespeople are committed to doing what is required to be successful—even when the going gets tough.
23. Celebrate wins, and learn from every loss.
24. Be curious: Talk to your prospect like you are talking to your best friend or a family member. Have a conversation- ask questions, be inquisitive. Don’t let the pressure of selling something distract you.
25. Support your team: Encourage and support each other each and every single day.

Go write that first chapter of 2025 and make it an extraordinary year!

Author:
The Team at Anthony Cole Training Group

Perception

Over the last 30 years, I’ve observed that salespeople tend to categorize all sales calls based on their products or services:

• Lenders often start sales calls by discussing whether the client needs a loan or how they can access capital.
• Employee benefits consultants focus on improving coverage and pricing.
• Property and casualty agents zero in on risk vulnerabilities, assessments, and price.
• Investment advisors prioritize discussions about maximizing returns, minimizing taxes, or reducing financial risk.

These approaches stem from our perception of what the client wants or needs. This perception typically arises from two factors:

1. Years of experience in the business.
2. The prospect's initial words during the setup of the meeting.

However, this perception can be flawed for two reasons:

1. Years of experience don’t reflect the current reality.
   Golf provides a great analogy. Every round is different—weather, fairway conditions, green rolls, and pin placements constantly change. Similarly, sales situations are dynamic, and relying solely on past experiences can lead to missteps.
2. What the prospect tells you initially is rarely the whole truth.
   It’s not that they’re lying, but they often describe symptoms rather than the root problem. Or they may present a problem that’s a byproduct of a larger issue.

To overcome these limitations, we must broaden our thinking and question our initial perceptions. By doing so, we can better identify the actual problems we need to solve.

Consistency

Top-performing salespeople demonstrate the importance of consistency. Research shows that 80% of the top 25% of salespeople follow a consistent sales process. What does this entail?

• Milestone-centric processes: Their approach is systematic, ensuring each step leads to a decision. This eliminates indecision and delays.
• Documentation: They record what happens at each step to track progress and identify gaps.
• Data analysis: They evaluate data to pinpoint choke points that hinder faster, higher-margin sales.
• Modeling success: They use data to replicate success consistently.

This mirrors the habits of a good golfer. Great golfers approach each shot systematically: they position their hands consistently, align correctly for putts, and maintain focus. Their methodical approach leads to lower scores and better performance compared to inconsistent players like me.

Commitment Matters

I’d love to improve my golf game, but I know it takes a deeper commitment than what I’m currently giving. Similarly, if you’re looking to improve your approach to selling—selling more, faster, and at better margins—it might be worth reflecting on how your level of commitment aligns with your goals.

Read & Share our Top 25 Sales Tips of 2025