Remember this; “You do not decide your future. You decide your habits, and your habits decide your future” - F.M. Alexander. 

This blog will teach you how to create a sales action plan to help you outline the steps that will assist you in reaching, or better yet, exceeding your sales and personal goals!

Sales Action Plan

Here are the 8 steps for your Sales Action Plan:

1. Establish your personal goals

   We recommend starting with way too many goals, in fact, around 100 so that you think broad and deep and expand your thinking. Then categorize those 100 goals into types such as; personal, business, spiritual, wellness, etc., boil them down to the top 12 non-negotiable goals with details and timelines and don’t forget to set your BHAG (big, hairy, aggressive goal). This is the one goal that is shooting for the stars. If you want to know more about the goal-setting process for your company or personal purposes, reach out, and we will share the Extraordinary Goal Setting Process.
   

2. Create a Success Formula for new business

   The Success Formula outlines the specific activities and counts of those activities that a salesperson must execute to reach their goals. Yes, there is a way to create a formula for this based on each individual’s effectiveness. It is important to understand that if you must reach $500,000 in sales, how many outreaches, contacts, appointments, opportunities, proposals, and closes are necessary. And we will point out that salespeople have weaknesses at each step, and these are coachable, but only if you have the data! We will make it easy for you; use our Sales Success Formula.
   
   

3. Determine your key initiatives

   In the world of selling, key initiatives should point to prospecting or building relationships. All salespeople should have key initiatives of asking for introductions from their best clients, building relationships with Centers of Influence, and segmenting their current client base into the top tier, middle tier, and bottom tier with activities they will do for each. Another key initiative could be to grow relationships with current clients by X%. Be careful about setting non-sales-related key initiatives unless you can attach a direct relationship to the growth of your book.  
   
   

4. Establish your Smart Numbers – your key measurements for success

   These are simply the specific business goals that you will track and communicate regularly. For salespeople, these likely include; average sale amount, number of sales per month and year, number of proposals, and close rate. We have a smart number that we track called “pull-through rate” which is what percentage of our proposals close. This is important to determine if we are putting a proposal out to a prospect too early and if so, we need to improve our qualifying. These smart numbers are used to evaluate or benchmark performance between salespeople, and the Scorecard, and they are very effective when shared with the team.
   
   

5. Figure out what you should start and stop doing

   Staying focused on sales activities is not easy. It is easier to default to account maintenance, running down an Ops problem, and doing administrative work (which is sometimes necessary of course). Top-tier salespeople keep doing sales activities and stop doing whatever they can that is not helpful. They are good at understanding what is critical in their day and schedule that time, and they do not make excuses. They are very good at downloading nonproductive work to others. What are you doing that you need to stop, and that will allow you to start doing other activities that will help you grow your book of business? Make your list!

6. Create your sales & marketing plan

   In the workplan available below, you will see a sample marketing plan. These are your categories of activities that are of the highest priority that will drive the achievement of your goals, such as Networking, COIs, LinkedIn, Introductions, Social Media outreach, and video emails. Let’s face it, the world of selling has evolved dramatically in the last couple of years, and the days of in-person selling have changed. The buyer finds everything they need online, and if you are not found in that search process, you may not even know about the possible opportunity. Sales and marketing are more connected now than ever before, so make sure to create a plan and inspect it regularly and be adaptable to what is working for your business.

   
   

7. Review, respond and redirect as needed

   This may seem obvious but think about a sport that you enjoy watching. What happens if what a person or team is doing is not working or not working well enough? Do they keep running the same plays, or do they start serving to a competitor’s backhand or rushing the net instead of playing the backcourt? Good tennis players will change their strategies to gain an edge, and make their competition uncomfortable. The same is true of salespeople. If you are not reviewing your plan, you will not know if you should be adjusting your activity!
   
   

8. Don’t forget to celebrate your success

   This is the most overlooked step but what we know is that top-tier salespeople reward themselves by reaching their personal goals. Make sure that you do not forget to share your goals and celebrate them with your most important people. Why are you in this crazy business of selling otherwise?!
   

For more details on this approach, you can download our Sales Action Plan template today and get started. Remember, the best time to plant a tree is today so get started now growing your sales action plan and results.

There are three core sales competencies indicative of a salesperson who will set stretch goals and create an action to reach those goals.

However, identifying and establishing personal goals, as well as following an 8 step process, is critical to creating an effective sales action plan.

At the beginning of our goal-setting sales training, we always start with this: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? This is a great question to kick off the thought process and discussion around establishing goals which are the basis for creating a sales action plan. Think about those on your team whom you know you can rely on to establish their goals, do the activity necessary and bring in the results. What skills and characteristics do they have? There are a couple of findings from the Objective Management Group sales evaluation that are indicative of a salesperson who will set stretch goals and create an action to reach those goals. Here are three of those core sales competencies:

1. An action-oriented and successful salesperson will always take responsibility for their efforts and their results. They will not blame the company, the market, or anything else if they do not reach their goals. They take ownership and will address the problem with a statement such as “I did not do the activity needed to reach…” While responsibility can be taught, you should be on the lookout for this quality when you interview new candidates.
2. Goal and action-oriented salespeople enjoy selling. That may seem obvious however there are plenty of sales folks who do not score that well in this finding. If you enjoy selling, you are more likely to naturally do what it takes; the hard work of calling prospects, getting plenty of rejection, not letting it get you down, and getting back on the phone. The enjoyment of selling helps these salespeople create and live their sales action plans and they have fun doing it!
3. Successful salespeople establish personal goals (different from company goals) and they are meaningful goals like a safari next June or a vacation house on the lake. These salespeople also have a plan to reach their personal goals with activities, a timeline, and a system to track their progress. Usually, their goals are non-negotiable, however, their plan to reach them may shift as needed. The OMG evaluation identifies these traits and you need to know these when you are hiring.

Sales Action Plan Ideas

“You do not decide your future. You decide your habits and your habits decide your future”- F.M. Alexander. This post is about how to make an action plan for sales but just a few comments about the goal-setting process. We recommend starting with way too many goals, in fact around 100, so that you think broad and deep and expand your thinking. Then categorize those 100 goals into types such as personal, business, spiritual, wellness, etc. After, boil them down to the top 12 non-negotiable goals with details and timelines, and don’t forget to set your BHAG (big, hairy, aggressive goal). This is the one goal that is really shooting for the stars. If you want to know more about the goal-setting process for your company or personal purposes, reach out and we will share the Extraordinary Goal Setting Process.

Here are the 8 steps for your Sales Action Plan:

1. Establish your personal goals
2. Create a Success Formula for new business
3. Determine your key initiatives
4. Establish your Smart numbers – your key measurements for success
5. Figure out what you should Start and Stop Doing
6. Create your sales & marketing plan
7. Review, respond and redirect as needed
8. Don’t forget to celebrate your success!

For more details on this approach, you can download our Sales Action Plan template today and get started. Remember, the best time to plant a tree is today so get started now growing your sales action plan and results.

Top producers have mastered many skills. However, we know that all salespeople, including top salespeople, still struggle with 3 primary sales challenges.

Selling is not for everyone but for those “elite” salespeople, it is a most rewarding career. These top producers have mastered many skills including positioning their value to prospects and clients, as well as following a stage-based sales process. Additionally, we know that all salespeople, including the cream of the crop, struggle with 3 primary sales challenges

Sales Challenge #1: Differentiating– how to be Unique

Everyone in selling has been taught the elevator speech, the 15-second commercial, the value proposition, the positioning statement, etc.  You know it's supposed to describe what you do: 

• "I help companies like yours manage their insurance risk." 
• "I sell customized clothing to busy executives."
• "I own a CPA and tax consulting practice specializing in the needs of companies that generate between 5 and 10 million dollars in revenue".

Sound familiar? That's the problem. There is nothing unique about the approach from any one of these statements. That is why being unique is one of the biggest sales challenges.

You have to give the prospect a compelling reason to keep listening. What you say should cause the person with whom you are talking to respond either verbally or mentally in one of three ways;

1. That's me.
2. How do you do that?
3. Tell me more.

When creating your “unique sales approach” (USA) or elevator pitch, answer the following questions;

• What people or companies have chosen to do business with you/your company?
• Why did someone buy the product/service that you offer?
• What problem was it that they wanted to solve? 
• What benefit were they looking for that they weren't getting?

Here are a few examples:

• Insurance: "I provide people buckets of money in the right amount, at the right cost, and at the right time." (How do you do that?)
• Banking: "My clients are companies that discovered that working with a bank should be more than just a place to get money or leave money." (Tell me more.)
• Accounting: "I'm in the business of helping small businesses that are sick and tired of sending the government more money and keeping less." (That's me!)

Sales Challenge #2: Selling consultatively

Consultative selling is a vague term which is why it’s one of the biggest sales challenges. The OMG sales evaluation, the top sales assessment tool for 11 years, has identified these 9 specific attributes for consultative selling:

1. Asks “great” questions. These are questions that help uncover a problem or opportunity. They should not cause you to go into presentation mode.
2. Asks “enough” questions. Do you dig down beneath the surface to understand the impact of the problem on their personal or business situation? Do you stop when you think you have enough to put together a proposal or continue to drill down?
3. Develops strong relationships. This goes beyond the chit-chat to a place where real trust develops. It is a process, not an event.
4. Presents at the appropriate times. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to present and, other times, we get ahead of the prospect.
5. Uncovers issues. Skilled salespeople uncover real problems that exist or might come about if the situation is neglected.  It is understanding your prospect's business challenges beyond the “product” you might offer.
6. Understands how prospects will buy. Remember, it’s their process; however, your questions can help drive self-discovery and urgency.
7. Takes nothing for granted. Elite salespeople understand that at any time, things can go south – they always have a bit of skepticism. It is a process to build a relationship-based solution.
8. Asks tough questions. Anyone can ask the layups; prepare to ask questions even when it is uncomfortable.  That is really the best way to establish yourself as a trusted adviser but it takes courage.
9. Listens and asks questions with ease. Listening does not mean waiting for your turn to talk.  Listen to understand what the prospect is really trying to tell you and then ask your question to clarify what you heard.  Don’t assume you know.

Sales Challenge #3: Knowing when it’s over

What do all salespeople struggle with the most? They have a difficult time recognizing that their pursuit of a prospect is over (even when the prospect hasn’t told them in those exact words). Most don’t want to entertain the possibility and that is why it is one of the biggest challenges in sales. But, why? I mean, it’s not like it has not happened to them before.

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is; “how do I/we increase sales” or “how do I become more successful in sales?” And the best answer I have is that you get better when you recognize two fundamental truths:

1. You are going to lose more often than you win.
2. When you are going to lose, you want to lose early.

Stop dreaming and start asking questions. Ask questions that allow you to confirm that your prospect has a problem they have to fix and that now is the time to fix it. Operate with a bias for disqualification so you are not so surprised when the conclusion is it’s time to move on. No is ok provided you hear it at the right time in your sales process.

With the past couple of years working remotely, many of your bankers’ skills are rusty and they may not be using the tech tools they should be. During these times, they must be better than ever before at reaching out and communicating effectively and consistently.

Here are 3 keys to evaluating the right banking sales training program that will help your relationship managers adjust to the new selling environment.

It’s no surprise that, with continuing pandemic issues and concerns, many clients and prospects are avoiding our bank lobbies. And why not, with online access to almost everything? So how will your salespeople continue to build relationships and keep your best customers? With the past couple of years working remotely, many of your bankers’ skills are rusty and they may not be using the tech tools they should be. During these times, they must be proficient, actually, they must be better than ever before at reaching out and communicating effectively and consistently. This is key for most banks to sustain and build relationships, grow loans, and achieve higher net interest margins.

Here are 3 key ideas to make sure that your banking sales training is helping your relationship managers adjust to this new normal, and increasingly remote selling environment:

1. Make certain that your bank is focused on helping your salespeople blend the value of human touch with digital assistance. According to a recent Banking Exchange article, this is the new frontier in customer engagement. So, what does that mean? They must be able to assist customers and prospects in navigating these digital options and provide a holistic, consultative approach. Because of our new “anywhere economy,” our customers expect the ability to conduct all their business remotely and on any device. Think about your own experiences with digital platforms – you might love the convenience but often need that human interaction to make the experience successful. I am working with a new platform for prospecting called ZoomInfo Intent. The system helps to understand what companies are searching for keywords that describe our services, which could be very helpful but I have encountered the need to have human help along the way. This is your relationship manager’s greatest opportunity – to be ready to ask the questions to help more fully understand and serve the client. They must be adept at answering the question at hand and comfortably probing further to more fully understand the goals of the client. How good are your people at doing this?
   
   
2. Speaking of prospecting… There are so many different tools to be explored to connect and build relationships virtually but it is harder. The second key to your banking sales training is to make certain that your salespeople are proficient at using the tech tools to connect. Some may want to avoid this but today, there is no choice. Calling is still a prospecting option but with so many people working remotely, you must have cell phones to connect with any consistency. Here are some of the “must-haves” in prospecting now:
   • Regular outreach and activity on LinkedIn every day
   • Industry research and pre-call planning tool like IBISWorld
   • ZoomInfo or a similar tool to gather company and contact data of your target
   • HubSpot or similar marketing platform to identify lead activity on your website
   • Strong and effective use of video email – take a look at OneMob as a tool
   • Networking opportunities with target audiences – conferences are back in person
   • A strong and compelling value statement to share
   • A system to consistently ask for introductions (not referrals) from your clients and COIs
     
     
3. The third key is understanding The Will to Sell of your sales team. Do your bankers have the desire, commitment, outlook, and motivation to sell despite the challenges? Do they take responsibility for their actions and outcomes? Let’s face it, many industries have been affected by the pandemic; some have suffered and others have thrived. What does your bank need to do differently within its own culture to adapt, grow, and achieve 2.0 ROA and NIM over 5? Your client-facing salespeople are key and they must be highly skilled. There is a blueprint for elite performance and science to selling – the 21 cores sales competencies, identified by the industry-leading sales evaluation company, Objective Management Group.
   
   
   Make certain that you know why your top performers are so successful and how your sales team stacks up against the other banks. Make sure that your banking sales training is focused on helping your bankers be stronger at the 21 core sales competencies listed above. When mastered, these skills will help your lenders and relationship managers differentiate from fintech firms and other banks and position their value so that they can hold pricing steady when your competitors are dropping their rates.

To improve your outbound selling success, you must have a process that you strictly follow and regularly improve upon, be a continual learner, and focus on building relationships.

If you are a sales leader or a salesperson in need of an outbound sales strategy, here are our 7 steps to improve your success.

Most of the companies and salespeople we work with must do outbound lead generation and relationship building and many do not have the luxury of filling their sales pipeline with inbound leads. Like most things, if you have a plan and stick to the plan, outbound selling will be more effective. If you are a sales leader or a salesperson in need of an outbound sales strategy, here are our 7 steps to improve your success:

1. Know and Focus on Your Target: If you are familiar with the 80/20 Rule, you know that the majority of your revenue comes from about 20% of your clients. Spend time defining their profile and determining how to go about finding and reaching more of them. You may have several profiles, for example, we work with both Banks and Insurance firms. In my outbound sales efforts, however, I must focus and put on one of my profile hats. If I am looking to increase my outbound lead generation with banks, I need to think about where bank CEOs hang out, what they read, what are their biggest problems, and what my message to them will be. LinkedIn, Google, associations, competitors are all great resources to help you put your best prospect hat on. This is not a one-time event of course; you should always be gathering industry information about your Target.
2. Do Your Research: Think about all the irrelevant emails that you receive and dedicate yourself to not being one of those. There is a place for mass emails, but for now, I am speaking of one-to-one outbound lead gen. Once you have determined that a particular company is worthy of outreach, find out everything you can about them. If you have a resource like HubSpot, you can see other connections within the company. If you utilize ZoomInfo, you can pull down contact information and even org charts to help customize your outbound sales efforts.
3. Customize Your Outreach: We are not big proponents of systematic emails – you will have a greater chance of being noticed if you customize your email or call with something you know is on your prospect’s mind. I do outbound calling on bank and insurance associations and every single time, before I reach out, I visit their websites and see what is new and what events they are working on. It takes time, but it makes my message more relevant. If you are working within an industry, you can use information you have learned from one company for another. I religiously read our industry newsletters and our competitor’s marketing messages to my target as it helps me be smarter and more relevant with my outbound sales outreach.
4. Don’t Expect a Response: So, we all know that our increasingly virtual world has increased the likeliness of being ignored. Yesterday I sent out 11 custom email outreaches. I heard back from 1. I will do a call follow-up to all 11 today and send out 11 more. Then in a couple of weeks, I will reach out again, further refining my message. There are some prospects that never respond which may mean they are not a prospect, or at least not right now. Your outbound sales strategy has to include being resilient and persistent. Let’s face it, you have to prove your way in the door, find a connection, some reason for that person to engage with you. Don’t expect a response but be thrilled if you get one.
5. Respond Quickly and Efficiently: Maybe this goes without saying, but your level of enthusiasm and timeliness of response is critical but don’t go overboard and send them everything you have! Answer their question and maybe offer one additional helpful suggestion – what has worked for others is always good. This is a conversation, not a sales pitch so find out how to help. If that is always your goal, to help your prospect solve a problem they have, your outbound sales strategy will be effective.
6. Be Excellent with the Details: I try my best to minimize the back and forth needed and try to anticipate what the prospect will need. Make it as easy as possible on them once they are engaged. Be the resource they think, Wow that was a great experience and I got what I needed. Deliver what you say you will and remember the adage: don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Give them more than they asked for.
7. Don’t Forget to Thank Them, Follow up and Build the Relationship: Seems obvious right but think of your outbound lead generation strategy as a pipeline to others. Thank them, ask them for feedback, ask them if you can help in any other way. If you feel confident that they were/are very pleased, ask them for a testimonial, or a Google review, or an introduction to another company. If a salesperson really understands your business, provides an excellent solution, is easy and efficient to work with, wouldn’t you want to help them build their business?

To improve your outbound selling success, have a process, follow and improve the process, be a continual learner, have some fun along the way and remember, these are relationships we are building. Relationships take time and genuine and ongoing interest to develop trust and longevity.