salesmology.com . : uniquely simple sales management

Here’s an example of a communication to a high performing national accounts management sales team.  It is a group of highly charged, well-intended experts who haven’t yet discovered the power of a solid plan.  Over the coming months, we will follow their progress as their “next level” is discovered.

 —————————————————

The below diagram will serve as the “skeleton” for a sales plan.  To reiterate, I believe each of you are doing many of the right things to grow your portfolios but what I don’t think we’ve done well at yet is executing to an overall plan that has been communicated thoroughly.  Our overall effort has been one of “winging it” from month to month or quarter to quarter with achievements being made through sheer will, expertise and hit / miss partnerships with the field and corporate support alike.  So, I want us to strengthen the way we do our jobs – going from a “super power rocket with tiny directional fins” to a “laser guided missile on a pre-planned course to success.”  Corny maybe, but you get the point.

Over the next 30 days we will collaboratively develop your individual plans then after Thanksgiving week we will review everyone’s plans.  After any revisions are made, we will share them with our internal partners / virtual team members and ask for their feedback and buy-in.  Understand this should NOT be the first time they see your plan as their input should be part of how you put it together from the outset.  Once any tweaks have been made, each plan will be distributed more broadly and followed up with on conference calls.  Each quarter (at a minimum) we will revisit your plan and adjust as the world around us demands changes to be made.

You will each produce variations of what your own plans will contain.  But there are some common goals we all share – both as a NAM team and with our field sales partners – some common elements of the plan needed to make it happen, and some common achievements we are expected to deliver to the business.  Use this as a general outline but make your plan your own.  Again, this doesn’t need to be a 15 page business plan document or an elaborate PowerPoint.  But the act of documenting a plan is essential and mandatory.

You will use the Four Elements of the plan to develop specific activities under each to get things done.  For example, to drive compliance across as many properties in an account as possible you will need to look at Sales Per Unit (SPU) by account at a market (MSA) level and work with the Area and District Managers locally to determine why SPUs may be low and how to address that.  Spell out in your plan what activity will need to be done by you, them, others – an on which accounts. You will use the below Goals as a backdrop to ensure any activity you plan is in place for a definite and measurable purpose with pre-determined deadlines and personal accountability.

The purpose of this effort is two-fold: to have a working document that grows and changes with us – as our playbooks, not something to print where it then sits on a shelf from them on; second, to have a means by which as many people as possible are brought onto the same page – all moving to the same place according to a pre-determined path.