Creating a Sales Strategy

Take this short assessment to compare your skill in setting pragmatic sales strategy with top sales management practice.

Read through the five forecasting questions and give yourself an honest assessment from 1 to 5.

The score of “1” meaning I need serious work in the area and a score of “5” meaning I could give lessons to others in the area.

Be honest with yourself.

Creating a pragmatic sales strategy starts with a clear understanding of the link between the results reported in the boardroom and the sales activities in the field.

1. Have you clearly identified where your growth revenue will come from? This could involve determining what percentage of sales will be contributed from the different market sectors. Or which products and services you will focus on to achieve the sales revenue growth desired? Is the growth from developing existing clients or finding new business?

I could give lessonsI need serious work
2. Have you selected your top sales objectives to achieve this growth? You need to analyse the above answers and select the most appropriate objectives to achieve them. For example: You could set the objective of presenting the new product range to 15 key accounts in Q1. Or to increase showroom footfall by 25% in 2016.

I could give lessonsI need serious work
3. Have you chosen the specific sales activities the sales team need to complete to achieve these objectives? You need to link specific sales activities to the above objectives. For example: Organise 5 new product presentations with Key Accounts per month in Q1. Or each sales person to organise 2 client showroom visits per month throughout 2016.

I could give lessonsI need serious work
4. What level of visibility & control do your sales metrics provide? To gain visibility and control over your results you need to select a few key metrics to measure these activities and ensure you are on track. For example: Number of Key Account presentations per month. Or Number of client showroom visits per month.

I could give lessonsI need serious work
5. How well have you communicated your strategy to the sales team? You need to ensure you have communicated clearly the sales strategy to your sales team. Explain how their daily sales activities are inextricably linked to achieving the sales objectives and how their contribution greatly affects the overall company results to increase engagement.

I could give lessonsI need serious work

The Sales Strategist Book Image - Peter Holland