An efficient and attainable sales plan is important to the growth and success of any company. A company sets its budget for the year based on sales goals. Poorly planned sales goals can be the root cause of a company's financial problems, especially if those projections are overinflated. Coming up with sales numbers that can be achieved is a combined effort of the sales department, the executive team, the marketing group, and the accounting department.
- According to the British business resource website Businesslink.gov.uk, a good sales plan is a combination of several parts. There is the continuing business brought in by contracts currently in force, contracts that will begin the coming year, and patterns of repeat business from top customers. A projected amount for new sales in the coming year should be a combination of forecasts done by the sale group and economic indicators for the coming year. If economists predict a sharp down-turn in the economy, then this should factor in to new sales projections. Sales forecasting should be done carefully because this is where the company will get its projected growth numbers for the coming year. Overly aggressive sales forecasts that are not achieved can cause a company financial hardships.
- A proactive and successful company should always be looking for new ways to make the customer happy. Part of developing a sales plan for the coming year involves the introduction of new products and services that will help the company stay ahead of the competition. A product schedule for the coming year that shows salespeople what new products they will be able to count on for the coming year can help to alert customers to changes in the product offering, and give the sales force a reason to stay in touch with existing customers.
- For any plan to work, there must be people accountable for its execution, its success, or its failure. When working on a sales plan, be sure to include who is specifically responsible for achieving the various tasks and goals within the plan. Each sales professional is responsible for the work necessary in developing clients in his territory, and then there needs to be marketing and executive support to help the sales process along as well. Identify which marketing teams will be assigned to helping the sales plan succeed, and which executives are responsible for making sure the company itself acts swiftly to help the sales team reach its numbers.
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