Three simplifying tools we get from the best sales plans

Selling is a hard job that demands 24 by 7 focus. The best sales plans should make selling easier but sometimes plans add unnecessary complexity.

In large companies, we often forget that sales plans are only good if they help sales people sell better. We often ask our sales people to create pages of plans that are great for internal consumption but not so great at illuminating their best next actions on the path to winning. If a sales plan does not result in sales people knowing what they need to do differently starting tomorrow, it is wasted effort.

Being clear on the big picture is certainly important because we have to know where we are heading. However, a great sales plan has to help sales people start every day with clarity on what they have to accomplish now in order to move the sale forward. Great sales plans give us the following:

30-Second Value Proposition: If we cannot create a suspicion of value in 30 seconds or less, we probably do not have a value proposition at all. That 30-second hook is a tool to get that first meeting but it has broader benefit because we necessarily answer the following questions:

• What is the business situation of the customers to whom we are selling?
• What are the problems our customers must address?
• What are plausible solutions to those problems that we can help with?
• What can we share about our offering that would cause them to have a suspicion of value?

Dream Customer Definition: We have to know to whom we want to sell in order to create the right value proposition or proposal.

• Does the customer have a true need for our product or service?
• Do the customer’s employees have the time to learn how to use our offering and the time to implement it?
• Does the customer have enough experience to assess our performance?
• Does the client really have the budget for our product or service?
• Are there specific decision makers and influencers who win when we win?

What customers buy: What customers pay for is generally not what they buy. Because people make buying decisions, and not the amorphous company, decisions happen for personal reasons.

• Safety – Reducing risk of personal failure is a common purchase driver.
• Simplicity – Making life easier is something many leaders look for.
• Reward – Promotions, bonuses, awards, etc.
• Recognition – Satisfaction of performing well for teams and superiors
• Revolution – Many people buy with the goal of making big changes

By having a clear value proposition, knowing to whom we want to sell, and knowing why decision-makers buy, we have the information necessary for sales people to wake up every morning knowing their best next action to create:

• VISABILITY – Being seen in the right way, by the right people, at the right time
• CREDABILITY – Showing superior knowledge and experience
• VIABILITY – A proposal that fits both needs and readiness
• CAPABILITY – Delivering what the customer/client bought
• RELIABILITY – Being accountable when the unexpected happens

Selling is hard. The best plans help sales people simplify and, as a result, sell better.

©2014 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC