Creating Sales Plans That Deliver Results

June is the midway point in the calendar year. In the northern hemisphere it’s the start of summer and in the Southern hemisphere the start of winter.

June is also the perfect time to review your sales plans, to start a new financial year, or to revise them, to finish the year strongly.

To achieve outstanding growth results, you have two options:?

You can hire more people and have them produce whatever they can.

You can focus on quality professionals and expect more from the ones you already have.

The fastest-growing firms choose the latter strategy.

There’s one further activity, however, that can be correlated with the success of top performers. It’s the goal-setting process.

Goal Setting

Did you know that businesses that are effective at goal setting grow twice as fast as those who are not?

Goal setting involves much more than simply establishing a number for new business growth.?

It’s about setting clear business goals and helping your professionals achieve them.

All professionals with responsibility for generating revenues must have an individual sales plan.

Sales Plans

Here is a seven-step process for developing sales plans that deliver:

Step 1. Complete an 80/20 analysis?

List your clients by revenue and calculate your average revenue per client. Sort your clients into three categories: A Accounts (top 5%), B Accounts (middle 15%) and C Accounts (bottom 80%).?

Determine your minimum and targeted account size for next year. Decide which accounts should be either delegated or transferred out.

Step 2. Analyse your top 20% accounts?

The foundation of your plan is to analyse your guaranteed revenue for the coming year. These are the clients that score 8 or better on a scale of 1-10, and who you are positive will continue to do so in the coming year.

Step 3. Calculate the number of new prospects required?

To achieve new business results, a professional needs to have a certain number of meetings with new prospects.?

To determine the amount of new business you require (with revenue goals and guaranteed retention revenue), calculate your revenue per new sale, the closing ratio and the conversion ratio.?

This will tell you the number of new meetings you require to achieve your new business revenue goal.

Step 4. Determine your critical indicators?

Establish what your critical indicators should be for the next three years. Include the following: gross revenue; revenue per relationship; conversion ratio; closing ratio; and retention percentage.

Step 5. Develop your relationship management plan?

Proactive management of relationships is the key. Develop a relationship management plan for your clients, your prospects and your referral sources.?

For each group, list the top 10 names and the activities you will undertake over the next 12 months to manage each relationship.

Step 6. Professional development plan?

Top performers deliver excellent results by continually raising the bar. Continue and improve your professional development by rating yourself on a scale of 1-10.?

Concentrate on pipeline creation, your sales system, keeping customers,?your marketing message, referral sources, account growth and value selling.?

Determine where you are now, the improvements you need to make over the next 12 months and where you want to be by then.?

Step 7. Execute your plan?

Commit to your plan and then schedule it. Devise a month-by-month action plan, complete the activities, measure your results, evaluate and adjust, where necessary.

The best sales plans include both activity goals and result goals. It is difficult to hold producers accountable – or even to know how best to support and equip them – without effective goal setting.

Individual sales plans that are closely aligned with the business make sure that opportunities are not being missed and outstanding growth results are achieved, year after year.

Clifton Warren?is the author of numerous books. He has consulted with major corporates, such as Merrill Lynch, Bendigo Bank, Liberty and AIG and with mid-sized to large financial services businesses – in life, general, risk management, wealth advisory, workers compensation, accounting and finance, across Australia, New Zealand, USA and Asia.

He is a featured speaker at conferences?and a regular contributor to industry journals. His newsletter and podcast have a global following of professionals in financial services.?

Contact him at [email protected]