Planning Backwards in Sales
Randy Seidl
Board Member | CEO | CRO | Executive Recruiter | Sales Community Leader | Advisor | Consulting
Achieving consistent success in sales requires careful planning and strategic execution.
A powerful approach involves creating a reverse timeline from the closing date to outline each necessary step, and who is involved in each.
By identifying key decision-makers and their requirements, salespeople can manage the entire process effectively, ensuring accountability and clear communication.
There is a lot to be said for setting clear expectations with your customers and prospects!
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Randy's Tips to Sell More ?? Excerpts from Your Go-To Sales Advisor
Reverse Timeline
By Andy O'Brien
What the Idea Is: This practice is very effective! Once you win the deal, look at it from the closing date backwards and outline what needs to hap- pen, step by step, along the way.
Here’s an example: If you have a deal that will close on 9/30, build a reverse timeline for everything that needs to happen to make it happen by the committed date.
? Start with identifying the decision maker who will sign the contract and allow you to book the revenue (the one who issues the purchase order).
? Ask, What does this person need in order to do that? Who do they need to have final recommendations from in order to get specific details? Typically:
You will be building the funnel from the tip upward.
You must be very detailed in developing the timeline; it must include dates and the person responsible for each action in order to create account- ability for each component. The salesperson becomes the overall project manager for the process.
This process works remarkably well when it is put into writing, reviewed regularly with the extended sales team, and rigorously managed well with all the needed constituents in place.
Following each step in the process is critical to ensure the deal gets done within the committed time frame.
Why It Is Valuable: It provides clarity, focus, and execution, which builds predictability into the deal; using this process, you should never be sur- prised by an outcome.
This process also creates stronger buy-in and builds the relationship with the client, because you ask the client to review to ensure it matches up with:
? What the client has agreed to
? What the client needs
? What the client will provide
You are acting as a strategic partner, not just a vendor.
How It Works: The salesperson owns the process as the “project man- ager,” and the process is rigorously followed, meaning that it is regularly inspected at all internal levels.
When you share your timeline with the client, ask him/her to inspect it to see if you are missing anything and confirm that it is a reasonable timeline. When presented the right way, clients love being a part of setting the expectations. It strengthens your relationship and establishes your brand with them, and it builds trust. If you see the deal is not going to happen, let the team know as soon as you can, and tell them why.
Using this process actually increases closing rates, and it provides a great predictability of the timing of the project. Culturally, it creates a better team environment. It eliminates stressors because everyone knows what is happening, and they all want to hold up their end of the deal and not let their team members down because of a failure to execute.