THE 15 MINUTE SALES PLAN

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1 THE 15 MINUTE SALES PLAN TOWARDS SUCCESS & PEACE OF MIND Written By Clifford Thomas Managing Director Business Development Consultancy

2 THE 15 MINUTE SALES PLAN TOWARDS SUCCESS AND PEACE OF MIND Ok I know that most of us Small to Medium sized business owners find planning a bore, and would rather do something more interesting instead. But just imagine this - spend 15 minutes planning your sales and you could have real peace of mind as you would know that every amount spent generates a greater amount in income. For example, if you knew that by spending 1000 meant you would earn 10,000, how many batches of 1000 would you spend? In the 12 years I been offering sales consultancy to small to medium sized businesses it still staggers me as to just how many of us are unaware of this conversion and are always struggling to find the time and money to spend on sales. In my business, I know just how many new business leads we need to reach our revenue expectations for the forthcoming year. As long as the numbers week-on-week stack up, I know we will make it. Peace of mind. We all have a rough idea of the following, but for most of us, we have never formulated them into a PLAN: Average customer values Cost of sale Where and who we should be selling to Why are we unique How many leads per month do I need to generate And the biggie - where do I want my sales to be in 12 months time?

3 Your sales plan does not have to be complicated and it does not have to take you an age to complete. Once you have all the information to hand, 15 minutes could be just long enough; in fact the majority I do for customers span one sheet of A4. Here s how I ll develop a sales strategy. 1) Define the ideal customer. Where to look? Existing customers, lapsed customers, past enquiries etc They are likely to be your most profitable and cost effective route to new business. They will also signpost the types of organisations most profitable to target for new business. Consider their market sector; who is the buyer; why they buy; and what benefit you bring to their business. Consider what else they can buy from you, then decide how you are going to approach them to generate additional revenue. New Customers What is she/he looking to buy? Where are they? How many are there? How much do they normally spend? What challenges can you help them resolve? How can you demonstrate how you can help? How will you measure the success you bring to them? 2) Define our sales process, apply monthly targets and costs How will we engage the prospect? How many prospects do you need to engage with? Where are they? Which method or process will we follow to make sure we can get an acceptable contract? When will we close the deal? Remember, to be prepared to review, test, change and measure your plan on a regular basis. Shape the plan as you go.

4 Basic Example of monthly lead gen. report Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Lead Source Actual Target Diff Actual Target Diff Actual Target Existing Customer Lapsed Customers Web Site Networking Telemaketing Referrals Total Similar reports need to be created for the sales conversion. Please feel free to contact me at Clifford@b-d-c.co.uk for one of our FREE sales report templates. Remember to apply costs to determine the cost per lead, cost per appointment, etc. Then apply how many leads are needed to generate a customer. This will approximately determine for you your all-important cost per sale. 3) Define when we ll walk away How will we know when this deal isn t worth chasing? At which point will you decide efforts are wasted? OK I understand that the above is basic, but in most cases this is enough. Of course you can continue to spend limited resources, chasing deals from prospects who won t buy. Continue to get no return on investment from failed sales campaigns.. But remember the cost of sale is spent gone forever. The same is true for spending time and money on bad deals the ones where there is just no profit, or where we can t satisfy the customer. Our limited cost-of-sale budget simply has to be invested in opportunities we can win and then satisfy the customer, turning the prospect into a testimonial. Otherwise our business at best is going to remain static. When we invest in business where we can win and satisfy the customer, the result is added value profit, testimonials and fun. There aren t many more rewarding experiences than the happy customer referring us on to new prospects.

5 Notes for the Editor Clifford has over 25 years experience working within Sales and Marketing. Formerly Sales Director of IMS Telecom PLC, Clifford is now the owner and Managing Director of the Business Development Consultancy, one of the South East's largest sales consultancies, which over the last 12 years has assisted business owners close the SME Sales Gap. Creator of the unique Intelligent Selling an approach which assists business owners meet business challenges such as: Not having enough time to win new business Over reliance on a few large customers Not having the resources to develop a sales pipeline No sales plan or strategy Finding it difficult to explain clearly what it is they do No Tangible USP s or communication of them Inefficiency of stop/go sales efforts BDC s unique Intelligent Selling solution has been designed to help companies operating within the Business to Business Services sector. We provide a measured route to more sales opportunities and improve the conversions of these opportunities. Our Intelligent Selling service includes:- Insight Marketing and Planning (i-map) Providing a measured route to market, defining USP s and improving sales and marketing messages. Helps you to develop a successful marketing strategy for your business and integrate it with sales actions. Impact Lead Generation - Wining more business, looking after existing accounts, getting to see new prospects, market research. Business Development Academy Improving Sales techniques. Converting opportunity into sales Further information about Clifford and BDC can be found at Contact Clifford@b-d-c.co.uk