Writing Sales Strategy and Execution

Writing a Sales Strategy must be a core skill for sales managers to lead their teams. Unfortunately, companies continue to struggle with the need for a well-defined strategic sales plan that is executed timely to the market to achieve revenue goals.

With customer behaviour changing, the demand for how sales operate has shifted, and sales leaders often struggle to adjust. The strategy is pivotal for the marketing department to create an aligned marketing strategy that delivers sales-ready leads. The plan sets out the business goals for the sales reps, what products and services to focus on, the market segments, revenue targets within those segments, and growth expectations from previous years.

Sales Focus International’s research in 2009 and again in 2019 demonstrated sales leaders struggle with strategy development and implementation. The primary issues are:

1. Their strategy same as the years prior,
2. No adaption of strategy to the current market,
3. Not aligning the strategy with buyer needs,
4. Sales tactics are masquerading as strategy,
5. Not having a strategy,
6. Not aligning strategy to product strategy and
7. Not aligning the strategy to the overall company strategy.

The trend continues, and companies are struggling unnecessarily to deliver sales goals. Writing a sales plan is as important as executives having a business plan. It sets out the action plans for everyone.

With the changing buyer behaviour, strategy execution has become a focal point in sales leader performance.

• Without a good strategy, sales teams will not deliver the right mix of business.
• Without a sound execution plan validating the strategy, will not deliver the planned revenue.

Sales teams can no longer be left to hunt in the market for opportunities as the buyers no longer respond in the same way.

For example, buyers continue to increase their independence in decision-making over the selection of potential vendors without engagement with their shortlist. Marketing has taken over the function of traditional prospecting tactics. The marketing team are often responsible for the generation of high-quality leads within a target market.

The sales reps are focused on existing customers and building a sales pipeline with qualified leads from marketing. Sales management is focused on conversion rates, quality of sales pitches, and the length of the sales cycle.

With all these changing practices moving away from the traditional sales approach of prospect-qualify-present-win, sales organisations are at a loss to deliver the strategy. They no longer have control of the sales process they once had and were met with more barriers than ever before to engage with potential customers. The sales cycle is altered, with customers controlling the process, too.

A new approach to writing a sales strategy and its execution is required to compete in today’s market.

Not knowing if you have the right strategy is dangerous for any company. You need to be sure and validate the strategy before you start to execute. If your company considers they have the right strategy and are wrong, they are setting the company up for failure. The sales team will be as successful as the sales plan is right for the market.

This eBook provides you with insight into how to write a strategy and, importantly, how to execute one time to the market. Click on the image to download your copy now.

Sales Focus Advisory can assist you by arranging a meeting to review your strategy. The review will confirm whether you have the right strategy or not. Fresh thinking and contemporary approaches to the market will define you from your competitors and increase the quality of the strategy to be delivered.

Please contact the office if you wish to discuss a review of your strategy and implementation plans.

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You may also be interested in reading these articles:

• The Key To Sales Strategy Execution
• Sales Strategy Development and Execution
• The Growth Strategy Most Likely To Fail
• Sales Strategy Excellence Or Are You Flying Blind?

You may also be interested in reading this Case Study.

• Increasing Sales Coverage

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