Key Elements of Designing a Solid Sales Plan

Strategy is the key to sustainable growth. On your journey toward building a strategy for sales perfection it is essential to understand the process and chart a course for the coming years. You have completed three steps in the process, you have 1) analyzed the current state of affairs in your company, where we are now. You have 2) used this information to formulate the thought process for a clear strategic direction. And you have 3) used this information to develop the framework for you coherent set of strategies or the foundation to building the strategy for sales perfection.The essential elements of the business plan are defined below. The business plan is not a book but a summary and definition of what needs to be completed to meet the company objectives:Executive summary:Your executive summary is a snapshot of your business plan as a whole and touches on your company profile and goals. This section offers tips on what to include and how to keep it brief and succinct.The Mission Statement- This explains what your business is all about. It should be between several sentences and a paragraph.Company Information - Include a short statement that covers when your business was formed, the names of the founders and their roles, your number of employees, and your business location(s).Growth Highlights - Include examples of company growth, such as financial or market highlights (for example, "XYZ Firm increased profit margins and market share year-over-year since its foundation). Graphs and charts can be helpful in this section.


Your Products/Services - Briefly describe the products or services you provide.Financial Information - If you are seeking financing, include any information about your current bank and investors.Summarize Future Plans - Explain where you would like to take your business.Submit a detailed or broad perspective of the market in the business plan. Depending on your audience will determine the level of detail needed. No one is a better authority on your business that you. Communicate that knowledge to insure that your audience will have a high degree of comfort in the existing market and the impact your plan will have on shaping the market as well as the culture of your organization.Define the specific strategy and desired outcome of the sales team. From a high level, explain the business objective and desired result from the sales team. Explanations can be individualized, they can be generic, they can be regionalized, and they can contain product initiatives or a combination of all of these. Remember, the strategy is the definition of what needs to be accomplished, changed, altered and improved upon to meet specific revenue and profit objectives. Illustrate the specific needs of the organization from a manpower standpoint and how you plan to meet these objectives especially if it requires additional staffing and management requirements.