However, modern businesses can be a bit shaky. The day-to-day of business ownership can feel as though an earthquake is constantly testing these key pillars. If you could only choose one pillar to hold your business together as the others fell away, you would likely need to rely on sales. Without it, revenue would stagnate. This is why building out a business model that is heavily sales-centric isn’t that wild of an idea: so much so that I might actually advise some startups to skip the step of developing a business plan altogether or replace it with something a bit more agile.
Developing A Sales Plan, Not A Business Plan, For A Lean Business
The first step to starting a business is to create a business plan. Right? Well, if you’re running a lean business, you may be able to save time with just a sales plan.
Think about it. A truly effective sales plan is robust and includes enough information to ensure steady business growth. For businesses that don’t require investors or strategic partnerships, a business plan may be less of a necessity. So, rather than focusing your efforts on your company profile, you can place more attention on your sales performance.
A great example is how a sales team might view prospecting as "scary." Data from a 2015 Hubspot study showed that reps struggle with prospecting more than other parts of the sales process. Developing a sales plan with a well-thought-out prospecting strategy can help lessen the struggle and speed up the sales process.
In those crucial first years of business ownership, many companies fail. Maybe the failure is due in part to a lack of initial research, but it is 100% due to a lack of sufficient revenue. So, while it’s imperative not to overlook any aspect of business ownership, you’re likely undervaluing your sales plan by just making it one piece of your business plan. In my experience as a founder and CEO, I've found that you can help keep the lights on by placing a greater emphasis on your sales plan -- even if you run into other operational snafus.
What To Know Before You Build Your Sales Plan
It’s important to understand that in order for a business to successfully flourish in any industry, you generally need to do a great deal of structuring, planning and self-correcting.
• Know your brand. At the core of any business are its "actions" -- they make up its brand. Your brand should be instinctual by the time you even have your first customer interaction. You should reflect your brand from both an internal and external lens for every who, what, why and how of your business. Your actions won’t feel as unique and authentic if only your internal team gets to feel them. Likewise, you may not come off as genuine if you don’t operate internally in the same way you present yourself to customers. A brand is the heart of every customer engagement, and therefore, it’s the heart of every sales plan.
• Know your industry. What are your customers going to expect from you? What have they seen enough of already? You don’t want to be the black sheep of the industry, yet you can’t afford to blend in as a newcomer. With the right amount of upfront research, you can find that right balance of industry expectations and what makes you unique.
• Know your products. From every practical application to every whimsical extra feature, every member of your team should be deeply intimate with the ins and outs of your products. No detail is too small when you’re trying to develop sales collateral, marketing strategies and elevator pitches.
Key Elements Of A Comprehensive Sales Plan
Whether you have a business plan or not, developing your sales plan is not the time to cut corners. As you’re putting together your sales plan, heavily consider these key elements:
• Define your market. How big is your market, and what slice are you trying to cut out for yourself? What events or innovations are defining or redefining your industry?
• Define your territory. Beyond any geographical location, your territory encompasses your position within your market, your digital presence and your ideal client. Understand where you are now within your industry, but constantly search for opportunities to get to where you want to be.
• Define your sales channels. Where does your audience spend their time? What channels make sense for your industry, product and brand identity? You don’t want to waste your resources marketing in the wrong channels, but you certainly don’t want to miss out on key opportunities to engage.
• Fill in the gaps. No business starts off at its ideal finish line. In order to achieve continual growth for your business, you’ll likely need some assistance from industry experts. Whether you’re hiring a new employee or collaborating with a contractor, consider the gaps between you and your ideal annual revenue and the smartest ways to fill those gaps.
If you’re looking to start a new business venture, don’t let an underdeveloped sales plan be your downfall. Consider the ways you can take traditional business planning and amplify your new startup with a sales-centric strategy.
