OR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE ABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE ABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE ABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR • FOR THE FABRICATOR
Writing the Killer Sales Plan: Your Ticket to Sales Success By Kirk Heiner
2) “It is established by understanding.”
Every 60 seconds a company goes out of
3) “It profits wonderfully by measuring or
business. More than 80 percent of businesses
keeping score.”
have no written plan to succeed in sales. Is it any wonder why more than 96 percent of businesses
The man who wrote those three principles
will survive. But who wants to just survive? Why
Solomon. Millions of people consider him to be
fail within the first 10 years? And only 4 percent
was the world’s only known trillionaire: King
not thrive?
the wisest man to have ever lived. Notice that
the secret to his success principles begins with
If you don’t have a good sales plan, plan on
a wise plan.
failing.
When the wisest and wealthiest man in history
Every business needs a Sales Success Plan.
says, “make wise plans,” do it.
We’re not talking about a business plan you
Why Businesses Fail to Plan
would use to go borrow money from a bank.
This is a living, breathing document designed
So why is it that so many businesses fail to
to steer your company’s sales success by well-
have any written plans for their sales success?
thought-through strategy and tactics.
Simple — it’s a lot of WORK! Napoleon Hill, one
of the greatest writers on the subject of success,
What It Is
A good sales plan is your road map to your sales
said that mental work is some of the hardest
goals. It gives you vision and helps give clarity
the best thing about it is that it’s simple. It’s not
work you’ll ever do. Creating good plans is
sales tactics. It helps assure that your actions
it may not guarantee success, it surely will
anyone in your company, can do.
to the destination. It provides structure to your
“easy,” but it is simple. And if you do it, while
have purpose and are part of an overall system
increase your odds.
for achievement, not just random acts. What It’s Not!
Your sales plan is NOT a business plan. It’s not something you just use to shop for money. It’s also not just a marketing plan for how you will spend your advertising dollars.
I worked for Tony Robbins, a world-renowned
success coach and his business partner, Chet
Holmes, one of America’s greatest sales gurus, and they taught me that business must be
intentional. We would have sales meetings
three times a week, every week. They are dead
serious about success. They know what it takes to thrive, even in a lousy economy. Strategy vs. Tactics
Holmes once said, “The strategist will slaughter the tactician every time, and 98 percent of all
CEOs are tacticians.” Tactics are just random acts in hopes of getting some sales, and in
recent years we’ve all learned that hope is not a strategy.
You’ve got to have plans and a winning strategy if you want to do well and prosper in this new
economy. This article will show you one of the best ways to create a winning sales plan, and
22 • Vol. 5 / Issue 2 • International Surface Fabricators Association
more important than just about anything you, or If you are trying to succeed at sales with a
Why Do I Need One?
million disjointed, random tactics, you will never
plan anyway? Why can’t I just do what I
approach. Your actions won’t work to build upon
Momentum! You can never get momentum
frustrated when one tactic or another doesn’t
You may be thinking, “Why do I need a sales
enjoy the result of a cohesive, planned sales
feel or think is right each day?” Here’s why:
each other and generate any steam. You’ll be
doing random actions that don’t work together
work. And believe me, you’ll remember the failed
as a whole.
ones more than the triumphs.
Another reason is that the process of thinking
A well-thought-through sales plan allows you
to think about issues you might miss. It helps
situation. Ask questions like: Who are we in the
It also provides a tracking system for you and
we best attract them? It’s a concerted effort
through the right strategy and actions forces you
to step back and take a 10,000-ft. view of your
you gain perspectives you might not have had.
marketplace; who are our clients; and how do
your staff to see how they’re doing, and to see
and has a harmony to it much like a symphony
whether or not you’re on track to get to your destination.
One last reason why having a sales success plan is crucial is because that is what has worked throughout history. The wisest and richest
man to have ever lived wrote down a code for success — just three simple steps. After 20
years of studying this man, I wrote a book on his success principles. They are: 1) “Any enterprise is built by wise plans.”
playing together vs. each of the different
instruments playing a different song all at the same time. Youch!
Remember, 4 percent of businesses survive.
About 2 percent actually prosper. To be in that
2 percent requires commitment. It means doing the work others won’t do, like planning.
Another big advantage of creating a great plan
for your sales is that you’ll get to know your ideal customers better — what they think, what they
want and what they’re REALLY buying. And it’s not your just product or service that they are