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How to create a sales plan in 7 Steps

A sales plan is the first step toward defining your sales strategy , sales goals and how you’ll reach them.

A refined sales plan is a go-to resource for your reps. It helps them better understand their role, responsibilities, targets, tactics and methods. When done right, it gives your reps all the information they need to perform at their highest level.

In this article, we outline what a sales plan is and why it’s important to create one. We also offer a step-by-step guide on how to make a sales plan with examples of each step.

What is a sales plan and why create one?

Your sales plan is a roadmap that outlines how you’ll hit your revenue targets, who your target market is, the activities needed to achieve your goals and any roadblocks you may need to overcome.

Many business leaders see their sales plan as an extension of the traditional business plan. The business plan contains strategic and revenue goals across the organization, while the sales plan lays out how to achieve them.

The benefits of a sales plan

A successful sales plan will keep all your reps focused on the right activities and ensure they’re working toward the same outcome. It will also address your company's specific needs. For example, you might choose to write a 30- , 60- or 90-day sales plan depending on your current goals and the nature of your business.

Say your ultimate goal for the next quarter is $250,000 in new business. A sales plan will outline the objective, the strategies that will help you get there and how you’ll execute and measure those strategies. It will allow your whole team to collaborate and ensure you achieve it together.

Many salespeople are driven by action and sometimes long-term sales planning gets neglected in favor of short-term results.

While this may help them hit their quota, the downside is the lack of systems in place. Instead, treat sales processes as a system with steps you can improve. If reps are doing wildly different things, it’s hard to uncover what’s working and what’s not. A strategic sales plan can optimize your team’s performance and keep them on track using repeatable systems.

With this in mind, let’s explore the seven components of an effective sales plan

1. Company mission and positioning

To work toward the same company goals, everyone in your organization must understand what your organization is trying to achieve and where in the market you position yourself.

To help define your mission and positioning, involve your sales leaders in all areas of the business strategy. Collaborating and working toward the same goals is impossible if those goals are determined by only a select group of stakeholders.

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To get a handle on the company’s mission and positioning, take the following steps:

Collaborate with marketing: Your marketing teams live and breathe the positioning of your company. Take the time to talk to each function within the department, from demand generation to performance marketing to learn what they know.

Interview customer success teams: Customer support reps speak with your existing customers every day. Interview them to find common questions and pain points.

Talk to your customers: Customer insights are a foundational part of any positioning strategy. Speak directly with existing and new customers to find out what they love about your product or service.

Read your company blog: Those in charge of content production have a strong understanding of customer needs. Check out blog articles and ebooks to familiarize yourself with customer language and common themes.

Look for mentions around the web: How are other people talking about your organization? Look for press mentions, social media posts, articles and features that mention your products and services.

These insights can provide context around how your company is currently positioned in the market.

Finally, speak with the team in charge of defining the company’s positioning. Have a list of questions and use the time to find out why they made certain decisions. Here are some examples:

What important insights from the original target audience research made you create our positioning statement?

What competitor research led us to position ourselves in this way? Does this significantly differentiate us from the crowd? How?

What core ideals and values drove us to make these promises in our positioning statement? Have they shifted in any way since we launched? If so, what motivates these promises now?

How to communicate mission and positioning

In this section of the sales plan, include the following information:

Company mission : Why your company exists and the value you’re determined to bring to the market.

Competition: Who your direct competitors (those who offer similar products and services) and indirect competitors (brands who solve the same problem in different ways) are.

Value propositions: The features, benefits and solutions your product delivers.

What is brand positioning: The ultimate guide with 4 examples

2. Goals and targets

Define your revenue goals and the other targets sales are responsible for.

As mentioned earlier, sales goals are usually aligned with business goals. Your boardroom members typically establish the company’s revenue goals and it’s your job to achieve them.

Revenue goals will shape your sales strategy. Use them to reverse engineer quotas, sales activity and the staff you need to execute them.

Break your big-picture revenue goal down further into sales targets and activity targets for your team. Activities are the specific actions you and your reps can control, while sales targets are the results provided by those activities.

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Use data on sales activity and performance from previous years to calculate sales targets. You should break this down by pipeline stage and activity conducted by reps across all functions.

For example, how many cold emails does it take to generate a deal? What is the average lifetime value (LTV) of your customer?

Breaking down these numbers allows you to accurately forecast what it will take to achieve your new revenue goal.

This part of your sales plan might include setting goals like the following:

200 total cold emails sent per day

200 total cold calls made per day

25 demos conducted per day

5 new sales appointments made a day

100 follow-up emails sent per day

Breaking down your goals into specific activities will also reveal the expertise needed for each activity and any required changes to your organizational structure, which will come into play in the next step.

How to communicate goals and targets

Within this section of the sales plan, include the following information:

Revenue goals : Reverse engineer the boardroom revenue goals to identify achievable sales goals and the number of staff needed to reach them. Sales targets : Use data on sales activity and past performance to define quotas and metrics for each stage of the sales pipeline.

Expertise needed for each activity: What qualities and attributes do your staff need to achieve these predefined activities? How much experience do they need vs. what can be learned on the job?

3. Sales organization and team structure

Identify the talent and expertise you need to achieve your goals.

For example, a marketing agency that depends on strong relationships will benefit more from a business development executive than a sales development representative (SDR) .

Use the targets established in the previous section to identify who you need to hire for your team. For example, if the average sales development rep can send 20 cold emails a day and you need to send 200 to achieve your goals, you’ll need around ten reps to hit your targets.

Include the information for each team member in a table in your sales plan. Here is an example.

Visualizing each role helps all stakeholders understand who they’re hiring and the people they’re responsible for. It allows them to collaborate on the plan and identify the critical responsibilities and qualities of their ideal candidates.

You want to avoid micromanaging , but now is a good time to ask your existing teams to report on the time spent on certain activities. Keeping a timesheet will give you an accurate forecast of how long certain activities take and the capacity of each rep.

How to communicate your sales organization and team structure

Team structure: These are the functions that make up your overall sales organization. The roles of SDR, business development and account teams must be well-defined.

Roles and responsibilities: These are the roles you need to hire, along with the tasks they’re responsible for. This will help you produce job descriptions that attract great talent.

Salary and compensation: How will the company remunerate your teams? Having competitive salaries, compensation schemes and sales incentives will attract top performers and keep them motivated.

Timeline: Attempting to hire dozens of people at once is tough. Prioritize hiring based on how critical each role is for executing your plan. Take a phased hiring approach to onboard new reps with the attention they deserve.

Building a sales team: How to set your group up for success

4. Target audience and customer segments

A sales plan is useless without knowing who to sell to. Having clearly defined customer personas and ideal customer profiles will help you tailor your selling techniques to companies and buyers.

Whether you’re looking to break into a new market or expand your reach in your current one, start by clearly defining which companies you’re looking to attract. Include the following criteria:

Industries: Which markets and niches do you serve? Are there certain sub-segments of those industries that you specialize in?

Headcount: How many employees do your best accounts have within their organization?

Funding: Have they secured one or several rounds of funding?

Find out as much as you can about their organizational challenges. This may include growth hurdles, hiring bottlenecks and even barriers created by legislation.

Learn about your buyers within those target accounts, learn about your buyers. Understanding your buyers and personalizing your sales tactics for them will help you strengthen your customer relationships.

These insights will change as your business grows. Enterprise companies may wish to revisit their personas as they move upmarket. For small businesses and startups, your target audience will evolve as you find product-market fit.

It’s important to constantly revisit this part of your sales plan. Even if your goals and methodologies are the same, always have your finger on the pulse of your customer’s priorities.

How to communicate target audience and customer segments

Profile: Include basic information about their role, what their career journey looks like and the common priorities within their personal lives.

Demographics : Add more information about their age, income and living situation. Demographic information can help tailor your message to align with the language used across different generations.

Attributes: Assess their personality. Are they calm or assertive? Do they handle direct communication themselves or have an assistant? Use these identifying attributes to communicate effectively.

Challenges: Think about the hurdles this persona is trying to overcome. How does it affect their work and what’s the impact on them personally?

Goals: Analyze how these challenges are preventing them from achieving their goals. Why are these goals important to them?

Support: Use this insight to define how your product or service will help these people overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Behavioral segmentation: What is it and how can it drive engagement and loyalty

5. Sales strategies and methodologies

Define your sales approach. This includes the strategies, techniques and methodologies you’ll use to get your offering out to market.

This part of your sales plan may end up being the largest. It will outline every practical area of your sales strategy: your sales stages, methodologies and playbooks.

Start by mapping out each stage of your sales process. What are the steps needed to guide a prospect through your deal flow?

9 essential sales stages

Traditionally, a sales process has nine sales stages :

Prospecting and lead generation : Your marketing strategy should deliver leads, but sales reps should boost this volume with their own prospecting efforts.

Qualification: Measure those leads against your target account criteria and customer personas. Ensure they’re a good fit, prioritizing your time on high-value relationships.

Reaching out to new leads : Initiate emails to your target customers to guide new leads into the sales funnel. This outreach activity includes cold calling and direct mail.

Appointment setting: Schedule a demo, discovery call or consultation.

Defining needs: After the initial meeting, you’ll understand your prospect’s problems and how your product or service can solve them.

Presentation: Reveal the solution. This can be in the form of a proposal, custom service packages or a face-to-face sales pitch .

Negotiation: Dedicate this stage to overcoming any objections your prospect may have.

Winning the deal: Turn your prospects into customers by closing deals and signing contracts.

Referrals : Fostering loyalty is an organization-wide activity. Delight your customers and encourage them to refer their friends.

Not all of these stages will be relevant to your organization. For example, a SaaS company that relies on inbound leads may do much of the heavy lifting during the initial meeting and sales demo . On the other hand, an exclusive club whose members must meet certain criteria (say, a minimum net worth) would focus much of their sales activity on referrals.

Map out your sales process to identify the stages you use. Your sales process should look something like this:

To determine your sales methodologies, break each sales stage down into separate activities, along with the stakeholder responsible for them.

With your sales activities laid out, you can do in-depth research into the techniques and methodologies you need to execute them. For example, if you sell a complex product with lengthy sales cycles , you could adopt a SPIN selling methodology to identify pain points and craft the best solution for leads.

Finally, use these stages and methodologies to form your sales playbooks . This will help you structure your sales training plan and create playbooks your reps can go back to for guidance.

How to communicate sales strategies and methodologies

Within this section of the sales plan, include the following:

Sales stages: The different steps required to convert prospects into paying customers.

Sales methodologies: The different practices and approaches you’ll adopt to shape your sales strategy.

Sales playbooks: The tactics, techniques and sales strategy templates needed to guide contacts throughout each stage of the sales process.

6. Sales action plan

You have the “who” and the “what”. Now you must figure out “when” to execute your sales plan.

A well-structured sales action plan communicates when the team will achieve key milestones. It outlines timeframes for when they’ll complete certain projects and activities, as well as the recruitment timelines for each quarter.

The order in which you implement your sales action plan depends on your priorities. Many sales organizations prefer to front-load the activity that will make a bigger impact on the bottom line.

For example, when analyzing your current sales process and strategy, you may find your existing customers are a rich source of qualified leads . Therefore, it would make sense to nurture more of these relationships using a structured referral program.

You must also consider how recruitment will affect the workload in your team. Hire too quickly and you may end up spending more time training new reps and neglecting your existing team. However, taking too long to recruit could overload your existing team. Either can make a big impact on culture and deal flow.

To complete your sales action plan, get all stakeholders involved in deciding timelines. When applying this to your sales plan, use GANTT charts and tables to visualize projects and key milestones.

A GANTT chart shows you the main activities, their completion dates and if there are any overlaps. Here is an example:

By prioritizing each activity and goal, you can create a plan that balances short-term results with long-term investment.

How to communicate your sales action plan

Key milestones : When do you aim to complete your projects, activities and recruitment efforts? You can map them out by week, month, quarter or all of the above. Let your revenue goals and priorities lead your schedule.

Short- and long-term goal schedules: With a high-level schedule mapped out, you can see when you will achieve your goals. From here, you can shape your schedule so that it balances both short- and long-term goals.

7. Performance and results measurement

Finally, your plan must detail how you measure performance. Outline your most important sales metrics and activities, how you’ll track them and what technology you’ll need to track them.

Structure this part of your plan by breaking down each sales stage. Within these sections, list out the metrics you’ll need to ensure you’re running a healthy sales pipeline.

Performance metrics can indicate the effectiveness of your entire sales process. Your chosen metrics typically fall into two categories:

Primary metrics act as your “true north” guide. This is commonly new business revenue generated.

Secondary metrics are those that indicate how well specific areas of your sales process are performing. These include lead response time and average purchase value.

The metrics you select must closely align with your goals and sales activities. For example, at the appointment setting stage, you might measure the number of demos conducted.

Each team also needs its own sales dashboard to ensure reps are hitting their targets. Sales development reps will have different priorities from account executives, so it’s critical they have the sales tools to focus on what’s important to them.

Finally, research and evaluate the technology you’ll need to accurately measure these metrics. Good CRM software is the best system to use for bringing your data together.

How to communicate sales performance metrics

Sales stage metrics : Identify the metrics for each specific sales stage and make sure they align with your KPIs.

Chosen sales dashboard: Explain why you chose your sales dashboard technology and exactly how it works.

Performance measurement: Outline exactly how and what tech you will use to measure your team’s activities and metrics.

How to track, measure and improve your team’s sales performance

Developing a sales plan involves conducting market research, assessing current sales performance , identifying sales opportunities and challenges, setting measurable goals, creating a sales strategy, allocating resources and establishing a monitoring and evaluation framework.

To write a sales business plan, include:

An executive summary

A company overview

A market analysis

A target market description

Sales strategies and tactics

Financial projections

A budget and timeline

Make sure that you clearly articulate your value proposition, competitive advantage and growth strategies.

Final thoughts

An effective sales plan is an invaluable asset for your sales team . Although you now know how to create a sales plan, you should remember to make one that works for your team. Writing one helps with your sales strategy planning and aids you in defining targets, metrics and processes. Distributing the sales plan helps your reps understand what you expect of them and how they can reach their goals.

Providing supportive, comprehensive resources is the best way to motivate your team and inspire hard work. When you do the work to build a solid foundation, you equip your reps with everything they need to succeed.

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How To Build a Strategic Sales Plan + 10 Examples

• March 28, 2024

Every sales team has some sort of plan, even if it’s just “sell more of the product/service that you’re employed to sell.”

A sales plan is a portfolio that includes a layout of your processes, target audience, objectives and tactics. It’s used to guide your sales strategy and predict cost and returns. 

Yet without a codified sales plan, it can be difficult to give a sales team the motivation and purpose they need to successfully engage customers and continue to generate revenue.

Not having a sales plan that’s written down and signed off on by stakeholders can lead to confusion around what sales reps should and shouldn’t be doing , which can be demotivating.

It might seem daunting or time-consuming to put together an entire sales plan, but it doesn’t need to be. Here’s how to create a thorough sales plan in 10 simple steps. 

What Is a Sales Plan? 

A successful sales plan defines your target customers, business objectives, tactics, obstacles and processes. An effective plan will also include resources and strategies that are used to achieve target goals. It works similarly to a business plan in the way it’s presented, but only focuses on your sales strategy. 

A sales plan should include the following three components: 

• Ideas: If you use specific business methodologies, you may choose to outline key principles and examples of them in action within your sales plan. An example could be conversation tactics when pitching your product to your target customer. 
• Processes: In order to streamline productivity and business strategy, you’ll want to make sure your processes are defined within your sales plan. Your sales team should be able to refer to the sales plan when they’re in need of direction. 
• Tools and tactics: The most effective sales plans include not only high-level business strategies, but also step-by-step approaches for your sales team to utilize. These tools can include key conversation pieces for your sales reps to use when pitching a product or content to close out a deal. 

Solidifying a sales plan is crucial for a strong business model. Taking the time to narrow in on the components above will set you and your business up for success down the road. 

Sales Planning Process

It’s important to keep in mind that sales planning isn’t just about creating a sales plan document. A sales plan should be a go-to item that’s used every day by your team, rather than sitting on your desk collecting dust. Creating an effective sales plan requires high-level strategy.

You should: 

• Decide on a timeline for your goals and tactics
• Outline the context
• Write out the company mission and values
• Describe the target audience and product service positioning
• Include sales resources
• Draw out an overview of concurrent activities
• Write an overview of your business road map
• Outline your goals and KPIs
• Outline an action plan
• Create a budget 

 Below we dive into each of these steps to create your ideal sales plan. 

1. Decide on Your Timeline

Setting goals and outlining tactics is not going to be productive if you’re not working toward a date by which you’ll measure your efforts.

Determining the timeline of your sales plan should therefore be your number one consideration. When will you be ready to kick-start your plan, and when is a reasonable time to measure the outcomes of your plan against your SMART goals?

Remember that you need to give the plan a chance to make an impact, so this timeline shouldn’t be too restrictive. However, you also want to make sure that you’re flexible enough to adjust your plan if it’s not producing the desired results.

Most sales plan timelines cover about a year, which may be segmented into four quarters and/or two halves to make it a little more manageable.

2. Outline the Context

Use the first page of your sales plan to outline the context in which the plan was created.

What is the current state of the organization? What are your challenges and pain points? What recent wins have you experienced?

Do you have tighter restrictions on cash flow, or does revenue appear to be growing exponentially? How is your sales team currently performing?

While you’ll discuss your business plan and road map later in the document, you can also outline the long-term vision for your business in this section. For example, where do you want to see the business in five years?

Tip: Comparing the current situation with your vision will emphasize the gap between where you are now and where you need to be. 

3. Company Mission and Values

It’s essential that you put your mission and values at the heart of your business. You need to incorporate them into every function – and this includes your sales plan.

Outlining your mission and values in your sales plan ensures that you remember what the company is striving for, and in turn helps ensure that your approach and tactics will support these objectives.

Remember: A strong brand mission and authentic values will help boost customer loyalty, brand reputation and, ultimately, sales.

4. Target Market and Product/Service Positioning

Next, you’ll need to describe the market or markets that you’re operating in.

What is your target market or industry? What research led you to conclude that this was the optimal market for you?

Who within this industry is your ideal customer? What are their characteristics? This could be a job title, geographical location or company size, for example. This information makes up your ideal customer profile .

If you’ve delved further into audience research and developed personas around your target market, then include them in here, too.

5. Sales Team and Resources

This step is simple: Make a list of your sales resources, beginning with a short description of each member of your sales team.

Include their name, job title, length of time at the company and, where appropriate, their salary. What are their strengths? How can they be utilized to help you hit your goals?

You should also include notes around the gaps in your sales team and whether you intend to recruit any new team members into these (or other) roles.

Tip: Communicate the time zones your team members work in to be mindful of designated work hours for scheduling meetings and deadlines. 

Then, list your other resources. These could be tools, software or access to other departments such as the marketing team – anything that you intend to use in the execution of your sales plan. This is a quick way to eliminate any tools or resources that you don’t need.

6. Concurrent Activities

The next step in creating your sales plan involves providing an overview of non-sales activities that will be taking place during the implementation of your sales plan.

Any public marketing plans, upcoming product launches, or deals or discounts should be included, as should any relevant events. This will help you plan sales tactics around these activities and ensure that you’re getting the most out of them.

7. Business Road Map

For this step, write up an overview of your business’s overall road map, as well as the areas where sales activities can assist with or accelerate this plan. You’ll need to collaborate with the CEO, managing director or board of directors in order to do this.

In most cases, the business will already have a road map that has been signed off on by stakeholders. It’s the sales manager’s job to develop a sales plan that not only complements this road map, but facilitates its goals. 

Tip: Highlight areas of the road map that should be touchpoints for the sales team. 

Ask yourself what your department will need to do at each point in the road map to hit these overarching company goals.

8. Sales Goals and KPIs

Another important part of the sales plan involves your sales goals and KPIs.

Outline each goal alongside the KPIs you’ll use to measure it. Include a list of metrics you’ll use to track these KPIs, as well as a deadline for when you project the goal will be achieved.

It’s vital to make these goals tangible and measurable.

A bad example of a goal is as follows:

Goal 1: Increase sales across company’s range of products and services.

A better goal would look something like:

Goal 1: Generate $500,000+ in revenue from new clients through purchases of X product by X date.

9. Action Plan

Now that you’ve laid out your goals, you need to explain how you will hit them.

Your action plan can be set out week by week, month by month, or quarter by quarter. Within each segment, you must list out all of the sales activities and tactics that you will deploy – and the deadlines and touchpoints along the way.

Tip: Organize your action plan by department – sales, business development and finance. 

While this is arguably the most complex part of the sales plan, this is where sales leaders are strongest. They know which approach will work best for their team, their company and their market.

Budgets vary from team to team and company to company, but whatever your situation, it’s important to include your budget in your sales plan.

How are you going to account for the money spent on new hires, salaries, tech, tools and travel? Where the budget is tight, what are your priorities going to be, and what needs to be axed?

The budget section should make references back to your action plan and the sales team and resources page in order to explain the expenditures.

6 Strategic Sales Plan Examples 

You can create different types of strategic sales plans for your company, depending on how you want to structure your sales plan. Here are a few examples.   

Customer Profile 

A customer profile outlines your ideal customer for your service or product. It will usually include industry, background, attributes and decision-making factors.  

Creating a customer profile helps narrow in on the target customer your sales team should focus on while eliminating unproductive leads.  

Buyer’s Guide

A buyer’s guide is an informational sheet that describes your company’s services or products, including benefits and features. This document is useful both for your sales team but also for a potential customer who requires more information on the product before purchasing. 

30-60-90-Day Plan

This plan is organized based on time periods. It includes outlines of goals, strategy and actionable steps in 30-day periods. This is a useful sales plan model for a new sales representative tracking progress during their first 90 days in the position or meeting quotas in a 90-day period. 

This type of sales plan is also ideal for businesses in periods of expansion or growth. It’s helpful to minimize extra effort in onboarding processes. 

Market Expansion Plan

A market expansion plan clarifies target metrics and list of actions when moving into a new territory or market. This sales plan model is typically used with a target market that resides in a new geographical region. 

You’ll want to include a profile of target customers, account distribution costs and even time zone differences between your sales representatives. 

Marketing-alignment Plan

Creating a marketing-alignment sales plan is useful if your organization has yet to align both your sales and marketing departments. The goal of the sales plan is finalizing your target customer personas and aligning them with your sales pitches and marketing messages. 

New Product/Service Plan 

If your organization is launching a new service or product, it’s best to create a sales plan to track revenue and other growth metrics from the launch. You’ll want to include sales strategy, competitive analyses and service or product sales positioning. 

Sales Plan Template

4 additional sales plan templates.

Here are some additional templates you can use to create your own unique sales plan. 

• Template Lab 
• ProjectManager

5 Tips for Creating a Sales Plan 

Now that you’ve seen and read through a few examples and a sales plan template, we’ll cover some easy but useful tips to create a foolproof sales plan. 

• Create a competitive analysis: Research what sales strategies and tactics your close competitors are using. What are they doing well? What are they not doing well? Knowing what they are doing well will help you create a plan that will lead to eventual success. 
• Vary your sales plans: First create a base sales plan that includes high-level goals, strategies and tactics. Then go more in depth on KPIs and metrics for each department, whether it’s outbound sales or business development . 
• Analyze industry trends: Industry trends and data can easily help strengthen your sales approach. For example, if you’re pitching your sales plan to a stakeholder, use current market trends and statistics to support why you believe your sales strategies will be effective in use. 
• Utilize your marketing team: When creating your sales plan, you’ll want to get the marketing department’s input to align your efforts and goals. You should weave marketing messages throughout both your sales plan and pitches. 
• Discuss with your sales team: Remember to check in with your sales representatives to understand challenges they may be dealing with and what’s working and not working. You should update the sales plan quarterly based on feedback received from your sales team. 

When Should You Implement a Strategic Sales Plan? 

Does your organization currently not have a sales plan in place that is used regularly? Are you noticing your organization is in need of structure and lacking productivity across departments? These are definite signs you should create and implement a sales plan. 

According to a LinkedIn sales statistic , the top sales tech sellers are using customer relationship management (CRM) tools (50%), sales intelligence (45%) and sales planning (42%) .

Below are a few more indicators that you need an effective sales plan. 

To Launch a New Product or Campaign 

If you’re planning to launch a new service or product in six months, you should have a concrete marketing and sales strategy plan to guarantee you’ll see both short- and long-term success. 

The sales plan process shouldn’t be hasty and rushed. Take the time to go over data and competitor analysis. Work with your team to create objectives and goals that everyone believes in. Your sales plan should be updated formally on a quarterly basis to be in line with industry trends and business efforts. 

To Increase Sales

If your team is looking to increase revenue and the number of closed sales, you may need to widen and define your target audience. A sales plan will help outline this target audience, along with planning out both sales and marketing strategies to reach more qualified prospects and increase your sales conversion rate. 

Now that you’ve seen sales plan examples and tips and tricks, the next step after creating your sales plan is to reach those ideal sales targets with Mailshake . Connect with leads and generate more sales with our simple but effective sales engagement platform.

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22 Best Sales Strategies, Plans, & Initiatives for Success [Templates]

Discover sales strategy examples, templates, and plans used by top sales teams worldwide.

FREE SALES PLAN TEMPLATE

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Published: 08/28/24

A strong sales strategy plan creates the foundation for a cohesive and successful sales organization. Sales strategies and initiatives also align salespeople on shared goals and empower them to do their best work — keeping them happy and successful, too.

In this guide, I’ll dig into some sales strategies and initiatives that I’ve found can help you generate more leads and close more deals. But first, let’s define what a sales strategy is.

Table of Contents

What is a sales strategy?

Why is a sales strategy important, the most effective sales strategies, how to build a sales strategy, sales initiatives, sales strategy examples from successful sales teams.

A sales strategy is a set of decisions, actions, and goals that inform how your sales team positions the organization and its products to close new customers. It acts as a guide for sales reps to follow, with clear goals for sales processes, product positioning, and competitive analysis.

Free Sales Plan Template

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent sales plan.

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Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling (ABS) is a sales strategy that's rooted in locking in on key, higher-value accounts as opposed to casting a wide net for a broad range of prospects. With ABS, salespeople are expected to identify and pursue specific accounts that have high conversion potential.

That means salespeople are expected to conduct thorough, thoughtful research on prospects to more effectively meet them where they are. The strategy also places emphasis on collaboration with marketing — sales teams lean on their marketing departments to create personalized, targeted content for each account.

Ultimately, successfully executed Account-Based Selling rests on a sales team's ability to take a granular approach to really lock in on individual prospects' needs and interests. Salespeople leveraging the strategy also need to know how to prioritize the accounts they pursue.

ABS can be extremely effective if it's done right, but it does come with its share of risk — if your sales org elects to forego reaching out to a wide range of prospects in favor of connecting with key accounts, you generally have less room for error.

For a look at some other key methodologies that can inform your sales strategy, check out this article.

Below, I’ll walk through how to create a sales strategy plan for your team.

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Sales Planning: How To Create a Sales Plan (+ Template)

Sales planning helps you set goals, forecast revenue, and chart a course to growth. With an easy-to-use sales planning template, you’ll be set up for success.

You can buy and hire all the resources to build a house. But without blueprints, you’ll end up with a stack of boards, piles of nails, and construction workers twiddling their thumbs.

Sales teams need a blueprint, too. It’s called sales planning. Like a construction blueprint, sales planning ensures your resources are put to their best use, and team members are focused on what’s most important.

“If you’re not looking at the sales data and making a plan, you might be giving equal weight to all of your products when there are a few that are really the workhorses,” says Shawn Khemsurov, cofounder of strategic design and development agency Electric Eye . “ Those are the products you should invest in and focus on.”

Learn how to create an effective sales plan that aligns with your business objectives, and keeps your sales team driving growth.

What is sales planning?

Sales planning is a set of processes to drive sales for a business—specifically, setting sales goals and outlining the actions needed to achieve them.

The sales planning process helps leaders understand market conditions, analyze customers and trends, allocate resources effectively, and set realistic sales targets.

Sales plan template

Sales planning templates can provide a good framework for you to get started with sales planning. Shopify’s free sales plan template makes it easy to visualize your goals for the year or quarter and keep your team on track.

Sales planning process

• Analyze market conditions and historical performance
• Identify and understand your target audience
• Determine sales goals
• Set strategy
• Allocate budget and resources
• Create action plans
• Monitor sales performance and adjust accordingly

Create a sales plan by following these steps:

1. Analyze market conditions and historical performance

To position your products well and set appropriate goals, you’ll first need to understand what’s going on both inside and outside of your company.

Pull data from your preferred ecommerce analytics tools to analyze your company’s past performance and your customers’ behavior, looking at key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rate , session length, and average order value (AOV). This will help you identify areas of strength and opportunities to improve within your sales process.

Also, perform external market research to understand trends, evolving customer needs, and the competitive landscape. Shawn recommends asking yourself a series of questions to help dig deeper into the market and your brand’s place within it.

“Who else is selling in this category? How much are they charging?” says Shawn. “Is the market saturated? If so, what’s our differentiator that we can play up? Or is there a niche that isn’t being served that we can develop something around?”

2. Identify and understand your target audience

Once you’ve identified some overall business and market trends, you can use the same analytics reports to learn more about your target customers. You can divide your target market into smaller customer segments based on details like geography, preferences, and pain points.

Deeply understanding these different audiences can help you market effectively and identify your best customers, both of which can fuel sales and, ultimately, business growth.

3. Determine sales goals

Armed with both internal and market data, you can set clear goals for your sales reps. Consider using the SMART goals framework to ensure your sales objectives are strategic, measurable, actionable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (i.e., SMART).

Most sales teams have revenue goals, but you might set sales goals that involve market share, the number of new customers acquired, a reduction in customer churn , or channel-specific sales.

4. Set strategy

Identify specific methods and sales techniques that your team will leverage to achieve sales goals. Depending on your business, you can leverage a variety of sales tools and marketing strategies including:

• Email marketing campaigns
• Influencer partnerships
• Search engine optimization
• Retargeting ads
• Content marketing
• Social media advertising
• Sales automation
• Website redesigns

Your data analysis and market research can help guide you to the best techniques for your needs. For example, you might find that your average order value is solid, but you need to market more widely to draw more people to visit the site. Or perhaps your site traffic is good, but people drop off rather than convert with a purchase—suggesting an update of your product page or checkout process may be in order.

Market your business with Shopify’s customer marketing tools

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5. Allocate budget and resources

Focus is important not only to avoid being overwhelmed, but to allocate resources accordingly. Sales teams rarely have unlimited budgets, so you’ll need to decide how much to invest in each of your sales activities, including marketing campaigns , promotions, partnerships , and staffing.

6. Create action plans

Outline and assign the specific actions required to execute each sales strategy. A successful sales plan lays out clear timelines and expectations.

For example, a set of sales representatives may be called on to contact 25 leads and set 10 sales appointments by the end of the month. Or, sales managers could assign them to check in with all existing customers on their accounts to ensure retention and attempt to upsell with new complementary services.

Depending on your strategies, action plans may include delegating tasks to people outside the sales organization. For example, an email newsletter or content marketing strategy requires looping in the marketing team to create these assets. Marketing and sales alignment is crucial in this example to ensure sales messaging is maintained.

7. Monitor sales performance and adjust strategies accordingly

Effective sales planning involves keeping track of what works and what doesn’t to inform future plans.

Define the metrics you’ll use to measure the effectiveness of each sales strategy you choose, and identify data sources and tools to help you track sales success. You may find one strategic process isn’t as successful as others, or that you need to swap strategies over time.

Tips for sales planning

Set realistic goals, focus on what’s most impactful.

• Allocate resources to get the most bang for your buck

Align planning and goals to overall business objectives

Here are a few tips sales leaders can use to create effective sales plans:

Dream big, yet not too big. “Reach” goals can help your team strive to achieve more, but be careful to strike a balance.

There’s a fine line between aspirational and unrealistic, and if you’re on the wrong side of things, your sales team will end up frustrated.

Setting impossible revenue targets and other goals helps no one. Ensure your objectives are realistic based on past sales efforts, historical performance, and market research.

Dig enough, and you’ll find seemingly endless tools, strategies, and potential ways to boost future sales. But not every method is right for your business, right now.

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed,” Shawn says. “Simplify your focus to the few key areas that have the biggest impact on your sales, and figure out how you can attack those hard.”

Allocate resources to get the bang for your buck

Monitor your sales and strategies to see which efforts have the greatest impact, and put your resources into them.

For example, you may find promotions or abandoned-cart email campaigns tend to bring customers to the site. In other cases, factors like supply chain issues and low inventory might be denting your sales.

“Some shops are surprised to find it’s a small number of products that are really pulling the weight—so in that case, you want to make sure you’re always in stock,” Shawn says.

“If a customer on your site can’t make that purchase, it’s frustrating for them and a lost sale for you. Fixing that problem can have a massive effect on your sales, because even the best marketing messaging doesn’t help if you don’t have a product to ship.”

As you perform sales planning activities—whether it’s conducting an in-depth competitive analysis, reorganizing the sales team structure, or forecasting sales—never lose sight of the overall business plan .

Not every company is necessarily focused on how much revenue they can generate or increasing the sales quota. Instead, they may be looking to break into new geographic areas, reach new target markets, or overcome the sales team’s challenges in explaining the product’s differentiators. You define what sales success means, based on your company’s overall goals right now.

Sales planning FAQ

What is the first step in the sales planning process.

Analyze internal data and external market trends to better understand sales opportunities and your customers. This will help you develop informed, clear, realistic sales forecasts and goals.

Why is sales planning important?

Sales planning is important because it provides a structured approach to achieving sales goals. It helps companies set data-based goals, select appropriate sales techniques, allocate resources effectively, track progress toward sales goals, and adjust strategies over time.

What should be included in a sales plan?

A sales planning template often includes an executive summary, sales goals, market trends and historical sales data, audience data, sales strategies, budget and allocations, action plans, and monitoring.

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Blog Graphic Design How To Write a Sales Plan That Converts (+ Templates)

How To Write a Sales Plan That Converts (+ Templates)

Written by: Letícia Fonseca Nov 17, 2021

Sales plans are often considered the foundation of any successful business plan.

A sales plan outlines an organization’s goals for its future operations and steers the sales team in the right direction.

Every successful business relies on a sales plan to reach its sales goals and pivot its strategy when necessary. 

Learn what you need to succeed in writing an impactful sales plan that boosts your conversions and increases customer loyalty.

Don’t know where to start? Create a sales business plan with Venngage’s templates and improve your growth strategy.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a sales strategy plan, what is included in a sales plan, what are the objectives of sales and operations planning.

• How do you write an excellent sales plan?

A sales strategy plan is a document that lists what a company is going to sell, how much the company intends to earn, and how the company plans to go about it.

The sales strategy helps the company determine how to maximize profit margins and stay competitive in the industry.

Here’s an example of a sales strategy plan that includes every action that the sales team is expected to perform.

This ensures that sales managers know what they are responsible for and how the desired output or deliverables for the sales process tie into the business plan.

Return to Table of Contents

A good sales strategy includes a sales plan for your product or service, as well as a plan to market it. Goals to reach your target customers make a sales campaign easy to create and follow.

Here are the most important points to include in a sales strategy plan:

• Product research
• Target audience
• Customer service and customer retention
• Product and service pricing
• Marketing and advertising plan
• Estimated budget for the entire campaign

This sales plan highlights measurable milestones for sales reps to aim for.

We’ve already touched on reasons why companies should use a sales plan, like this example, for their upcoming campaigns.

Below are the four main objectives of creating a sales plan and how they help with sales forecasting.

Align company departments and sales department goals

Different departments can have different perspectives on priorities and progress.

By aligning the company’s other departments with your sales team’s goals, you can ensure that all teams have a shared understanding of the sales plan’s objectives and their holistic contribution towards the business goal.

Create strategic direction for sales teams

A strategic direction plan establishes the company’s goals and objectives for the sales team.

You can formulate strategic direction plans by identifying the following:

• Target audience demographics
• Brand and product niche
• Actions that you want your customers to take
• The best channels to reach customers, such as social media and search engines

Once you’ve identified these, you can create an in-depth plan that can generate conversions in no time. Effective plans, like the one below, keep every customer detail in check.

Better customer-relationship management

A sales plan identifies the individuals and teams responsible for producing results that qualify as milestones for an upcoming business campaign.

With clear assignments, sales managers will easily know which individual or sales team member to approach for additional data.

Mark sales team milestones

Measuring plan milestones are important because they help assess a plan’s performance in a given period or by the end of its execution.

In doing so, team leaders can determine whether the project efficiently used every team member’s efforts and company resources to achieve the plan’s objectives.

The following are excellent examples of milestones for a sales plan:

• Completion of the research phase
• Development of the plan
• Approval of the plan
• Implementation of the plan

How do you write a sales plan?

Take a look at this sales plan. It’s fully detailed, sets deadlines, and keeps everyone updated with the most relevant and newest information so the team is aware of their responsibilities.

Here’s an overview of making an excellent and greatly convincing sales plan:

Compile data from the previous sales year

Create sales targets that meet your sales plan objectives, create a swot analysis, identify demand trends using sales data, look for existing market gaps.

• Appoint key roles for each of your objectives

So, let’s get to it!

Evaluating data from previous marketing campaigns could reveal helpful trends that can improve your upcoming sales plans.

Previous sales data can indicate accurate demographic data, such as lifestyle, age, income, and high sales activities in a given area.

With this data, your team can develop a detailed sales plan that includes your products while keeping in mind your demographic’s language, lifestyle, sensibilities, and more.

Here’s a great way to present this to your superiors and team members.

Related: 10 Demographic Infographic Templates to Share Population Data and More

Simple food sales action plan template

Take your reports from dull to comprehensively lively with this Venngage template. This is a great sales plan template when you have a significant amount of data to show.

You want to get to the point with your sales plan presentations. This fully customizable template makes it easy to share your sales plan data quickly and easily.

With Venngage, you can share your sales plan online with anyone. And when you upgrade to a business account, you can download your plan in a variety of formats, including PNG, PNG HD, PDF, Interactive PDF, and PowerPoint.

All sales targets must be clear, measurable goals that are specific and realistic with a defined deadline.

For example, ‘increase customer retention by 20 percent by the fourth quarter of this year’ is a specific, measurable, attainable, and timely goal.

Aligning your sales targets with the company’s general objectives is the best way to create sales plan objectives that incentivize customers to take action and make a purchase.

These sales KPIs or key performance indicators will keep the sales team aligned and on track with sales goals.

Light strategic sales action plan template

Organize your KPIs for measuring with this simple template. It’s easy to add to a project management interface. Alternately, it can be shared via email.

This helps to have everyone synchronized with the sales plan objectives.

All the colors in this template are neutral, and you can switch them out with your branding assets using Venngage’s convenient drag-and-drop editor.

A SWOT analysis is a tool utilized in the business world to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that a company’s business model may face.

Conducting a SWOT analysis is important for business owners to ensure that their company is as prepared as possible for the future. It can help businesses identify what strategies should be utilized for sales plans.

There are numerous reasons why businesses should use a SWOT analysis:

• A SWOT analysis makes forecasting easier when it is difficult to accurately predict the direction of an industry
• The SWOT analysis is a simplified view of the company’s situation and helps in reaching revenue targets
• It helps companies compare themselves to competitors and create a sales plan that is impactful 

It’s undeniable that the data a SWOT analysis produces is essential for any brand.

Blue competitor SWOT analysis template

Easily organize your thoughts with this simple but effective SWOT analysis template.

The grid format helps your team organize their thoughts and build an efficient sales pipeline.

Change the color scheme to suit your brand, or add a background or header image to make the text stand out.

Related: 15+ Business Plan Examples to Win Your Next Round of Funding

Demand trends are changes in the type and quantity of goods that consumers want to buy.

This is crucial data for sales plans because demand helps sales managers gauge if people identify the brand’s products as essentials or luxuries.

One way to identify demand trends is to use a scatter plot. This is what a scatter plot graph looks like:

This graph is an excellent way to find trends and correlations in your data. Here’s how:

• Plot two sets of data on the same graph
• Pick a line that divides the graph into two equal halves
• Compare the height of each data point on the left side of the line to the height of data points on the right side of the line
• Consider how many data points are on one side of the line than the other

If there are more data points on one side, there is likely a correlation between the two sides and possible causation.

Once you’ve identified these trends, you can include graphs and charts on a sales plan template during your presentation.

Visuals and well-made infographic designs are excellent ways to present your data without cluttering your documents or slides.

Revenue scatter plot chart

A great way to present prospective trends is by customizing this simple scatter plot graph.

This template fits perfectly into a presentation slide deck. There aren’t heavy visuals in this template. The layout is clean and simple, leaving nothing to the reader’s imagination.

You can make the chart more relevant by adding brand-related or relevant images. Or use an image from the 3 million+ stock photos available in the Venngage library.

Upload your own images, change the colors and fonts, and more with this template.

Related: How to Choose the Best Types of Charts For Your Data

A market gap is a space between supply and demand. It’s important because if there is a large market gap, it can indicate an economic opportunity for a company to capitalize on.

Market gaps can be as simple as solving a problem identified by an emerging group of customers.

For example, not every business has food delivery services because it’s expensive to make a fleet, and this gap helped create food delivery services.

A market team can find gaps based on three inputs:

• Forecasting models that help analyze data from the company’s previous-year data
• Qualitative research on lacking areas and industry expert reports identifying the target audience’s pain points
• Finding micro to small emerging trends that are already existing in the market

Market research mind map template

Display your research data with an easy-to-understand template, like the example below. You can present every single detail of your research without making it look like a cluttered report.

Using visuals and an easy-to-understand table, your readers can easily follow the strategic sales plan process from start to finish.

Appoint key roles for each of your sales objectives

With a strategic sales plan, you’ll need to appoint team members or departments to specific tasks. This is crucial for achieving the sales plan’s goals.

A good sales manager will assign roles according to each member’s specialty. For example, front-facing sales reps are better positioned to handle the CRM components of sales plans.

Appointing key roles can be as simple as using a table to align a team member’s position with their responsibilities.

However, you will need much more complex diagrams if you’re assigning tasks to projects with dozens of members.

Food Customer Sales Action Plan Template

Highlight every important detail with this free sales plan template that you can send to team members and other departments.

This sales plan template includes a dedicated section for your target market, customer profile, action plan, and task assignments. It’s a great briefing document for both internal and external use.

Fully customize this sales plan template for your brand with Venngage’s My Brand Kit feature.

Related: 9 Sales Infographics to Guide Strategy and Increase Sales

Now you can execute your sales plan with confidence and grow your customer base

Sales plans should be visually attractive as well as impactful. It isn’t always easy to create a sales plan without design experience.

Use the free sales plan template examples in this post to write a sales plan that is powerful and effective.

With these examples as inspiration, you can help team members and your business convince your target market about the dependability and quality of your products.

The Venngage sales plan templates will help you reach your sales goals faster and grow your business in the process.

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How to Write a Sales Plan

This guide explains the purpose of a sales plan, what it contains and how to write one that works for your business. It also includes a free template for your own sales plan.

Table of Contents

Every business needs a business plan as well as more detailed road maps that offer guidance to each department working toward that common goal. As the revenue-generating engine of your company, the sales department should be a top priority for this type of document, aptly named the “sales plan.” This guide introduces the concept of a sales plan and gives you all the guidance you need to create a sales plan that works for your business.

What is a sales plan?

A sales plan details the overall sales strategy of a business, including the revenue objectives of the company and how the sales department will meet those goals. This may also include revenue goals, the target audience and tools the team will use in their day-to-day. In addition, the sales plan should include examples of the hurdles and pain points the team might encounter, as well as contingency plans to overcome them.

“[A sales plan] is essential to support the growth of an organization,” said Bill Santos, vice president of the ITsavvy Advanced Solutions Group. “A sales plan helps individual reps understand the priorities of the business as well as the measurements by which they will be evaluated.”

Business plans vs. sales plans

Business plans and sales plans are closely linked. A sales plan, though, should outline the actions that the sales department will take to achieve the company’s broader goals. A sales plan differs from a business plan, though both work toward the same end.

“A business plan is a ‘what’ [and] a sales plan is a ‘how,'” said James R. Bailey , professor of management and Hochberg Professional Fellow of Leadership Development at the George Washington University School of Business. “Business plans are where a firm wants to go. A sales plan is a part of how they can achieve that. A business plan is direction; a sales plan is execution.”

For example, a software company that developed a new mobile application might state in its business plan that the app will be installed by 1 million users within a year of launch, while the sales plan describes how that will actually be achieved.

How to write a sales plan

Every sales plan should suit the individual needs of a different company, so they come in all shapes and sizes. There is no one-size-fits-all sales plan; the one you create will be unique to your business. With careful planning, you’ll have a much clearer vision of what you need to accomplish and a road map for how to get there. 

Chris Gibbs, vice president of global sales at Centripetal Networks, named some additional items that every sales plan should include.

• Targeted accounts: Assign each salesperson a few key accounts to focus on, and grow from that base.
• Targeted verticals: Sales teams might focus on specific market segments or verticals, such as a particular industry.
• SKUs: Salespeople should emphasize certain SKUs or inventory items rather than get lost in a broad catalog of merchandise to sell.
• Sales and marketing coordination: Sales and marketing teams should work together to create promotions to help generate sales.
• Product road maps: Every company has a road map, and each product should have a road map that shows the plan and direction for a product offering over time to chart out when a product will launch and when it might sunset or be replaced by a newer model.
• Forecasts: Sales forecasting is projecting sales volumes and expectations by comparing them historically to sales of previous years, and then conducting market comparison to determine where sales will fall against the competition.

“Sales plans are extremely important to ensure there is cohesiveness between product teams, sales and marketing,” Gibbs said. “In addition, they’re important for ensuring that timing of new products and/or new version releases coincide with sales objectives and forecasts.”

What are the steps to create a sales plan?

A sales plan is necessary for businesses of every size, from an individual entrepreneur to a Fortune 500 company. When you’re ready to actually write your sales plan, follow these steps:

1. Define the objectives. 

Clearly outlining your goals and stating your objectives should always be the first step in creating a sales plan or any other business venture. You should include the expected sales volume and any markets or territories you expect to reach. 

For example, let’s say you own a retail store selling household goods and electronics. If your purpose is to establish yourself as a trusted local retailer, ask yourself the following questions:

• If so, are they purchasing anything or just browsing?
• Was it word of mouth?
• Was it through marketing efforts, such as email marketing, direct mail or social media?
• How many are new customers?
• How many are repeat customers?
• Where do you want your sales to come from? 
• What are some external and internal factors that could impact your sales? These include industry trends and economic conditions.

When you can precisely state your key objectives, you are setting yourself up to plan later steps around achieving your goals.

2. Assess the current situation.

The next step is to create an honest overview of your business situation in relation to the goal you set in the first step. 

Review your strengths and assets. Take a look at your resources and how you can apply them to your goal. This can include personal relationships and competitive advantages like new products or services.

For example, if your goal is to enhance your relationship with your customers, you’d need to ask yourself some questions to examine your current situation:

• What is your current relationship with your customers?
• Where did most of your sales come from?
• Where would you like to expand your sales?

3. Determine and outline the sales strategies. 

Sales strategies are the actual tactics your team will use to reach customers. They can include marketing channels as well as procedures for lead generation and client outreach employed by your salespeople.

Here are two examples of potential sales strategies: 

• Use your POS system to retain customer information so you can track current and new customers.
• Employ email marketing, text message marketing , social media, outbound call center services and direct mail marketing campaigns.

4. Define roles for the sales team. 

Each member of the sales team should be assigned clear roles, whether they vary from person to person or everyone performs the same functions.

Defining the sales direction of the team is crucial, as it shows the focus of the company and helps the team target and execute sales most effectively.

The plan of attack for the sales team should be communicated clearly by leadership, whether it is from team leaders or the CEO.  

5. Inform other departments of sales objectives.

A sales plan shouldn’t just update a company president or C-suite; it should inform the whole organization of the sales team’s objectives. 

Clearly outline your plan for the rest of the company to help them understand the goals and procedures of the sales team. Other departments become more efficient when interacting with the sales team and clients. This also conveys a certain level of quality and professionalism to the clients about the company.

6. Provide tools for the sales team.

Provide the tools each member of the sales team needs to achieve the stated goals, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software. The best CRM software is customizable to meet a company’s needs, making it much easier for your team to use the software and work efficiently.

7. Detail how the department will track progress. 

Offer strategic direction and insight on how progress will be monitored. Having a quarterly review to assess whether the company is on target is just as important as the plan itself.

Markets change, and so should your sales plan. Keeping it up to date will help you capitalize on the market and achieve your goals. Tracking progress is made easier by the tools you use to collect data. That data will then have to be analyzed and presented in a way which all departments can understand and use for future growth. 

Key elements of a sales plan

Every sales plan should also include the following elements.

Realistic goals

You need to set achievable goals . Challenge your sales team, but don’t push too hard. Bailey said that these “deliverables” are among the key points to include in a sales business plan. 

“Deliverables need to be as specific as possible and moderately difficult to achieve – specific inasmuch as being measurable in a manner that is uncontested [and] moderately difficult inasmuch as making sales goals too difficult can lead to failure and discouragement.”

Midpoint goals also help build morale and keep the team working toward a larger goal. Instead of having one giant goal, creating smaller goals to achieve along the way will keep your team focused.

Sales tools

Tracking sales throughout the term is helpful, and you can employ tools to keep track of each team member as well as the department overall. It also helps establish a culture of accountability among salespeople.

“Tools can help, especially project management and CRM software,” Santos said. “Having a weekly cadence of update and review is also important, as it sends a message that ownership and updates are important.”

Clear expectations and a defined commission structure

Assign goals and responsibilities to each team member to make expectations clear. This is true whether or not each team member has the same goals.

“We meet with each individual to come up with a plan that works for them so that they can reach their goals,” said Leah Adams, director of client success at Point3 Security. “We measure results based on numbers. Each team member has his own plan and how they’re going to get there.”

It’s also necessary to spell out the commission structure in full detail.

“The only real difference is how sales count,” Bailey said. “In petroleum-based products … a few big clients are necessary. Compensation needs to be structured not just in contract value, but in graduated terms: Above $1 million, commissions move from 5% to 9%, and so forth. In smaller-volume enterprises, commissions might be front-loaded with higher percentages early, then graduated down. You have to reward what you want.”

Training programs

Along the way, some training might be necessary to maintain the momentum.

“What’s important to us is that we’re teaching these individuals to be the best salesperson they can be,” Adams said. “We help them do that by constantly training them and giving them knowledge of what’s going on in our industry. Everything stays on track because each member of the team knows their individual goal; though each person has a number, they also know the ultimate goal is for the entire team to hit.”

Adams said that an effective CRM keeps things organized and helps delegate tasks and responsibilities on a schedule that uses the company’s lead information.

Key steps to follow when devising a sales plan

Here are some best practices for creating a sales plan:

• Refer to the business plan. The sales plan should directly address the objectives of the business plan and how those objectives can be achieved.
• Advance clear objectives. The clearer the objectives are, the easier it will be to reach your goals.
• Reference prior sales data. Chart sales over the previous few terms, and project the trend for the current term. New businesses can create sales projections based on expectations.
• Outline the commission structure. This will help motivate your team and help you calculate anticipated costs.
• Be clear about how progress is measured. There should be no dispute about this. If larger clients carry more weight than lower-volume buyers, that should be stated upfront.

The benefits of a sales plan

A sales plan keeps the sales department on track, considering the details of how they must operate to hit their targets and achieve company objectives. Because the sales team is the primary driver of revenue, it is an incredibly important document. [Related article: Adopting a CRM? How to Get Buy-in From Your Sales Department ]

“It’s extremely important to have a sales plan in place, almost a must,” Adams said. “Without this plan, it’s almost impossible to get through the year and hit the company’s sales goals.”

It’s not uncommon to encounter obstacles along the way, however. A good sales plan accounts for that.

“Almost always, you’ll run into the speed bumps along the way, but with a plan in place, it makes it a whole lot easier to navigate through it all,” Adams said. “The sales plan allows you to adjust when necessary so the goal can still be hit. I strongly believe a plan allows you to stay in control and reduce the risk while being able to measure the team’s results along the way to that finish line.”

Sales plan templates

Sales templates are helpful in that many of them are based on tried-and-true formats that have been used by businesses across several industries. They can also provide structure so that it is clear to each employee what their role and responsibilities are. 

“A template helps plan each individual’s daily activities in a structured way,” Adams said. “If you know what each person is doing daily, it’s easier to help correct what’s going wrong. It helps with things like conversion rates, etc. Yes, these templates can be customized in any way a team’s manager sees fit, based on how he believes the team will perform better.”

Sales plans should be unique to the company; however, there are key components they should always include. Because there is somewhat of a formula, you can use a template.

Templates are extremely helpful, Gibbs said. “It creates uniformity for the team, as well as a yearly or quarterly sales plan to present to senior management.”

Gibbs added that templates can easily be customized to meet the needs of a particular business or sales team.

Keeping your team on track with a sales plan

Planning is vital for any business, especially when dealing with sales targets. Before selling your product or service, you must outline your goals and ways to execute them. Essentially, a sales plan enables you to mitigate problems and risks. When there is a clear plan of action, you will know how to proceed in order to attain your goals. 

Enid Burns contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

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How to Create a Sales Plan: Tips, Examples & Free Sales Plan Template

Tactics and strategies are great. But when you create a sales plan, you set a clear path to success, with each step mapped out ahead of you.

The Internet is full of people who will tell you all about the success they’ve found from their strategies, whether it's personalizing a newsletter subject line or changing the color of the 'Buy Now' button.

But, news flash—these tips and tricks aren’t actual sales strategies .

To create real, lasting growth for you and your company, you need to create your own grand strategy. And that starts with a solid sales plan .

So, what’s your plan? How do you build it (and stick to it)?

We’re about to take a deep dive into sales plans. By the end of this guide, you’ll be completely equipped to win the fight for business growth. And we can't recommend it enough—grab our free sales plan template here in the Sales Success Kit today:

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What is a Sales Plan? (And What Makes for Successful Sales Planning?)

Armed with the information you'll compile within your sales plan, you can quickly identify any upcoming problems, sales droughts, or opportunities—and then do something about them.

If done correctly, the right sales plan template empowers you to spend even more time growing and developing your business, rather than responding reactively to the day-to-day developments in sales.

Sound exciting? Let’s jump right in.

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Want to build your own sales plan template that'll clarify your business plan and accelerate your growth? Grab the Sales Success Kit , including...

...and more to help you set up strategic sales planning and quotas for your team.

Want to stand out in the competitive market? Explore the insights of challenger selling .

What’s in a Sales Plan? 6 Elements Every Sales Plan Needs

In basic terms, a sales plan template includes:

• Sales forecasting and goal-setting
• Market and customer research
• Prospecting and partnerships

Each part of the sales plan naturally works itself into the next, starting with your high-level goals, then considering market factors, and finally looking at who you know, and how to find more prospects to help hit your sales goals .

Here are the key elements to include in your plan:

1. Mission Statement

What gets your sales reps out of bed in the morning? What’s the clear mission that pushes your team to keep fighting for that win?

Your mission statement is a concise statement of the ‘big picture’—the main idea and goal you want to achieve. Think about your company mission and how the sales team forms part of that overarching goal.

2. Sales Goals and Revenue Targets

A sales plan must include achievable sales goals and the targets your sales reps will be working to reach. Use previous years' results to tell you what's reasonably possible for your team to do. Include specific metrics and KPIs , how these are performing currently, and what you plan to do to improve them.

This may also include information about your product’s pricing , planned discounts, and how your team can focus on the right customers to get the most revenue possible. Link these sales goals to the business goals your company is working to achieve.

3. Analysis of the Target Market

Your plan should clearly identify your ideal customer profile and information about the target market and demographic you plan to sell to. Are you breaking into a new market? Are you targeting small business or enterprise customers ? Give a concise description of your target audience and the stakeholders you’ll need to sell to.

4. Sales Strategy Overview and Methods to Reach Target Customers

This should include a brief overview of the customer journey , pain points , and how your salespeople will engage and follow up with new prospects throughout their journey to purchase. You'll likely outline specific sales activities you'll focus on, such as improving referral numbers, testing new cold-calling email strategies, or dipping your toe in social selling.

You may also include information about the marketing strategy and lead generation methods used to gather new leads and how sales managers will support the team.

5. Use of Resources and Sales Tools

How much does it cost your team to close a new deal? What is your budget for the sales team, or for sales tools ?

Inside your plan, list the resources you have available to you, and how you plan to use them during the year. This includes monetary resources, as well as human resources.

Next, show how your resources will be used. For example, how much will you spend on sales tools? Which CRM software is your team depending on? Briefly explain how you plan to use each tool and why you’ve allocated resources in that way.

6. Sales Team Structure

The structure of your sales team includes which reps are available during what times of the year, their specialties and skills, and where they focus in the sales process .

Also, include information about the sales managers, their teams, and the incentives you offer your reps.

The Benefits of Sales Planning: Why You Need a Sales Plan

Creating a sales plan from scratch can be daunting, even with the right sales planning template. So, why should you have your sales strategy written down and ready to act on?

Let’s talk about the benefits of sales planning to attract new business and grow your market share.

Clear, Time-Bound Goals Help You Reach Revenue Targets

There’s a reason they say, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

If you want your sales team to execute on and accomplish your sales goals, you need to have a plan in place. When targets are linked to specific timeframes and actions, your whole team will see how their individual work is involved in reaching your sales goals.

Prioritize Time and Resources

Without a specific action plan in place , your team won’t be able to prioritize their time with the right sales tactics and strategies to hit their targets.

With a clear outline of the tactics that bring the most significant ROI for your team, each rep can get the best results for the time they spend selling.

Clear Action Plan to Reach Your Goals

With an action plan in place, each team member knows what they’re supposed to be doing, and why they’re doing it. This keeps them motivated and helps them see how their individual efforts make a difference.

4 Types of Sales Plans (How to Choose Which Planning Style is Right for Your Sales Team)

It’s difficult to templatize a good sales plan since every plan is unique to the business and team it applies to. So, what are some examples of the types of sales plans you might create, and how can you choose between them?

• Revenue-based sales plan: If you’re aiming for a specific revenue goal, this type of sales plan will be focused on in-depth sales forecasting and specific actions to improve conversion rates and close more deals.
• Sales plan based on the target market: If you’re selling to vastly different markets, you may want to create a different sales plan based on the market you’re targeting. For example, your sales plan for enterprise companies would differ from your sales plan for selling to SMBs.
• Sales goals plan: A plan that’s focused on goals (other than revenue) may include hiring and onboarding, sales training plans, or plans to implement a new type of sales activity into your process.
• New product sales plan: When launching a new product, it’s a good idea to develop a specific business plan around its launch and continued promotion. This plan may include finding and contacting strategic partners, building a unique value prop in the market, and creating new sales enablement content for the team to use when selling this product. This type of sales plan can also apply to launching new features in your SaaS product.

How to Choose the Right Sales Planning Style

Ultimately, this will depend on factors such as:

• Your revenue goals
• The resources at your disposal
• Your sales team’s abilities and bandwidth
• Your personal commitment to seeing this plan through

When you’ve determined who is involved in sales planning, how committed they are, and the resources you can use to make this plan happen, you can start building your own sales plan.

9 Steps to Create a Sales Plan to 10x Your Sales Team’s Results

It may seem like a lot of work to develop a sales plan at this point. But once you do, you’ll be in a place to take your sales (and brand) to the next level.

Let’s break down this process, step-by-step, so you can start achieving greater results.

1. Define Your Sales Goals and Milestones

With a sales plan, we begin at the end: an end goal.

Start by choosing the sales metrics that matter most to your overall business. This could be:

• Annual or monthly recurring revenue (ARR or MRR)
• Retention or churn rates
• Average conversion time
• Average conversion rate
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

It doesn’t matter so much which metric you choose —the important point is that it can tell you whether your work has succeeded.

Next, look at last year’s forecast and results . Were you being realistic? How did sales revenue increase annually? How does that compare your company to the industry standards? Use this information to determine what realistically you can bring in based on the size of the market, your company goals, and the experience and resources available to your sales team .

After setting clear sales goals, it’s time to set milestones . This involves breaking that big number down into smaller expectations with strict deadlines. These should challenge and motivate your sales team , without being so difficult they kill morale.

Lean on your sales team during this process. After all, they’re in the trenches with you and probably have the best knowledge about your customers. Learn about what they do during the workweek to close deals. Ask how much they’re currently doing, and how much bandwidth they have to do more. This will give you a real, frontline take on what goals and milestones to set in your sales plan template.

Finally, create specific targets with clear deadlines . For example, to achieve a sales goal of increasing revenue by 15 percent YOY, you might set the milestone of increasing your customer base by 20 percent, or increasing sales by 50% for a specific product.

Brought together, these milestones inform and support your overall sales plan, giving you a clear, actionable workflow to hit your overall goals for the year.

2. Clearly Define Your Target Market or Niche

You need to know the market you’re in and the niche you’re going to occupy so you can properly position your business for growth.

What’s a business niche? It’s more than just what your business specializes in—a niche is the space your business occupies with your products, content, company culture, branding, and message. It’s how people identify with you and search you out over the competition.

As serial entrepreneur Jason Zook explains: “ When you try to create something for everyone, you end up creating something for no one. ”

Don’t do that.

Instead, start by looking at a niche and asking yourself these questions:

• How big is the market?
• Is there a built-in demand for what you're selling?
• What’s your current market position?
• Who are your competitors? What are their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats?

If you’re stuck, start by going back to your own strengths . List out your strongest interests and passions. Pick a field where the odds are already in your favor—where you have a proven track record, more expertise to offer, an extensive contact base, and people who can provide you with intros.

These kinds of strategic advantages will help you clarify your buyer persona and amplify the results of your planning.

Start with one product in one niche—you can always branch out to a complementary niche later. Sell beautiful, handcrafted tea cups? How about a booming doily business? Or customizable teaspoons?

A niche doesn’t limit you. It focuses you.

3. Understand Your Target Customers

Chasing the wrong customers will only waste your time and money, so don't allow them to sneak into your sales plan.

Your best customers are the ones that are successful with your product and see the ROI of it. Talk to them, and find out what they have in common.

While defining ideal customers depends on your company and market, here are some basic characteristics you’ll want to identify:

• Company size (number of employees, number of customers, yearly revenue)
• Size of the relevant department
• Geographical information
• Job title of your POC
• Buying process
• The goal they’re trying to achieve with your product or service

Also, don’t forget to think about whether they will be a good ‘fit’. If this is a long-term relationship you’re developing rather than a one-night stand, you want to ensure you speak the same language and share a similar culture and vision.

Use this information to build out an ideal customer profile . This fictitious organization gets significant value from using your product/service and provides significant value to your company. A customer profile helps you qualify leads and disqualify bad-fit customers before you waste time trying to sell to them.

Once you know the type of company you want to target with your sales team, it’s time to get inside their head. Start by hanging out where they hang out:

• Are they on social media? What’s their network of choice?
• Are they members of any Facebook or LinkedIn groups?
• Can you answer industry questions for them on Quora or Reddit?
• What podcasts do they listen to, or what resources do they read?

Get in your customers’ heads, and you’ll be in a much better position to sell to them.

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4. Map Out Your Customer’s Journey

The next part of an effective sales plan must address how that ideal customer becomes your customer. Do this by mapping out their journey, including actions and events during the different stages of the sales funnel :

• Consideration

Conduct a customer survey or chat directly with your current, happy customers to gather valuable sales planning insights. Ask them:

• When you became a customer, what did you want our product to do for you?
• What features were important to you? Why?
• What was your budget?
• How did you solve this problem before using our product?

To fully understand their journey as a customer, you can also ask about past buying experiences:

• When was the last time you bought something similar?
• Was that a good or bad experience? Why?
• What was the decision-making process like?
• How did you evaluate different offers?
• Which factors made you choose that particular solution?

Once you’ve identified the awareness, interest, and consideration stages, let your prospects and new customers build the rest of their roadmap by asking them: "What’s next?"

"What needs to happen to make you a customer?"

If, for example, they say they’ll have to get approval from the VP of Finance. Ask:

"Ok, and let's say he agrees that we're the right fit; what's next?"

We call this the virtual close , a way to put your prospect in a future-thinking state of mind that makes them imagine buying from you. Asking this question to several high-quality prospects will tell you those final few steps in the customer journey until they’ve signed on the dotted line.

Finally, piece together the post-sale journey. Once a prospect becomes a customer, what’s next? How do you enable them to use your product and be successful with it? What happened to create your most loyal customers? Understanding this piece of the sales process is essential to managing and increasing customer retention .

5. Define Your Value Propositions

You know your customers. You know their journey. Now, define where you fit in by looking at your competitive advantage . Fully articulating what sets you apart from the competition is a crucial element of your sales plan template.

Start by asking a few simple questions:

• Why do customers buy from us?
• Why do customers buy from our competitors and not us?
• Why do some potential customers not buy at all?
• What do we need to do to be successful in the future?

Remember that customers buy benefits, not features. When describing your value proposition , it’s easy to get caught up in talking about you. What you’ve made. What you do. Instead, flip the script and talk about what your product will do for your customers . A strong competitive advantage:

• Reflects the competitive strength of your business
• Is preferably, but not necessarily, unique
• Is clear and simple
• May change over time as competitors try to steal your idea
• Must be supported by ongoing market research

For example, the competitive advantage of help desk software has nothing to do with its social media integrations and real-time ticket tracking. It’s the fact that it allows its customers to focus on creating a great customer experience.

Here’s the point: Focus on value, not features, in your sales plan template.

Your competitive advantage will inform everything your company does moving forward, from marketing to product development. It’s a great example of where sales can influence the development of a product and the direction of a business.

6. Organize Your Sales Team

The way your sales team is organized can enable them to better serve their customers and bring new revenue into your business faster.

Here are three basic structures for your sales team :

• The island: Individual reps work alone.
• Assembly line: Each sales rep is assigned a specialized role such as lead generation, SDR (qualifier), Account Executive (closer), or Customer Success (farmer).
• Pods: Each sales rep is assigned a specialized role in a pod, or group, that’s responsible for the entire journey of specific customers.

Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team members, and how they will truly thrive as part of the team.

7. Outline the Use of Sales Tools

Now it’s time to think about the tools you’re using. Building out your sales stack takes time and effort, but listing out that stack in your sales plan will help you avoid getting caught up with new tech that may or may not help your sales team.

Basically, you’ll need tools for these areas to cover all aspects of the sales process:

• CRM software (like Close )
• Lead generation and prospecting tools
• Internal communication software
• Engagement and outreach tools
• Documentation software
• Sales enablement stack

Think about how all of your sales tools work together through integrations and where automation comes into play to save your team time, and how you'll drive CRM adoption across your team members.

8. Build a Prospecting List

A prospect list is where we take all the theory and research of the last few sections of our sales plan template and put them into action.

At its core, a prospect list is a directory of real people you can contact who would benefit from your product or service. This can be time-consuming, but it's essential for driving your sales plan and company growth.

First, use your ideal customer profile to start finding target companies:

• Search LinkedIn
• Check out relevant local business networks
• Attend networking events and meetups
• Do simple Google searches
• Check out the member list of relevant online groups

Target up to 5 people at each organization. Targeting more than one individual will give you better odds of connecting by cold email outreach as well as a better chance that someone in your network can connect you personally.

Remember, this isn’t just a massive list of people you could sell to. This is a targeted list based on the research you’ve done previously in your sales plan.

Once you have your list, keep track of your leads and how you found them using a sales CRM. This will keep historical context intact and make sure you don’t overlap on outreach if you’re working with teammates.

9. Track, Measure, and Adjust As Needed

Just because you’ve made a solid sales plan template to follow, doesn’t mean you get to sit back and watch the cash roll in.

Remember what Basecamp founder Jason Fried said about plans:

“A plan is simply a guess you wrote down.”

You’re using everything you know about the market, your unique value, target customers, and partners to define the ideal situation for your company. But yes, try as we might, very few of us actually see anything when we gaze deep into the crystal ball.

Instead, remember that your sales plan is a living, breathing document that needs to account for and adapt to new features, marketing campaigns, or even new team members who join.

Set regular meetings (at least monthly) to review progress on your sales plan, identify and solve issues, and align your activities across teams to optimize your plan around real-world events and feedback. Learn from your mistakes and victories, and evolve your sales plan as needed.

Create a Strategic Sales Plan to Grow Your Business

You’ve just discovered the basics—but I’ll bet you’re ready to go beyond that. Here are some final ideas to take your sales plan from a simple foundation to a strategic, actionable one.

Avoid Moving the Goalpost

Avoid making adjustments to the goals outlined in your sales plan—even if you discover you’ve been overly optimistic or pessimistic in your sales planning. When you're developing your very first sales plan template, it's natural to be wrong in some of your assumptions—especially around goals and forecasting .

Instead of letting it get you down, remember your plan serves as a benchmark to judge your success or failure. As you see places where your assumptions were wrong, carefully document what needs updating when it's time to revise your sales plan.

Invite Your Others to Challenge Your Sales Plan

Never finalize a plan without another set of eyes (or a few sets.) Get an experienced colleague—an accountant, senior salesperson, or qualified friend—to review the document before solidifying your sales plan.

Your sales team is another strong resource for reviewing your sales plan. Ask their opinions, give them time to think about how it relates to their daily work, and agree on the key points that go into your sales plan.

Set Individual Goals and Milestones for Your Sales Team

We talked about creating milestones for your business, but you can take your sales plan to the next level by setting individual milestones for your sales team as well.

These individual goals need to consider the differences in strengths, weaknesses, and skills among your salespeople.

For example, if someone on your team is making a ton of calls but not closing, give them a milestone of upping their close rate . If someone’s great at closing but doesn’t do much outreach, give them a milestone of contacting 10 new prospects a month.

Doing this will help your individual reps build their skills and contribute to their company and career growth.

Ready to Hit Your Sales Goals?

In most sales situations, the biggest challenge is inertia. But with a solid, detailed sales plan and a dedicated team with clear milestones, you’ll have everything you need to push through any friction and keep on track to hit your goals!

All jazzed up and ready to put together your own sales plan? Download our free Sales Success Kit and access 11 templates, checklists, worksheets, and guides.

They're action-focused and easy to use, so you can have your best sales year yet.

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10 Sales objectives to crush your quotas [with examples]

Key takeaways.

• Sales objectives support achieving your overall sales target.
• Sales objectives are long-term goals that are set to align the entire sales team towards pushing the company forward.
• Trust the SMART framework to set good sales objectives.

Often, sales teams measure their performances and success by looking at their monthly quotas, average sales value, churn, ROI, and similar metrics.

But what if they don’t know what exactly they are working to achieve?

That’s where the need for having sales objectives comes into play.

And this blog is here to share  10 sales objectives examples you must explore!

But first, let’s know what “sales objectives” means.

What are sales objectives? 

Common challenges in setting sales objectives , how to use sales objectives effectively  , 1. increase win rate , 2. reduce customer acquisition costs (cac) , 3. lower churn rate  , 4. enhance customer lifetime value (clv) , 5. improve monthly or annual revenue , 6. raise profit margins , 7. shorten deal closure time/ sales cycle  , 8. enhance the number of high quality leads , 9. faster response time  , 10. close more deals .

Sales objectives are long-term goals that are set to align the entire sales team towards pushing the company forward.  

They act as a blueprint to define a sales team’ next steps to accomplish individual and departmental sales targets.

But sales objectives are not the same as KPIs.  

They are the overarching themes that define the metrics that depict the success of sales. 

Setting sales goals for driving results out of your reps’ actions is critical.  

Firstly, let’s discover the common challenges that sales professionals face while setting sales objectives. 

The majority of the sales reps spend most of their time on non-revenue-generating activities.  

The high percentage is often due to unrealistic goals, a rise in menial tasks, and other underlying challenges that stop companies from setting frictionless sales objectives. 

Some of the  major sales challenges  that sales professionals face are:

• Managing volumes of data and segregating them into use cases 
• The inability to manage data and business insights across multiple departments 
• The absence of the company’s long-term or short-term vision 
• Inadequate knowledge in accessing technology or tools to derive real-time insights 
• Measuring success by defining shared metrics 

Sales managers need to define clear sales objectives with a strategy to achieve the desired sales goal.

This way, it would be easier to overcome the majority of challenges coming their way.

So, let’s find the right way to set sales objectives.

Most businesses use  SMART sales goals  to execute sales plans.  

The SMART framework is effective as it covers the main attributes to create actionable sales objectives.

• S – Specific for any task/actions performed by the sales team  
• M – Measurable to assess the success and failure 
• A – Attainable on realistic grounds based on the resources available  
• R – Relevant to align with your business, team, and individual goals 
• T – Time-bound to achieve the particular goal timely which boosts your  team’s productivity  

Let’s understand with a sales objective example based on a measurable and time-bound mindset.

Suppose your sales team aims to improve customer retention by 20% over the next year.

The SMART goal will help you define that the team must retain at least 5% of customers quarterly.

10 key sales objectives examples you must use

These 10 sales objectives examples will help you to improve your team’s overall performance. So, let’s dive in. 

Win rate is a top  sales performance metric  that refers to the percentage of prospects who became customers divided by the number of pending deals.  

This metric is a clear indicator of the success of your sales funnel because a higher win rate suggests higher revenue. 

Sales objective example:  

Improve win rates by 10% by the end of the following two quarters. 

Tips to achieve this sales objective:  

• Improve your qualification process to get qualified leads for sales 
• Track sales activities  of your sales reps over a period to remove bottlenecks
• Leverage sales intelligence to identify bottlenecks and opportunities  
• Set up regular optimization of your sales process 
• Provide  sales training  proactively for upskilling and reskilling  
• Gather feedback from the sales team and customers to get a complete picture  

You can save more resources for your business expansions by lowering your customer acquisition cost (CAC) .

For example, you will have more resources for campaign spending and the tools available to marketing, advertising and sales teams.  

Cut down CAC by 15% in the next quarter by employing other highly skilled, less expensive methods to win customers, such as ensuring the product or service matches the customer’s current situation. 

• Analyze your current customer acquisition cost to discover key channel spends  
• Calculate the ROI from each channel and identify your best sources 
• Identify which channel drives high-quality (sales-worthy) leads  
• Re-evaluate audience targeting and buyer persona  to optimize the strategy
• Work on your pricing strategy to improve in the possible way 
• Keep track and use analytics to measure the success   

Customer churn rate measures the number of existing customers or subscribers cancelling or not renewing your services.

Also, it indicates how easily offers made by your competitors can sway your audience.

By focusing on this sales objective, you can secure your market capture, optimizing the return on your customer acquisition spend.  

Slash customer churn rate by 10% by the end of the month and achieve this by offering attractive customer incentives or discounts. 

• Deep dive into  sales reports  to identify the point of drop-off 
• Proactively address customer concerns 
• Conduct closed surveys to seek customer feedback  
• Train your teams effectively to offer better customer service 
• Introduce a Chatbot to  assist customers 24/7  
• Offer post sales follow-up and onboarding support 
• Keep a close watch on your competitors  

Related read:  6 Techniques for better customer retention that just work!  

Getting more sales from an existing customer is cheaper than acquiring a new one – especially owing to the increasing customer acquisition costs across all channels.  

Therefore, CLV is an important metric for your sales team’s attention.

Increase the average order value and purchase frequency by 10% before the year ends. 

• Segment your customers  based on interest, intent, preferences  
• Focus on setting up upsell and cross-sell campaigns with personalized recommendations 
• Offer freebies or free trials to encourage discovery
• Build a community of customers to boost loyalty 
• Boost your customer engagement strategy with automation 
• Run loyalty programs and offer incentives 

Increased revenue indicates a company’s profitability and competitiveness in the market.  

But no one-size-fits-all method works for generating higher revenue month-on-month or year-over-year.  

This sales objective can involve calculating revenue per sales representative or the entire team. 

Reach our monthly recurring revenue target of 15% more than the previous year. 

• Focus on  customer retention  to increase recurring revenue  
• Invest in marketing and advertising to attract new customers
• Leverage cold calling and emailing to the fullest  
• Keep a close look on  sales pipelines  to identify opportunities for more sales 
• Increase purchase size by upselling products or services to active customers 
• Leverage technologies like CRM,  marketing automation  and analytics to boost revenue-making opportunities
• Train sales team on creating a moment for cross and upselling 

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If the revenue objective seems harder to execute, raising profit margins is an easier alternative to boost revenue.  

Profit margins are popular profitability indicators representing profits made by selling more units with higher margins.  

Increase profit margins/units sold by 10% through  impactful sales calls  by the end of the upcoming quarter.  

• Find out what products generate the most profits 
• Upsell and cross-sell products to customers 
• Emphasize the values that your brand offers towards solving their problems 
• Train your reps to overcome sales objections during sales calls

A lengthier sales cycle indicates longer time spent closing deals and delayed revenue for your organization.

This can result in prospects exploring more options in the market, resulting in walkaways from deals.

Decrease deal closure time by 20% in the next quarter by pre-qualifying leads and eliminating cold leads early in the sales cycle.  

• Build a  lead scoring model  to prioritize leads  
• Leverage lead scoring software to automate your qualification process 
• Qualify MQLs for sales with ideal  qualifying questions  
• Help your sales team personalize their pitches 
• Set your mundane tasks on autopilot with  workflow automation  

You can only optimize a sales process when you have the right leads in your pipeline.  

If you target too broad, it may bring in prospects that are too far away from making the purchase.

On the other hand, targeting too narrow may reduce the number of leads your sales team can bring into the pipeline, leading to even lesser closure.

The quality of leads is more important than their quantity.

So, your marketing teams  must generate and qualify leads  effectively, saving their reps time by providing the hottest leads for sales targeting. 

Increase the number of high-quality leads by 25% with lead scoring. 

• Define your ideal customer profile and buyer persona 
• Build a lead scoring model to prioritize leads 
• Introduce an automatic  lead scoring tool  for faster and error-free lead qualification  
• Set up and follow a sales qualification framework, including all the key qualifying questions  

Create your custom model in minutes!

Take control of your lead scoring process and create a model that fits your business needs perfectly with marketing automation!

50% of potential buyers  prefer a brand that responds first. 

Customers and leads loathe super long waiting times. Your prospects lose interest in your business if your response rate is low. 

Also, this can adversely impact your brand image in the long run. 

Every sales rep must respond to warm leads and prospects within the three-hour bracket of receiving an inquiry by creating a daily response schedule. 

Tips to achieve this sales objective:   

• Introduce a  sales CRM  to manage your inbound leads and for faster communication 
• Set for auto-assigning of leads, so all get an instant attention 
• Set up an automated system to give alerts to sales reps when a lead qualifies 
• Automate follow-up with  Sales Sequence  
• Conduct training of reps on time management and communication skills 
• Use  Mobile CRM  as it lets you respond to leads anytime, anywhere 

You must track the number of deals your sales team and individual sales rep closed.

Remember that to achieve this objective, what worked once for you may not fetch the same results again.

So, preparing your reps to win every possible conversation that tends to close the deal would be best.  

Close 20 deals by the end of the first quarter. And individually close three deals by the end of the second quarter using sales best practices. 

• Evaluate the performance across your sales objectives to identify roadblocks 
• Provide  sales enablement  training to reps for better customer handling 
• Boost your lead generation efforts via omnichannel targeting 
• Improve your  lead qualification process  to get quality leads 
• Build a custom sales pipeline to track the opportunity of the deal closing 
• Implement a CRM and automation tool to manage and track your entire sales process 

Final thoughts 

Apart from setting actionable sales objectives, ensure you check in on them regularly — weekly or biweekly.

Regular check-ins help your company and teams never lose track or get overwhelmed as new opportunities arise.

Also, celebrate smaller milestones when your sales reps are on the course to accomplish the main objective and keep the momentum going.

As sales leaders, you must guide your team in achieving precise sales goals.

Work towards your best-suited objectives, chase them and measure them to set your teams up for success.

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Thank you for your submission., 7 sales objective examples according to top sales managers.

Jonathan Costet

Written by Jonathan Costet

“Create more pipeline.”

“Boost win rates.”

“Close bigger deals.”

“Increase customer lifetime value (CLV).”

Ask any sales leader what they want, and you’ll get an answer along these lines. While these are certainly lofty goals, they lack direction.

You can’t tell a sales rep to “increase sales” and expect them to know what to do. They’ll just give you a blank stare. You have to provide them with guidance and clear action steps.

A good place to start is to set the right sales objectives.

In this article, we’ll explain what sales objectives are and why they’re critical to business growth. We’ll also look at examples of sales objectives that you can set for your sales team.

What is a sales objective?

A sales objective is a clearly defined outcome you set for your salespeople. It comprises sales activities the team must take to achieve that outcome, such as increasing revenue, improving win rates, or generating more leads for your sales funnel. 

By setting the right sales objectives, you can set your team up for success and help the company achieve its long-term goals.

How to set sales objectives

Setting the right sales objectives isn’t easy. 

If you set a too-lofty sales goal, it might make each team member feel overwhelmed and lose confidence in their abilities. However, if you set a too-easy sales goal, it could lead to a lack of motivation or even boredom.

Good sales objectives give your reps a clear action plan to reach their sales goals. They also provide the right degree of challenge so that your reps remain engaged in their work.

Follow the SMART framework to set sales objectives.

Here’s how you can set SMART sales objectives:

The first part of SMART goal setting is to set a specific sales goal.

Simply saying that you want to “capture more market share” or “reduce your churn rate” won’t cut it. While these are important sales KPIs, you’ll have to be more specific to create a SMART goal. What exactly do you want to accomplish? What steps will you take to achieve it?

For example, instead of saying that you want to bring in new clients or boost profit margins, you might say something like, “We’ll close more accounts with cold calls.” A specific goal will motivate your team more than a generic one.

Specificity is a good start, but you’ll want to quantify your sales objectives. This will enable you to benchmark performance and track progress toward your sales goal.

For example, if you want to close more accounts, then decide on how many. 

Make your SMART goal more impactful by making it measurable. You might say something like, “We’ll close 15 more accounts with cold calls.”

Time for a reality check.

While you want to set an ambitious stretch goal to challenge and push your team outside their comfort zone, each sales goal must be realistic. 

If your sales team brought in five accounts last month, asking them to bring in 50 this month might not be reasonable.

Set goals and revenue targets that your sales team can reasonably accomplish.

This is where you’ll look at the bigger picture. 

Sales objectives should always align with your overarching business goals. They should be relevant to what the company wants to achieve.

Sales objectives should also fit your current  sales strategy . If social media selling isn’t part of your sales process, it doesn’t make sense to set a revenue goal to bring in new accounts via Facebook. Make sure you set a relevant SMART goal.

Finally, your sales objectives should have a time limit. Setting a time frame will give your reps a “finish line” as they work toward their goals. Set monthly, quarterly, or yearly objectives.

Here’s what our sales objective example looks like:

• Acquire 15 new accounts by the end of the quarter with cold calls.

Let’s look at some more examples of sales objectives.

7 sales objective examples

Here’s a look at seven sales call objective examples. 

Set these goals for individual reps or your entire sales team to improve sales productivity and boost your bottom line. 

1. Increase sales revenue

Increasing revenue is a common sales objective example. You can set monthly, quarterly, or yearly revenue objectives for individual reps or a sales team.

Sales objective example to increase revenue:

• Bring in 15 new accounts worth over $20,000 by the end of the quarter.

How to achieve this sales objective:

There’s no shortage of  sales tactics  that can help you build trust with potential buyers. Stating your full name and opening with “How’ve you been?” are surprisingly effective tactics.

But tactics alone aren’t enough to close deals.

A sound sales strategy is far more important to hit your sales target. It provides each team member with a framework that covers the sales cycle from prospecting to closing. Most importantly, it aligns your sales team to strategic goals that support the business.

Check out our  7-step sales strategy framework  to craft a winning sales strategy that will help your reps sell more.

2. Improve win rates

The win rate is the percentage of opportunities that have successfully closed. It helps you measure how effective your sales reps are at closing deals.

Here’s the formula to calculate a win rate:

• Win rate = (Closed-won deals / Total deals) x 100

For example, if a team member has 50 opportunities in their  sales pipeline  and turns 10 into buyers, then their win rate would be 20%.

Sales objective example to improve win rates:

• Increase team win rates to 30% by the end of the fiscal year.

Low conversion rates often stem from poor sales prospecting. If your reps are targeting prospects that aren’t a good fit for your solution, they’ll have a hard time turning them into buyers.

Define an  ideal customer profile  (ICP) — a comprehensive account that describes the type of company that would benefit from your solution.

Use this ICP example to create your own:

Reps can improve their win rate by focusing on opportunities that match your ICP. Then it’s a matter of asking the right  sales qualifying questions  to identify the right buyers.

3. Generate more qualified leads

Successful lead generation is key to making sales. Without a steady flow of qualified leads, your sales pipeline will dry up and the business will struggle to grow. You can track leads by individual rep or team.

Sales objective example to generate more leads:

• Increase monthly qualified leads by 15% through cold email outreach.

There are countless ways to generate new leads, from attending networking events to reaching out to prospects on social media. But we’ll focus on cold emailing here.

Cold email outreach is an effective strategy for increasing the number of leads your company brings in — if you do it right.

So how can you send better cold emails? While the body of your email is important, don’t ignore the impact of a strong  email CTA .

We’ve found that the  interest  CTA works best for cold email outreach.

Don’t ask for a meeting on a specific day or leave it open-ended. Instead, use an interest CTA like: “Are you interested in learning more about [solution]?”

It sounds simple, but it works.

4. Reduce sales cycle length

The sales cycle length is how long it takes, on average, to close a deal. It’s a key metric that can help measure your teams’  sales efficiency . 

Sales objective example to reduce sales cycle length:

• Reduce average sales cycle length by 20% by next quarter.

The longer a potential deal drags on, the less likely it’ll close. One of the most effective ways to  shorten your sales cycle  is to define “next steps” — scheduling sales calls, booking product demos, etc.

Win rates are 4.4x higher when reps discuss next steps.

Don’t forget to  confirm  the next steps while you’re on a call with a prospect to shorten the cycle time. Ask the prospect if they have their calendar handy to give them a gentle nudge.

5. Increase average deal size

Average deal size is the average value of won deals. Simply divide the total revenue generated from your buyers by the total number of deals you closed.

It often takes just as much time and effort to close a $10,000 deal as it does a $15,000 deal, so why not aim higher?

Sales objective example to increase average deal size:

• Increase average deal size by 15% in the next two months.

Take a value-based selling approach to win bigger deals.

Value-based selling is all about putting your buyers first. Once you understand their challenges, you can communicate the value of your solution and explain how it will solve the buyer’s problems. 

We’ve found that focusing on value-based topics drives the next steps more than features.

Secure those valuable next steps, and you’ll be one step closer to winning the deal. 

Make sure to align your offer to each buyer’s needs. Value can be anything from cost savings to increased productivity. Once you can get your prospects to see the value of your solution, your reps will have an easier time closing bigger deals.

Another way to increase the average deal size is to upsell — a technique that encourages new or current customers to upgrade to a premium version of what you’re selling.

6. Improve quota attainment rate

A quota attainment rate measures a rep’s sales against their quota over a given period. It’s typically expressed as a percentage and helps you measure sales performance. 

Here’s the formula to calculate your quota attainment rate:

• (Total sales / Sales quota) x 100

If a rep closes $30,000 and their quota was $50,000, their attainment rate would be 60%.

Sales objective example to improve quota attainment rate:

• Achieve a 70% quota attainment rate by the end of Q4.

Every rep has strengths and weaknesses. Some are great at handling  sales objections , while others need work on communicating the value of your solution.

The right tools can help you generate KPI reports and identify areas for improvement.

Use CRM software or a  sales coaching platform  like Gong to help your reps hit their quota attainment rates. With Gong, you can track key stats and sales KPIs across your team to see what areas your reps are struggling with.

We’ve found that  top sales reps  — those who consistently exceed their quotas — have a talk-to-listen ratio of 46:54 — they  listen  more than they talk. With Gong, you can see who’s outside the recommended range and help them course correct.

Moreover, you can listen in on specific calls and leave more structured feedback with  scorecards . Scorecards enable you to deliver personalized coaching at scale.

7. Reduce average lead response time

Lead response time is how long it takes for reps to follow up with a warm lead — prospects who have expressed interest in your solution by filling out a form or signing up for a free trial. 

Slow response times can cause potential buyers to lose interest. Worse, they could cause them to turn to your competitors instead.

Sales objective example to improve average response time:

• Respond to warm leads within 5 hours of receiving a call, message, or email.

One way to improve response time is through lead routing — the process of collecting and distributing leads to sales reps. However, manually routing leads is tedious and time-consuming. 

Consider using automated lead routing systems. These allow you to create custom workflows that route leads based on certain criteria. 

For example, you can assign leads to reps based on industry, geography, and deal size. Some systems have reminders baked in to prompt reps to send follow-up emails and prevent leads from slipping through the cracks.

Reach your sales management objectives with Gong

Sales objectives provide your sales team with a roadmap to help the company achieve its goals. 

Set objectives that are SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. They should also align with and support the company’s long-term goals. Use the examples here to set a SMART sales goal for each sales team member and overall teams. 

Help your team reach their sales objectives by downloading our  Sales Coaching Template For High-Performing Teams . This template provides a 5-point framework that top sales managers use to identify improvement opportunities and boost team performance.

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How to create an effective sales plan: Tips and examples

Josh Gillespie Director of Enterprise Sales at PandaDoc

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A sales plan is a roadmap that outlines your business’s strategy for selling its products or services.

Acting as an essential tool for businesses of all sizes and in all industries, a robust sales plan helps to identify sales goals, target markets, and sales tactics to achieve those goals.

Without further delay, let’s take a look at how you can create an effective sales plan for your business.

What is a sales plan?

A sales plan is not dissimilar to a business plan, except that a sales plan focuses entirely on sales activities.

A sales plan contains everything your sales team needs to know about their roles and how they can influence meeting your organization’s sales targets in addition to contributing to the company as a whole.

A sales plan includes, but is not limited to:

• Analysis of your target market and buyer personas
• Month-to-month forecasts
• Specific sales strategies to attract, engage, and sell to potential customers
• Sales team roles, their specific responsibilities, and their necessary skill sets
• Potential challenges and roadblocks to sales
• Individual and team-wide, short-term, and long-term goals.

A sales plan is a customizable document that is not designed to remain static.

As your company changes and grows, your sales plan should alter to reflect the specifics of your business.

Types of sales business plan

There are several types of sales business plans that you can create, all of which can be supported by a sales or business plan template .

Your ultimate choice depends on the best approach to meet your overarching needs and goals.

Here are some of the most common types.

New product

This type of plan is specifically designed to introduce a new product into the market and achieve specific sales goals.

It includes detailed information on the product — such as its features, benefits, and unique selling proposition.

The plan also includes a timeline for product development and launch , pricing strategies, promotional campaigns, and sales targets for the first year.

Sales goals

A sales goals plan focuses on goals instead of revenue.

This type of plan may include hiring and onboarding followed by sales training plans — or plans to introduce a new method of sales activity into your existing processes.

A sales goals plan provides a clear roadmap for your sales team to follow, and helps to identify potential challenges and roadblocks that may arise along the way.

Customer segment

The customer segment sales plan is centered around identifying the target customers for a new product and creating a sales strategy to reach them.

It includes a thorough analysis of the customer segments , including their demographics, psychographics, and buying behavior.

The plan also outlines the sales channels that will be used to reach these customers — such as online marketplaces, social media, or brick-and-mortar stores.

This plan includes specific tactics for each channel, including promotional campaigns and pricing strategies that are tailored to the target customer segments.

Why is sales planning important?

To reach your company’s overall sales goals, it’s essential to implement sales planning.

Effectively planning sales and comparing reality against sales goals templates can provide indicators a sales strategy isn’t working —so you can take the necessary steps to improve it.

When sales targets are aligned with precise actions and timeframes, your team feels part of your business’s success — and ultimately more motivated to reach their sales targets.

Setting clear expectations and providing ongoing feedback and support is an efficient way to measure progress against your sales goals, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments as needed.

The process of sales planning also helps to optimize the use of your company’s resources — including time, money, and personnel.

By identifying the most effective sales strategies and tactics, sales planning helps you allocate your resources in the most efficient way possible.

Another benefit of sales planning is that it aids the process of identifying new sales opportunities and potential customers.

By analyzing the market and customer data, sales planning enables your sales team to target specific customer segments and develop effective sales strategies.

Studying examples of sales plans can help illustrate this, so let’s look at an example sales plan excerpt now.

Target market

A company that specializes in customized software solutions for small to medium-sized businesses might create a sales plan to target businesses in major US metropolitan areas working in the technology, retail, and healthcare industries — with annual revenues of $1 million to $20 million.

Sales objectives

In this example of a sales plan, the sales objectives could be to simultaneously increase sales by 25% and to acquire 10 new customers in the first year of operation.

Sales strategies

To achieve these sales objectives, the company might attend industry trade shows and conferences to generate leads, offer free consultations to potential clients to showcase their expertise, and establish partnerships with other companies that serve their target market.

Sales metrics

Appropriate sales metrics to track would include tracking the number of leads generated per month and the conversion rate of leads into clients.

For the sales team to work together to attain these objectives, a realistic approach would be to provide regular sales training and coaching to improve performance, as well as establishing performance goals and incentives to motivate the sales team.

3 Key elements of a sales plan

There are several elements that should be included in your sales plan, but here are three of the most important:

1. Training initiatives

The first key element of your sales plan is composed of training initiatives that provide your sales team with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively sell your company’s products or services.

This can include training on product features and benefits, sales techniques, objection handling, and customer relationship management.

By investing in training initiatives, you can work to improve sales team performance, achieve better sales results, and build a winning sales culture.

2. Realistic objectives

Your sales plan should clearly outline your chosen sales objectives and targets that you want to achieve — such as revenue targets, market share goals, or customer acquisition targets.

These objectives should be specific, measurable, and achievable, and should be tied to your overall business goals and objectives.

3. Sales tools

Specific sales tools that help you meet your sales targets can include customer relationship management (CRM) software, sales automation tools , lead generation solutions, and management tools.

In addition, consider including any other technologies that can help to streamline your existing sales process and improve efficiencies across the board.

How to create a sales plan

Okay. Now it’s time to create your sales plan.

1. Write your mission statement

Your mission statement is your WHY.

Why did you start your business? What’s your motivation?

A sales plan mission statement is a concise and compelling statement that outlines the purpose and objectives of your sales plan.

It should communicate the core values, goals, and aspirations of your sales team and set the tone for your overall sales strategy.

To begin writing your mission statement, think carefully about your core values as a business.

These can include elements like customer service, innovation, teamwork, integrity, or quality.

These values will guide your sales team in their day-to-day interactions with customers and help them stay focused on the bigger picture.

Your mission statement should also address the needs and wants of your target audience.

Identify who your ideal customer is — and their expectations of your sales team.

This will help you create a mission statement that resonates with your target audience.

Remember to regularly review and update your statement to ensure that it remains relevant and inspiring to your team.

Here’s a great example of a mission statement:

“Our mission is to provide our customers with exceptional service and innovative solutions that meet their needs and exceed their expectations. Through teamwork, integrity, and a commitment to quality, we will achieve our sales goals and become the go-to provider of (product/service) in our industry”.

2. Identify your goals

What are your sales goals for the next year?

How will you measure success?

Identifying clear and achievable sales goals will help you to set sales quotas and guide your team with clear directions.

You must have a clear understanding of your overall business goals.

This might include increasing revenue, expanding your customer base, launching a new product, or entering a new market.

Next, think about how you can determine your sales revenue target.

This should be a specific and measurable amount that you aim to achieve within a specific period of time, perhaps per quarter or year.

3. Analyze your target market

Analyzing your target market is a critical step in developing a successful business strategy.

It involves gathering and analyzing information about your potential customers, including their needs, preferences, behaviors, and characteristics.

This may involve conducting market research, analyzing sales data, and identifying trends in your industry.

Use primary and secondary research methods to gather data about your target market.

Primary research involves collecting data directly from your target audience, such as through surveys or focus groups.

Secondary research involves analyzing existing data sources, such as government reports or industry publications.

Look for patterns and trends in the data you gather, such as changes in consumer behavior, emerging technologies, or shifts in industry regulations.

This will help you identify opportunities and threats in your market.

You should also assess your current competition — check out their products, pricing, marketing strategies, and customer service.

This will help you to differentiate your business and identify areas where you can compete effectively.

For example, you may find new approaches such as how to use sales prospecting effectively to reach new target audiences.

4. Prepare your sales strategy

This section of your sales development plan should include a brief overview of your target audience’s journey with your brand — their pain points and problems, and how your sales team will work to solve their issues effectively with your business’s solution.

Your sales strategy will include activities such as digital marketing tasks on social media, email, search engine optimization (SEO), and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising .

You may also have decided to embark upon referral marketing to incentivize your existing customers to refer new customers to your business.

Go ahead and list your strategies accordingly in this area of your sales plan.

5. Use the right tools

To effectively develop a sales plan, you need the right tools for the job.

The right tools will help you write a comprehensive and effective sales plan.

Some tools you may find helpful include:

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software

CRM software can help you track customer interactions, sales leads, and customer data.

These tools can help you understand your customers better, create targeted marketing campaigns, and improve your sales performance.

Sales forecasting tools

Sales forecasting tools can help you predict your future sales based on historical data, market trends, and other factors. Use these tools to set realistic sales goals and allocate resources accordingly.

Competitor analysis tools

Competitor analysis tools can help you research your competition, their products, and their sales strategies, as well as how to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Marketing automation tools

Marketing automation tools can help you automate repetitive marketing tasks — like email campaigns.

Strategic sales plan template

Much like thinking about the key elements every sales proposal must have , you need a strategic sales plan template to get started.

You can also use a combined sales and marketing plan template for a unified approach.

Strategic sales plan examples include territory sales plans — in this example you divide your market into geographical regions.

You then assign sales reps to specific territories to identify key accounts within each territory, and to develop a sales strategy for each region.

Use a strategic sales planning template to list your intentions and teach your sales team how to create a sales process map to map out the sales journey.

Boost your sales team’s results with an effective sales plan

To create a sales plan that encourages the best results, consider taking the simple approach with PandaDoc’s free sales plan templates .

A PandaDoc template will help you to write a compelling and shareable sales plan.

You’ll find commonly used sales plans sections with tips that guide you in filling out your data.

By following these tips and creating an effective sales plan with PandaDoc, you can help your sales team achieve better results and drive growth for your business.

PandDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Should you have legal questions on the validity of e-signatures or digital signatures and the enforceability thereof, please consult with an attorney or law firm. Use of PandaDocs services are governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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How to Set, Track, and Achieve Business Objectives with 60 Examples

By Kate Eby | April 10, 2023

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Businesses that set objectives make better decisions. Business objectives allow companies to focus their efforts, track progress, and visualize future success. We’ve worked with experts to create the most comprehensive guide to business objectives.

Included in this article, you’ll find the differences between business objectives and business goals , the four main business objectives , and the benefits of setting business objectives . Plus, find 60 examples of business objectives , which you can download in Microsoft Word.

What Is a Business Objective?

A business objective is a specific, measurable outcome that a company works to achieve. Company leaders set business objectives that help the organization meet its long-term goals. Business objectives should be recorded so that teams can easily access them. 

Business objectives cover many different factors of a company’s success, such as financial health, operations, productivity, and growth. 

One easy way to make sure that you are setting the right business objectives is to follow the SMART goal framework . SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

To learn about setting project objectives using the SMART framework, see this comprehensive guide to writing SMART project objectives .

Business Objectives vs. Business Goal

A business goal is a broad, long-term outcome that a company works toward. Goals usually inform which strategies that department leaders will implement. A business objective , however, is a specific, short-term outcome or action that helps the company achieve long-term goals.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, goals and objectives are not the same . In general, goals are broad in scope and describe an outcome, while objectives are narrow in scope and describe a specific action or step. 

While these differences are important to understand, many of the common frameworks for successful goal-setting — such as SMART, objectives and key results ( OKRs ), and management by objectives (MBO) — can be useful when writing business objectives. 

When deciding on objectives for a team or department, keep in mind the overarching goals of a business. Each objective should move the company closer to its long-term goals.

Project Goals and Objectives Template

Download the Project Goals and Objectives Template for Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Use this free, printable template to learn how to break down project goals into individual objectives using the SMART framework. Write the primary goal at the top of the worksheet, then follow the SMART process to create one or more specific objectives that will help you achieve that goal. 

For resources to help with setting and tracking goals at your company, see this all-inclusive list of goal tracking and setting templates .

What Are the Four Main Business Objectives?

The four main business objectives are economic, social, human, and organic. Each can help a business ensure their prolonged health and growth. For example, human objectives refer to employees’ well-being, while economic objectives refer to the company’s financial health. 

These are the four main business objectives:

• Example: Reduce spending on paid advertisements by 20 percent.
• Example: Reduce average customer wait times from eight minutes to four minutes. 
• Example: Hire two new chemical engineers by the end of Q2.
• Example: Improve the efficiency of a specific software product by 15 percent.

Types of Business Objectives

There are many types of business objectives beyond the main four. These range from regulation objectives to environmental objectives to municipal objectives. For example, a global objective might be to distribute a product to a new country. 

In addition to economic, social, human, and organic objectives, here are some other types of business objectives companies might set: 

• Regulatory: These objectives relate to compliance requirements, such as meeting quality standards or conducting internal audits.
• National: These objectives relate to a company’s place in and how they contribute to the country they operate in, such as promoting social justice causes and creating employment opportunities. 
• Global: These objectives relate to a company’s place in and its contribution to many countries, such as improving living standards and responding to global demands for products and services. 
• Environmental: These objectives relate to a company’s environmental impact, such as reducing chemical waste or making eco-friendly investments. 
• Healthcare: These objectives relate to the health and well-being of a population, whether within or outside an organization. These objectives might be improving healthcare benefit options for employees or refining a drug so that it has fewer side effects.

The Importance of Having Business Objectives

Teams need business objectives to stay focused on the company’s long-term goals. Business objectives help individual employees understand how their roles contribute to the larger mission of the organization. Setting business objectives facilitates effective planning. 

Here are some benefits to setting business objectives:

• Develops Leadership: Company leaders are more effective when they have a clear vision and can delegate tasks to make it a reality. Setting objectives is a great way to improve one’s leadership skills.
• Increases Motivation: People tend to be more invested in work when they have clear, attainable objectives to achieve. Plus, each completed objective provides a morale boost to keep teams happy and productive. 
• Encourages Innovation and Productivity: With increased motivation and workplace satisfaction come more innovations. Set attainable but challenging objectives, and watch teams come up with creative solutions to get things done.
• Improves Strategy: Setting objectives that align with overarching company goals means that everyone across the company can stay aligned on strategic implementation. 
• Enhances Customer Satisfaction: Overall customer satisfaction is more likely to increase over time when measurable quality improvements are in place. 
• Improves Prioritization: When they are being able to see all of the current objectives, team members can more easily prioritize their work, which in turn makes their workloads feel more manageable. 
• Improves Financial Health: Setting economic objectives in particular can help companies stay on top of their financial goals.

60 Examples of Business Objectives

Company leaders can use business objectives to improve every facet of an organization, from customer satisfaction to market share to employee well-being. Here are 60 examples of business objectives that can help a company achieve its goals. 

Economic Business Objectives

• Increase profit margins by 5 percent by the end of the Q4. 
• Recover 50 percent of total outstanding debts from each quarter the following quarter for the next year. 
• “Increase revenue by 10 percent each year for the next five years,” suggests Tyler. 
• Offer three new holiday sales events in the coming year. 
• Move 30 percent of surplus stock by the end of Q2.
• “Reduce costs by 10 percent each year for the next five years,” suggests Tyler.
• Reduce monthly interest payments by 1.5 percent by consolidating debt. 
• Introduce a new credit payment option to expand the potential customer base. 
• Apply for six government grants by the end of the year. 
•  Hire an accountant to track expenses and file the company’s taxes. 
•  Secure a $100,000 loan to start a business.
•  Pitch your business ideas to a venture capital firm. 
• Improve your business credit score from 75 to 85 in two years. 
• Invest in solar panels for your company headquarters to reduce building energy costs by 75 percent. 
• Establish a monthly practice to analyze your cash flow statement.

Social Business Objectives

• Decrease customer average customer wait times by 20 percent in two months.
• Improve the average customer service satisfaction rating from 3.2/5 to 3.8/5 in six months through targeting trainings. 
• Hire a contract UX designer to redesign the company website interface in four months. 
• Decrease customer churn by 15 percent in one year. 
• “Triple the customer base within two years,” suggests Tyler.
• Offer 20 percent more customer discounts and specials over the course of two years. 
• Increase market share by 5 percent in three years. 
• Increase monthly sales quotas for sales associates by 10 percent. 
• Develop a sales incentive program to reward top-performing sales associates with vacations, bonuses, and other prizes. 
• Donate $10,000 to local causes, such as public school funds or local charities. 
• Partner with a charitable organization to host a company-wide 5K.
• Increase your marketing budget by 15 percent.
• Hire a new marketing director by the end of Q3.
• Donate 40 percent of surplus stock to a relevant charity. 
• Increase engagement across all social media platforms by 10 percent with a multiplatform ad campaign.

Human Business Objectives

• Hire three new employees by the end of Q1.
• Hire a contractor to train your IT team on new software. 
• Rewrite and distribute your company values statement. 
• Conduct a quarterly, company-wide productivity training over the next two years. 
• Establish a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee. 
• Design and implement a mentorship program for diverse employees. 
• Create an incentive program that grants additional vacation days for all employees when company-wide productivity goals are met. 
• Offer a free monthly happy hour to improve the employee experience. 
• Select change leaders across multiple teams to provide support for a corporate reorg.
• Start three employee resource groups (ERGs) within the next six months. 
• Diversify websites and career fairs where the hiring team recruits applicants to encourage a more diverse pool of candidates for new jobs. 
• Invest in an office redesign that improves the office atmosphere and provides more in-office resources, such as free coffee and snacks, to on-site employees. 
• Upgrade employee laptops to improve productivity and employee satisfaction. 
• Conduct a yearly, comprehensive employee experience survey to identify areas of improvement. 
• Throw office parties to celebrate change milestones. 

Organic Business Objectives

• Increase the top line by 15 percent every year for the next five years.
• Achieve 20 percent net profit from 10 product enhancements in the next two years.
• Decrease raw materials costs by 10 percent by the end of the year.
• Reduce downtime by 25 percent by the end of the year.
• Within two years, attain a rate of 25 percent new revenue from products released within the last year.
• Improve customer acquisition ration by 10 percent every quarter for the next two years. 
• Reduce total inventory levels by 20 percent over four months.
• Interact with at least 20 Instagram users every month for one year.
• Have a new product launch covered by at least three reputable industry publications within two months of the launch date.
• Grow both the top line and the bottom line by 60 percent every year for three years. 
• Reduce product defects by 15 percent every year for four years.
• Increase on-time delivery dates for top customers by 25 percent over the span of three quarters.
• Conduct yearly workplace safety reviews.
• Decrease average customer wait times for responses to social media queries from 45 minutes to 15 minutes by the end of Q4.
• Improve your company website to be on the first page of search results within six months.

Download 60 Example Business Objectives for

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

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When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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16 Sales Plan Templates to Plan Your Sales Strategy

Written by: Olujinmi Oluwatoni

Crafting an effective sales plan creates the stage for your sales team to exceed targets and secure those coveted wins.

But let’s face it, it demands hours of meticulous planning. On top of that, time is a luxury that can be hard to find amidst a whirlwind of meetings, pitches and follow-ups in sales.

That’s why sales plan templates come in handy. They streamline your sales planning efforts, enhance productivity and ultimately improve your team’s chances of achieving sales targets.

In this article, we’ve curated a collection of the finest templates out there, designed to rescue you from the time-consuming ordeal of creating your sales plan from scratch.

Let's get to it!

Table of Contents

Benefits of using a sales plan template, 16 sales plan templates you can use.

• How to Create a Sales Plan Template With Visme
• Utilizing a template when creating a sales plan is time-efficient, creates structure and organization, ensures consistency and facilitates communication and alignment.
• To create a sales plan template with Visme, sign up or login to Visme, choose a template, gather all the necessary information you need, customize the template and download or share the document.
• Visme offers a user-friendly interface with a wide range of customizable templates, advanced features and AI-powered tools to help you create stunning sales collaterals, sales enablement content and sales plans that will help you captivate your audience and accelerate your sales growth.

Using a template to jump-start your sales plan creation offers a number of benefits.

Let's take a look at some of the benefits:

• Structure and Organization: A sales plan template provides a structured format, guiding you through essential steps to create a comprehensive sales plan. With a template, you can capture all necessary elements, like setting goals, outlining the target market, sales strategies , timelines and lots more.
• Time Efficiency: Using a template saves time by eliminating the need to create your plan from scratch. You can focus on customizing the template to your specific business needs rather than starting from a blank page.
• Consistency: A standardized sales template ensures consistency across different sales teams or periods. This means you can easily track progress and compare results.
• Communication and Alignment: A well-structured sales plan template aids in communicating goals, strategies and expectations to stakeholders, ensuring everyone is aligned toward common objectives.

Build relationships with customers and drive sales growth

• Reach out to prospects with impressive pitch decks and proposals that convert
• Monitor clients' level of engagement to see what they are most interested in
• Build a winning sales playbook to maximize your sales team's efficiency

Sign up. It’s free.

There are so many ways Visme can help you close more sales . For a start, we've carefully selected these pre-made sales plan templates to jumpstart your process. Each template can be fully tailored to suit your business needs.

Here’s what one of Visme's clients had to say about our templates and service:

Creative Director

Now, let’s get to the templates!

1. Sales Business Plan One Pager

Looking for a way to efficiently communicate the critical information of your sales plan to stakeholders in a concise format without overwhelming details? This sales business plan template is your silver bullet.

It uses a mix of subtle and bold colors to emphasize content, making it visually impactful. You can utilize the template sections to capture your sales tactics, goals, target audience, key performance metrics and more.

Short on time? Try Visme's AI document generator to quickly create your business sales plan or any document. Just input your prompt, offer some context, choose a design and watch it generate your draft in seconds.

2. Sales Employee 30-60-90 Day Plan

Take advantage of this sales employee 30-60-90 day plan for efficient onboarding of your new sales team members. This minimalistic template features a clean white background with black and grey accents. Each page also boasts engaging visuals that complement the content.

Utilize the template’s sections to outline specific objectives, goals and actionable steps for the first 90 days, including growth strategies, sales targets and more.

Make your sales plan engaging by incorporating animations and interactive elements like animated text, graphics, hotspots, pop-ups and hover effects to reveal additional information. With these additions, your team members can go through the plan in a more engaging way.

3. Company Territory Sales Plan

Create a strategy to refine your sales efforts within specific territories with this sales plan. It features sections for defining territories, identifying target customers, setting sales objectives, implementing tactics and evaluating performance.

With a vibrant purple color scheme, impressive fonts, icons and a sleek minimalist layout, this template ensures your sales plan stands out.

Easily leverage Visme's AI Touch-Up Tools to fine-tune your visuals, whether it's sharpening, removing backgrounds, or replacing elements, ensuring your images are perfect for the template.

4. Sales Budget Plan

This sales budget plan template is an indispensable asset for businesses aiming to effectively manage finances while optimizing sales strategies .

The template comprehensively covers vital budgeting aspects, encompassing revenue objectives, cost of goods sold, sales expenses and allocation for marketing and promotional endeavors.

Its structured use of color schemes, typefaces, fonts and design elements ensures a coherent and engaging document.

Avoid the hassle of manually incorporating brand elements repeatedly. With Visme's brand design tool , simply input your website URL and watch as it automatically integrates your brand assets into your brand kit.

5. Business Development Sales Plan

Need to create a business plan that’ll drive business expansion? This template is your sure bet.

It not only employs a stylish fusion of colors but also integrates captivating visuals, icons and data widgets in each slide.

With sections spanning company overview, launch plan, target market, goals, plans, budget and more, this template simplifies sales planning processes.

Engage your team seamlessly through Visme's collaboration tool , fostering commentary, annotations and idea exchange for refining the plan collaboratively. With Visme's workflow feature, you can effortlessly manage roles, tasks, progress and deadlines in a unified platform.

6. Product Market Expansion Sales Plan

Seeking to introduce your products to new markets or expand within existing ones? This product market expansion sales plan template is your best bet.

It features a bold, modern design adorned with vibrant colors, compelling imagery and dynamic graphics, offering a visually engaging way to present your ideas.

This sales planning template features detailed sections covering market analysis, competitive landscape, marketing strategies, distribution channels, sales tactics and performance metrics.

Customize colors and fonts and leverage customizable charts and widgets. You can use Visme’s library of data visualization tools , including charts, graphs, maps, and widgets, to create concise sales pitch presentations .

7. Company Sales SOP Plan

This company sales SOP plan template is an essential asset for businesses seeking to efficiently standardize and streamline their sales procedures.

What sets the template apart is its incorporation of captivating visual elements. The images and graphics elevate the document's visual appeal, while the vibrant color palette sparks emotions and enthusiasm. The layout also ensures a clutter-free presentation and directs focus towards critical aspects of the content.

You can utilize the template’s sections to provide a detailed description of your goals, workflow and protocols for your sales activities.

Leverage Visme’s dynamic fields to effortlessly update information, data and dates across multiple projects with a single click. Dynamic fields enable swift adjustments to company details, results, or sales plan recipients, ideal for distributing multiple proposals to various stakeholders.

8. Consulting Revenue-based Sales Plan

This sales plan example is a specialized framework crafted specifically for consultants and consulting firms seeking to propel revenue growth through strategic sales initiatives.

Designed with a white background, balanced black tones and accents of orange and gray, this template offers a harmonious visual aesthetic that exudes vibrancy.

Dedicated sections within the template focus on client acquisition strategies, service offerings, pricing models, sales pipelines and performance metrics directed towards revenue targets.

Struggling with content creation? Visme's built-in AI writer simplifies the process. This sophisticated tool aids in text creation, modification and proofreading, saving valuable time and energy while ensuring the production of high-quality content. Just input your prompt and watch the tool perform its magic.

9. Sales Cloud Software Sales Plan

Tailored for software sales managers or sales teams in tech companies, this template is your compass for crafting an impactful sales strategy for your company.

The template features a color palette blending a white backdrop with accents of lemon and black tones. It also employs subtle shadows, clean lines and ample open spaces, which improves readability.

Use the template’s sections to highlight your market analysis, target audience identification, competitive positioning, sales strategies, customer acquisition tactics and lots more.

Your sales plan doesn’t have to be boring. Spice it up with visually appealing images and interactive icons. Simply browse through Visme's vast collection of stock photos, icons and more to choose the visual that suits your needs.

If you cannot find the exact you need, then utilize Visme's AI image generator. This feature allows you to craft unique photos, paintings, pencil drawings, 3D graphics, icons, abstract art and beyond. Just input a precise prompt and begin generating your personalized visuals effortlessly.

10. Sales Business Plan Infographic Template

Creating a comprehensive sales plan often entails complex steps, which might pose challenges when presenting to potential stakeholders. This template offers a concise yet thorough way to showcase your plan, emphasizing crucial elements while minimizing excessive text.

Its dynamic presentation, enriched with a captivating fusion of colors and visuals, offers an impactful way to convey information.

The template’s sections allow you to visualize your goals, timelines, market analysis, strategies, performance metrics and more.

You can utilize this template for your sales meetings, strategy sessions, or as a comprehensive reference tool for your sales team.

11. SaaS Product Sales Plan

Craft a high-impact sales approach for SaaS products effortlessly with this template. Whether you're a SaaS startup founder, a product manager, or part of a tech company's sales team, this template will help you create a concise plan.

This template has a sleek white background complemented by shades of green and nude tones. Its design elements, coupled with compelling charts and graphics, also make it a breeze to convey your sales insights.

The template’s section covers essential sections such as market analysis, target audience profiling, competitive assessment, pricing strategies and customer acquisition tactics.

What's more, you can download your design in JPG, PNG, or PDF formats for printing or easy sharing with team members for collaborative efforts.

12. Digital Marketing Agency Sales Plan

Designed for digital agency owners, sales managers, or marketing teams, this template offers a structured approach to craft a robust sales strategy.

With a sleek, contemporary design, user-friendly layout and engaging visuals, this template effectively conveys your vision and offers a detailed roadmap to accomplish your agency's objectives.

It covers sections on market analysis, target audience identification, service offerings, pricing strategies, lead generation tactics and performance metrics. Tailor the template to match your brand's style, ensuring a unified and visually appealing plan.

13. Real Estate Sales Plan

Tailored explicitly for real estate agents, brokers, or agencies, this template is a great tool to outline strategies to proficiently market properties and close deals. It employs captivating fonts, vibrant colors and graphics that’ll engage your sales team members.

You can utilize the template’s sections to outline your executive summary, sales goals and KPIs , revenue targets, target markets, marketing strategy, prospecting strategy, budget and lots more.

14. Marketing Agency Sales Plan

For your marketing agency's success, a well-organized sales plan is pivotal. This marketing agency sales plan is a great tool to craft a robust sales strategy that attracts clients effectively.

The modern design boasting a harmonious color palette, enriched with images and icons gives the plan a great visual appeal. It includes sections to detail your market analysis, target audiences, service offerings, pricing strategies, lead generation tactics, budget allocation and performance metrics.

For added flair, you can animate this annual sales plan template with illustrations, incorporate characters and integrate clickable interactive icons.

15. Health Insurance Sales Plan

This specialized health insurance template is crafted exclusively for insurance professionals aiming to optimize their sales strategies, specifically for health insurance products.

The template provides a refined layout while integrating vibrant and compelling imagery. It covers comprehensive sections on market analysis, identifying target audiences, competitive analysis, pricing strategies, lead generation tactics, regulatory compliance and performance metrics.

Effortlessly incorporate data from platforms such as Google Sheets, Excel and various tools directly into your charts and graphs. Once connected to your data sources, your charts and graphs will dynamically adjust to any changes in the external data, keeping your information organized and up-to-date.

This feature boosts the professional quality of your sales plan while simplifying data handling.

16. Customer Product Sales Plan

This Customer Product Sales Plan template offers a strategic framework designed for businesses seeking to enhance sales by prioritizing the customer's perspective. The striking combination of grey, black, and white gives it a great visual appeal.

From sections like customer segmentation, market analysis, product positioning, sales tactics and more, this template has everything you need to create a comprehensive sales plan.

For detailed tracking of data, leverage Visme analytics . Monitor views, engagement and interactions to gain insights into audience interaction with your visual content. You can easily track your audience’s activities by customizing and saving each document separately with the prospect's name.

How to Create a Sales Plan Template with Visme

With the wide variety of features and templates available in Visme, you can quickly whip up visually appealing and professional sales business plans.

Here’s how to write a sales plan using Visme.

Step 1: Register or Log in to your Visme Account

Create a new Visme account or sign in if you're already a user. Once logged in, you can dive into Visme's impressive array of features and tools.

Step 2: Choose a Suitable Template

Choose a sales plan template that matches your unique needs and objectives. Visme offers an extensive collection of professionally designed templates tailored to your project or initiative.

Step 3: Input Relevant Content

Once you’ve selected your template, the next step is to input relevant information into it. The information you’ll require here depends on the type of sales plan template you’ve chosen.

Simply replace the template’s placeholder content with yours. With Visme's user-friendly editor, you can quickly and easily add, edit, or remove pages and content to suit your needs.

Step 4: Input Your Sales Data By Integrating Visme With Your CRM

A sales plan typically includes various sales data such as target market analysis, sales strategies, product or service details, and lots more.

One of the perks of using Visme to create your sales plans is that it offers seamless integration with CRM tools like Salesforce and HubSpot. This connection enables direct input of your sales data and client information from your CRM into your visual content. This way, you can showcase up-to-date sales data within your sales plan.

The integration also allows easy export of projects created in Visme to your HubSpot or Salesforce storage. When you have all your sales data in one central place, you create a single source of truth for your sales team.

This will aid the effective execution of your sales activities.

Here’s how to set up Visme’s integration with Hubspot or Salesforce:

• Go to the Visme Apps section and click HubSpot or Salesforce
• Log in to your HubSpot or Salesforce account using your credentials to connect your account to Visme.
• Access your HubSpot or Salesforce files within Visme, then select the specific file you want to incorporate into your Visme project.
• When you are done with the project, select the dropdown next to the Download button to export the file directly to your HubSpot or Salesforce storage.

Step 5: Customize the Template

Once you've selected a template and gathered the necessary information for your sales plan, the next step involves crafting the content and personalizing the template to suit your needs.

Simply replace the placeholder content in the template with your own. Visme's user-friendly editor allows you to seamlessly add, edit, or delete content and rearrange design elements across the canvas.

You have the flexibility to modify text by adjusting font size, style, color, alignment and even add animations. Easily tailor section headings, include or exclude sections and ensure the content aligns perfectly with your project or organization.

Earlier, we highlighted several features and design elements within Visme that will assist you in customizing your sales plan templates. Take advantage of these tools and features to craft visually appealing and professional sales plans tailored to your needs.

Step 6: Download and Share

Publish and share the completed sales plan with relevant team members and stakeholders. You can download designs in PDF, JPG, PNG, or HTML5 formats or easily share them via email or a shareable link. Plus, effortlessly publish your content anywhere online by generating a code within the Visme app.

Sales Plan FAQs

Q. what are the 7 steps to creating a sales plan.

Here are 7 steps to create a sales plan:

• Review Sales and Customer Data
• Set Clear Objectives
• Identify Gaps and Opportunities to Improve
• Define Sales Strategies
• Establish KPIs
• Create an Action Plan
• Allocate Budget and Resources:

Q. What Should a Good Sales Plan Include?

A typical sales plan includes the following sections:

• Executive Summary
• Sales Goals
• Target Market
• Competitors Analysis
• Action Plan
• KPIs to Measure
• Team Structure

Q. What Does a Sales Strategy Plan Look Like?

A sales strategy plan typically consists of several key components, including:

• Market Analysis
• Value PropositionTarget Audience
• Sales Objectives
• Sales Channels
• Sales Tactics and Techniques
• Resource Allocation

Q. How Do You Write a Sales Strategy Plan Template?

Follow these steps to write a sales strategy plan template:

• Analyze the Market and Persona
• Define Your Sales Goals
• Analyze Current Position and Opportunities
• Align Sales and Marketing
• Create Sales Strategies
• Define Sales KPIs
• Map Out Your Action Plan
• Evaluate Budget and Resource
• Create a Timeline

Easily Design Captivating & Data-Driven Sales Plans with Visme

A well crafted sales plan will help you focus efforts, allocate resources effectively and adapt to market changes, ultimately contributing to sustainable profitability.

Thanks to Visme, creating your sales plans doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Visme is a comprehensive tool for effortlessly creating engaging and data-driven sales plans. Its broad range of features, customizable options, AI-powered tools, and templates allow for the creation of professional-quality plans.

You can also utilize Visme's real-time collaboration tools and versatile sharing options to seamlessly engage all stakeholders in crafting and conveying your sales plan, irrespective of physical proximity.

Beyond sales plans, Visme can be used to create various business assets, such as sales presentations, infographics, e-books, whitepapers and more.

Ready to level up your company's sales game? Sign up or book a demo to discover how Visme can help your sales team drive tangible results.

Put together stunning sales plans using Visme

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About the Author

Olujinmi is a Content writer for Visme who creates human-first SEO content. She loves helping businesses smash their ROI goals with strategic content development and optimization. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her composing songs.

September 11, 2024

Designing a sales compensation plan is hard. here are some tips to make it easier..

Laurie Tennant

David rudnitsky.

Compensation plans are one of the most challenging aspects of running a sales organization. To help sales and HR leaders in our portfolio navigate the complexities, we held a virtual workshop on sales compensation strategies featuring Mike Heilmann , a Norwest senior advisor and founder of ScaledRev .

Here are some of the key takeaways from the workshop.

Market Trends Drive Changes in Sales Comp

The changing market for technology companies – marked by stronger headwinds, delayed IPOs, and stricter capital availability – is having an impact on sales compensation. These are five of the most consequential trends we’re seeing:

• Draws are becoming less of an expectation. Sales personnel must wait for deals to close and revenue to start flowing before realizing rewards.
• Variable incentives are more focused on revenue outcomes than on activities. While this has always been true for direct sellers, sales- and business-development representatives (SDRs and BDRs) are seeing a diminishing portion of their compensation tied simply to activities.
• Rewards increasingly emphasize quality over quantity. High-quality, high-value, long-term deals are prized, especially for businesses with recurring revenue models such as SaaS.
• Incentives stress “expand” over “land”. While it’s always important to add new accounts, actions that grow recurring business from established accounts often produce greater long-term value at less cost.
• Clawbacks are more common. Management today monitors company performance more closely than ever and will quickly act to rein in costs – even if that means draws must be pulled back.

10 Elements of an Effective Sales Compensation Plan

Despite whatever market challenges a sales team may face at any given time, these 10 fundamental principles – the first three of which are non-negotiable – will set your sales compensation plan up for success.

• Simplicity. The easier a plan is to understand, the greater impact it will have. Don’t make people spend their valuable time trying to figure out how they make the most money.
• Consistency with company goals. No matter how good a plan is, it won’t meet its objectives if it isn’t tightly aligned with company goals and strategies. Never incentivize people to do anything that doesn’t move the company in its decided direction.
• Challenging yet achievable goals. If it’s too easy to exceed targets, sellers may lose motivation. The corollary is also true: if goals are unattainable, they may start to think “why try?”
• Tiers and/or accelerators that reward overachievers. You never want to discourage anyone from pushing beyond their quota.
• Annuity payments that reward multi-year deals. Just as the company benefits from long-term contracts, so should the people making them happen.
• One-off rewards to acknowledge extraordinary effort. In cases where a salesperson skillfully navigates an unusual circumstance or exhibits outstanding work, a creative or specialized reward can be appropriate. Just be selective in how you award these.
• Flexibility. You can be certain that things will change, and you need to adapt.
• Rewards for all members of the team. While specific amounts may vary, all contributors to a successful team – not only direct sellers but the dependent roles such as SEs as well – should be rewarded. This will drive continued collaboration.
• Equality. Even the perception of unfairness or favoritism can be fatal to a fruitful relationship.
• Transparency. Always be open, up-front, and honest, especially when you need to have hard conversations about necessary changes or a downward turn in circumstances.

What Are the Right Numbers for Your Sales Comp Plan?

Sales, finance, and HR executives always want to verify that the numbers in their sales-comp plans are at market rates. While every company is different – and industry norms can change significantly in even a few months – a 2023 survey of 236 B2B SaaS companies revealed numbers that closely matched our benchmarks in dealing with Norwest portfolio companies and other young businesses.

The survey captured data from companies ranging in ARR from $5 million to $1 billion. Not surprisingly, dollar amounts grow with the size of target markets. For example, the average OTE for an account executive at a company targeting enterprise customers is around $330,000, while it’s about $200,000 and $150,000 at companies targeting mid-market and SMB firms, respectively. At the same time, the split between fixed and variable compensation is consistent across all markets: roughly 50/50.

As the size of a target market grows, so do performance expectations for AEs. At companies targeting SMBs, the ratio of pipeline goal to OTE is in the range of 5-8x, while it is 10-15x for mid-market and 15-20x for enterprise accounts.

Account managers, predictably, have a different ratio of fixed-to-variable compensation, roughly 60/40. The same ratio generally applies to SDRs, whose average OTE ranges from $70,000 at companies targeting SMBs to around $110,000 for those serving enterprise accounts.

The comp plans for early- versus later-stage companies differ but not as much as you might expect.

The comp plans for early- versus later-stage companies differ but not as much as you might expect. The 2023 survey defined early-stage respondents as having $50 million or less in ARR and later-stage companies as having more. Across all positions, company sizes, and target markets, the difference in OTE and targets between early- and late-stage companies was generally 10 percent or less.

As for choosing metrics for sales targets, sales-qualified leads (SQLs) were the most frequent measure for SDR goals (74% of companies use them), while marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) were used by 39 percent of respondents and pipeline dollars by 34 percent.

Key Takeaways

When developing or adjusting sales comp plans, you will have many factors to consider. The takeaways below offer high-level guidance that will help you make sound decisions:

• Make your comp plan simple to understand, consistent with company goals, and challenging (but realistic).
• Conditions will change, so be willing to make adjustments to your plan.
• If you are asked to add headcount, apply a fact-based assessment of the request by measuring where you currently stand on key measurements against your quotas.

Sales compensation is just one of the challenges that Norwest’s Portfolio Services team helps leaders tackle. We work side by side with companies as they develop and execute strategies to overcome common hurdles related to sales, marketing, and HR issues.

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• How To Write A Business Plan
• Free Online Education to Start Your Own Business
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• Starting a Business

The business plan is the blueprint for your business, the who, what, where, when, how, and why. It provides a single place to keep all your ideas, the roadmap that will help you pursue these ideas, and the overview so that you can share your vision with others. In this session, you learn about business plans, including the key elements of a business plan, ways you can use your business plan, and best practices to write your business plan.

• What is a Business Plan?
• Why Write a Business Plan?
• Uses for a Business Plan
• Business Plan Formats
• What to Include in Your Business Plan
• Best Practices
• MOBI's Free Business Plan Template
• Top 10 Do's and Don'ts
• Business Resources

Watch this session in video format (25:18)

The primary value of your business plan is to create a written resource that evaluates all aspects of your new business including a description and analysis of your business’s prospects, its economic viability, and more. The very process of writing your business plan helps you put your ideas on paper, so you can see what you have and what you need.

Your business plan is your blueprint for starting your business, your script to tell the story of your business to others, and your comprehensive analysis of the opportunity for your business. Business plans motivate you to state your goals, analyze your strategy, implement your strategy, and share your vision. Business plans are valuable for new as well as existing businesses.

Because industry and economic trends are always changing, it’s important to re-examine your business plan on a regular basis. Revisiting your business plan will motivate you to update your assumptions, projections, and analysis based on evolving industry factors, economic factors, or actual operating experiences that you might not fully understand until you have started your business. If you correctly assess the changing economics of your business, your plan will provide a useful roadmap and a financing tool.

MOBI’s Starting a Business course includes the key topics that are typically included in a business plan. As you go through this course you can consider the topics as they relate to your business. You can then add this information to the free MOBI Business Plan Template either as you go or when you finish the course to create your own business plan. You will also be able to find a variety of business plan templates either online or through other resources such as your local library, civic center, or economic development office.

Could you start a business without writing a business plan? Yes. Is it recommended? No. The process of writing a business plan will force you to think carefully about your ideas and plans and will help you evaluate whether it makes financial and practical sense.

For example, you might think you can earn a profit with your product, but when you examine all the parts in your business plan, you may realize that the packaging and marketing you plan to do for your product cost more than the selling price, when you include all your business costs as well. This may help you decide to wait on your marketing plans until you have more sales, or perhaps investigate less expensive packaging options.

Writing a business plan allows you to combine all the aspects of your business in one place so you can evaluate the pros and cons together, as well as calculating whether a profit is actually possible given the plans you have in mind.

There are many uses for your business plan, and the format you choose to create may depend upon how you plan to use it. Here are some typical uses for business plans:

As part of an academic program : You may be taking this MOBI course as part of an educational program or entrepreneurship training, in which you are creating a fictitious business. As part of this program, you may be required to prepare a business plan for this fictitious business in order to learn about and analyze each aspect of starting a business. In this case, your business plan is an academic exercise to improve your entrepreneurship skills, and it is largely for your own personal use, or perhaps that of your teacher or course moderator as well.

To apply for financing : In this scenario, you are creating your business plan to share with a financial lender in order to apply for or request funding for your business. In this case you are preparing a business plan for external audiences (the lender), and the financial assumptions, projections, and analysis are going to be most important.

To record your business ideas : If you have a business idea that you are thinking of pursuing, creating a complete business plan for your idea is an excellent planning tool. It gives you one place to put all your ideas and to examine all the different information needed to move forward. You may or may not choose to share your business plan with others, at least initially, but it is your roadmap that you update as you learn more about your intended business and the market. As you continue on your entrepreneurial journey, you may decide to share your business plan with others, including potential partners, customers, employees, or investors. Keeping your business plan up to date will ensure you are ready in the event you have an opportunity to share your idea.

To launch your new business : Since your business plan is your roadmap, it can be used to execute on your business idea to start your business. In this scenario, you might want to include a greater amount of detail for every aspect of starting your business and update more frequently as you go. For example, include addendums for marketing plans and calendars, sales activities, supplier contracts, financial statements, and more.

To establish a freelance or independent business : In between Personal Use and Starting a Business might fall Independent Contractor, Home-Based or Freelance Business uses of a business plan. Sometimes aspiring entrepreneurs pursue a business idea on the side. These types of businesses allow a person to start small and grow, maybe beginning with just one client. The gradual start of this type of business may not require all aspects of business analysis and planning required by other businesses. At the same time, it is important to learn what is required to operate an independent contractor, home-based, or freelance business, so these minimum requirements would be the most immediate focus of the business plan for this use.

To acquire an existing business or franchise : Business plans can be used to evaluate existing businesses to get a sense for the health of the business and areas that are doing well or need attention. This can be important whether you are taking over a family business (family succession) or buying a business or franchise. There may be different considerations when creating a business plan for an existing business, but it is equally important to gather the facts and details yourself to do an accurate analysis.

Just as there are many different uses for business plans, there are also different formats. The format you choose may depend on the intended purpose for your business plan. MOBI provides a free MOBI Business Plan Template to help you create a comprehensive written outline for every aspect of your business, and this could be useful for any of the uses above.

Additional formats include shorter, one-page forms, most commonly based on  The Business Model Canvas  (wikipedia), invented by Alex Osterwalder, a Swiss business theorist and entrepreneur. Some providers offer a “Lean Canvas” template, created by Ash Maurya, an entrepreneur and author of Running Lean, is a popular variation of The Business Model Canvas.

Another popular format is the presentation format or “slide deck” which can be created with Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, or other software tools. This format is often used when presenting your business idea to others in a meeting. The presentation format is created as a visually compelling summary of your business plan. Typically a conversation accompanies your presentation so that you can describe and explain the information summarized in the slides.

If you decide that a one-page format or presentation is right for your business plan’s purpose, it is our recommendation that you also create a full business plan to ensure you are prepared with all of the information you need and can respond to any questions about your business from your audiences.

Regardless of the format you use, there are a few fundamental parts of a business plan. These fundamental parts are shown below. Of course, these sections are included in the free MOBI Business Plan Template :

Executive Summary

Financing and Financial Projections

Business Organization

Business Location

Marketing, Ecommerce, and Sales

• Addendums: Licenses and Permits (and others)

The Executive Summary is just that, the overall  summary  of your business idea. Here you include the fundamentals about your business including a paragraph about each of the key topics below:

Name and Description of Business : Provide the name and a brief description of your business. The description should be brief, and concise. Imagine you bump into a potential investor or customer in an elevator and you have 30 seconds before the next floor to describe your business, what would you say to include the most important and impactful points?

Target Customer and Market : Describe your ideal customer and your target market. What is the problem you are solving or the need your product or service is solving for this audience?

Industry and Economic Trends : Describe the current industry and economic conditions that are making this the right time for your product or service and that are providing a potential for sustainability and future growth.

Value Proposition : Describe the value you are bringing to your customer through your product or service. What are the unique benefits, qualities, and/or circumstances that allow you to create value for your customers?

Vision : Describe the vision of your business and why you are committed to making this vision successful. Explain your plans for growth and what you can realistically achieve in a defined time frame.

Founder(s) and the Team : Provide a background of your life and work experiences that are related to this business, list your credentials (including the MOBI Starting a Business Certificate of Completion you can earn through this course!). Share your inspiration for this business. If you plan to hire employees, consultants, or service providers like lawyers, accountants, bookkeepers, etc. describe your plan for engaging with these other members of your team. Describe management roles and structure and provide background information for any executives who will share leadership roles alongside you. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and those of your team. Don’t be afraid to identify key positions or expertise you are actively looking to fill.

Goals : Outline your key goals for your business. These can be both short-term and long-term goals.

The  Choosing the Right Business  and  Marketing  sessions of the Starting a Business course will be helpful in populating a lot of this information .

Financial Exhibits : Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital (money) including what you or other investors will contribute and what you intend to borrow. Be sure to include a detailed list of categories showing what the money will be used for and how much will be left over for working capital (“working capital” is money that you can access and use to run your business once it is started).

Accounting : In a separate exhibit, provide your Balance Sheet, and projected Profit and Loss Statements (Income Statements) for the first three years (by month for the first year, then by year for the second and third year).

Analysis and Costs : List and explain all the key costs, categorized by fixed costs (things that don’t change, like rent), variable costs (costs that change, like the cost of materials and supplies), product, delivery, etc., and profit margins that are important for your business. As part of this exhibit be sure to include a one-year Cash Flow forecast including all estimated sales, all costs, and capital investments that will be required during this time.

Internal Controls : Describe the internal controls (processes and policies you establish) you intend to have in place. For example, what is your check signing policy? What are your strategies for controlling shrinkage and preventing shoplifting? How will you monitor deliveries and inventory?

Break-Even Analysis : Use your financial analysis to calculate your break-even point. The break-even point is the sales level at which the total revenue of your business is equal to the total cost of running your business.

The  Financing the Business  and  Accounting and Cash Flow  sessions of the Starting a Business course will teach you about the financial statements mentioned in this section, and help you learn how to gather and report financial projections for your business to populate this part of your business plan.

Business Organization : What type of business organization have you chosen for your business (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, nonprofit, etc.). Describe why it is the best fit. Provide information about any of the steps you will need to take to establish your business with this organization structure.

Professional Consultants : If you will be working with any consultants and have not already listed them, or would like to provide greater detail, you can include it here.

The  Business Organization  session of the Starting a Business course provides great detail about the types of business organizations as well as related liability and tax issues you should consider when deciding on your business organization.

Describe where you will operate your business. If you are opening a store or restaurant, it may be easy to identify the kind of space you need, whereas if you are starting a business as an independent contractor teaching music lessons or doing graphic design projects, you may decide to work out of your home, join a co-working space, or rent an office. Likewise, if you provide services like landscaping or house cleaning, you may not need a space at all.

Provide details about the space you intend to pursue, what amenities do you need, what features will be important? If you plan to rent, lease, or buy space, include any financial information including all costs, and any credits you may be eligible to receive, for example incentives for minority-, women-, or veteran-owned businesses, or credits, rebates, or discounts through other governmental economic development programs.

If you already have a space, include the address and description of the property.

The  Choosing a Business Location  and  Freelance, Independent, and Home-Based Businesses  sessions will teach you about how to select your business location, and what you should consider .

Market Research : In greater detail than provided in your Executive Summary, describe the market research you conducted to identify and understand your target market and customers. Include sources of information. Describe your position within the target market.

Marketing Strategy and Tools : Explain the traditional and online marketing strategies and tools you will use to find, engage, and build your target market as well as how you will close sales and foster customer relationships and loyalty.

Ecommerce : If you plan to sell your product or service online, describe your ecommerce strategy. What channels will you use, how will you take and fulfill orders, how will you build awareness and drive traffic to your online store?

Cost : Provide a detailed description of all costs for each marketing activity. How will you evaluate your marketing efforts for effectiveness?

Sales : Describe your sales process, activities you will conduct, obstacles you expect, how you will overcome them, and any customer service strategies you will use to retain and expand your customer base.

The  Communication Tools ,  Marketing , and  Ecommerce  sessions will provide the information and guidance to help you populate this part of your business plan, and the Selling and Controlling Costs sessions provide information about the sales process and business costs .

Workflow : Outline the workflow of your business and the processes and procedures you will put into place if not already mentioned above.

Supplies/Inventory/Production : Provide details about how you will acquire supplies, manufacture your product or service, and deliver your product or service to customers. Include any equipment or facilities needs.

Measurement and Assessment : Describe how you will measure the success of your operations for efficiency, cost control, quality, and any other parameters.

Crisis and Contingency Plan : Include your damage control plan. What will you do in the event of a natural disaster, economic downturn, product obsolescence (your product is no longer needed by the market), cybersecurity breach, or other catastrophic event. Include any business insurance you have purchased or intent to purchase.

If not mentioned elsewhere, describe your plans for order fulfillment, supply chain (where you will get supplies for your product or service), and hiring and managing employees.

Addendums, items not required but helpful to include

Licenses and permits required for your business. The Licenses and Permits session will help you learn what you might need.

International and national intellectual property protection through trademarks, copyrights, and/or patents.

Marketing collateral you may be creating and/or examples.

Resumes of founders and key team members.

Other pertinent information.

There are a few best practices to keep in mind when you are creating your business plan.

Do your best . You may not have all the answers your first time through your business plan, and that’s ok. Just do your best and include the information you have. The activity of writing your business plan will help you identify where the holes are. As you pursue your business, you will gain more knowledge, information, and insight that you can continue to add to your business plan over time and fill in the holes.

Use a template . You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when writing your business plan. Choose an easy-to-follow, standard business plan template, such as the MOBI Free Business Plan Template provided in this course and on our website. Using a template can help ensure that you include all the important topics. A template will also keep you organized as you research and document information about your business. Using a template can help you see what information you have and what information you need.

Tell a story . Even though your business plan will describe very different aspects of your business, all of the information you include should be cohesive and tie together. Think of your business plan as the story of your business. This story should be present in every aspect of your business plan, and it should be clear to your audience how each part fits into the whole to create and support the story.

Be thorough, detailed, and specific . Be as detailed, specific, thorough, and accurate as possible. Use clear, concise language and be realistic in the information you provide. Allow yourself plenty of time, and dedicate yourself to producing your best effort. When conducting research, try to look at several different sources of information. When studying your industry, look at more than one business. Be realistic about your financial situation and the needs of your business, as well as the opportunities.

Make it visually appealing . If you are sharing your business plan with others, be mindful of the presentation. While the information included in your business plan is most important, if the presentation is messy or filled with errors your audience may not read it. Does your business plan look nice? Is it organized? Is there a title page, table of contents, or section headlines, and page numbers? In case you leave it behind with someone to review, does it have your name and contact information? Have you proofread to make sure there are no errors, typos, or messy formatting mistakes? Have you included graphic elements like your logo, graphs, perhaps photos or drawings, things that provide interest and well as information. Your business plan can be a valuable selling tool, so be sure it’s visually appealing.

Keep it current . As mentioned earlier, industry and economic trends change all the time and can impact your business and business plan. Take your business plan out once a month, or in a frequency that works for you, and read it. If anything has changed, update it. This way you can be sure you are ready when an opportunity arises, for example to talk with a potential investor, customer, partner, or employee.

Set realistic goals . It would be nearly impossible to sit down and write your business plan in one afternoon or one day. Set a realistic goal for yourself to complete different parts as it works for your schedule. Perhaps you break it down by week or month? For example, next month you could devote to researching all the financial information required for your business, and then you write that part of your business plan. Then perhaps you focus on marketing after that. It’s also helpful to just get your ideas on paper. You’ve got to start somewhere, and it’s often easier to start with words already on a page than with a blank page.

Get feedback . Share your business plan draft with trusted advisors or experts in your intended industry to get their advice and use their input to revise and improve your plan.

Start at the beginning, again . Once you have completed your first draft of your business plan, go back and reread your Executive Summary. After having done all the research and deep thinking to populate all of the other sections, did you learn anything new that changes your overall summary? If so, make those changes while the ideas are fresh in your mind.

We have provided the free MOBI Business Plan Template for you to use in planning your business. As you go through this course, you will learn about the topics that are included in the template. You can add information to your business plan template as you go, or you can begin working on it after you have completed the full course.

THE TOP 10 DO'S

• Prepare a complete business plan for any business you are considering.
• Tell the story of your business, and make sure this story is present throughout your business plan.
• Use your business plan as your own planning tool and a place where you can record all your ideas about your business.
• Make your business plan visually appealing, it can be a powerful selling tool.
• Submit your business plan to experts in your intended business for their advice.
• Spell out your strategies on how you intend to handle obstacles in your sales process.
• Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and those of your team.
• Include a monthly one-year projected Profit and Loss Statement, and yearly projections for years two and three.
• Identify your unique value proposition in your Executive Summary.
• Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of your intended industry by including your market research information.

THE TOP 10 DON'TS

• Start a business without developing a business plan first.
• Forget to include your own life experiences, business history, and educational achievements which have led you to this business.
• Exclude the financial statements and projections, especially when using your business plan to seek funding.
• Leave out challenges or weaknesses, instead identify anticipated problems and how you will overcome them.
• Rely on a one-page business plan for all your information and needs, be sure to create a full business plan as well.
• Overlook including a damage control plan in your Operations section.
• Use overly complex language that will confuse your audiences.
• Skip sections because you aren’t sure what to include, instead continue your research and find the answers.
• Ignore economic or industry trends that may impact your business, regularly update your business plan.
• Include general information without the details or proof to support your claims.

If you are writing your business plan while reviewing this material, take a moment now to include any information about your business related to this session. MOBI’s free Business Plan Template and other worksheets, checklists, and templates are available for you to download. Just visit the list of MOBI Resource Documents on the Resources & Tools page of our website.

Here are some key terms and definitions used in this session or related to this session:

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Featured Video: The Importance of Market Research 

Featured Video:   Key Components of a Good Business Plan  originally appeared on  BusinessTown

Featured Video: Business Plan: What are the key components?

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The Importance of Setting Ambitious Goals for Business Growth

Pushing yourself and your team beyond comfort is essential for growth and evolution..

As a strategic coach with over a decade of experience working with numerous companies, leaders, and CEOs on business growth challenges, I've seen firsthand the transformative power of setting ambitious goals. While avoiding unrealistic expectations is crucial, aiming slightly beyond comfort zones fosters personal and professional growth and evolution. Here are essential steps to effectively set and achieve ambitious goals :

1. Get clear on your purpose.

Understanding the why behind your goals is fundamental. Your purpose should be a driving force that keeps you and your team motivated and focused. The energy and commitment toward achieving ambitious goals naturally increase when everyone is aligned with a common mission. This clarity fuels motivation and ensures your goals are impactful and meaningful.

2. Identify specific areas of change.

Before setting your goals, take a step back and assess the areas within your organization that require change or improvement. These could include increasing market share, enhancing customer satisfaction, or improving operational efficiency. Identifying these areas will help you focus your efforts and resources on what truly matters, laying the groundwork for practical goal setting.

3. Articulate 3-5 specific objectives.

Once you've identified the critical areas for change, translate them into specific objectives. These should be clear, concise, and actionable. For example, if you aim to improve customer satisfaction, an objective might be to "enhance customer service response times." Clear objectives provide a roadmap and direction, making tracking progress and maintaining focus easier.

4. Create 3 to 5 key results under each objective.

To ensure your objectives are not just theoretical, break them down into measurable key results. Each objective should have three to five key results that indicate progress. For example, to enhance customer service response times, key results could include "reduce average response time to customer inquiries by 50 percent" or "achieve a 90 percent customer satisfaction rate with support interactions." These key results offer concrete milestones that demonstrate tangible progress.

5. Set your targets to be 'doable but not easy.'

Ambitious goals should be challenging yet achievable. Setting targets that are too easy can lead to complacency, while impossible goals can demoralize your team. Striking the right balance is crucial. Aim for targets that push your team to stretch their abilities and think creatively while still within the realm of possibility. This balance ensures sustained motivation and effort.

6. Aim for 80 to 90 percent completion.

When setting your goals, aim for a completion rate of 80 to 90 percent. This approach builds in a slight stretch, encouraging continuous improvement and innovation. Significant growth and learning occur in the push to achieve that final 10 to 20 percent. This mindset also helps build resilience and adaptability, which are essential for long-term success.

7. Create an implementation plan.

A well-structured implementation plan is crucial to turning goals into reality. Map out a week-by-week schedule detailing the specific tasks and commitments required to achieve each key result. This plan should include deadlines, responsible parties, and checkpoints to review progress. A detailed implementation plan ensures accountability and keeps the team on track, facilitating steady progress toward your goals.

By following these steps, you can set ambitious goals that drive significant growth and development. Remember, real progress happens in the discomfort and stretching beyond your comfort zone. You and your team can achieve remarkable outcomes with clarity, focus, and a well-structured plan.

A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta

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Starting a Business

When starting a new business, there are many important decisions to make and many rules and procedures that must be addressed. While there is no single source for all filing requirements, the following steps have been developed to assist you in starting your business.

It is helpful to begin with a business plan. A business plan is a blueprint of every aspect of your business. Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Promotion and Location are just some of the categories to consider when creating a plan. Go to the U.S. Small Business Administration website to find a tutorial on how to create a business plan.

If you would like help deciding on a location for your business, contact the California Business Investment Services unit of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GO-Biz) . The California Business Investment Services unit provides tailored site selection services for businesses, real–estate executives, and site selection consultants.

Choose a business structure. A brief overview of the following types of legal business structures available in California can be found on our Entity Types website:

• Corporation
• Limited Liability Company
• Limited Partnership
• General Partnership
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Sole Proprietorship

Your next step will be to file your tax and employer identification documents .

Most businesses require licenses or permits in order to operate. Please click on each of the resources below to determine if your business requires any licenses or permits.

• CalGOLD (The Gold Standard For Permit Assistance)
• Department of Consumer Affairs

Additional Resources

For additional resources on how to start a business, visit  Starting a Business Checklist webpage and click on the Starting a New Business in California (PDF) brochure.

Resources for People with Disabilities

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California Department of General Services California Commission on Disability Access

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U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Entrepreneurship Resources for People with Disabilities Starting & Managing

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