Wayne Moloneys Highly Effective Territory Sales Planning Roadmap, Ep #285
The most successful salespeople have the discipline to do what will deliver success. And territory sales planning is a critical component of that success. Most salespeople don\u2019t see the benefits of sales planning, so they don\u2019t do it. Salespeople underrate territory planning because they\u2019re focused on short-term calendar-focused targets. They\u2019re highly reactive.\xa0
Today\u2019s guest, Wayne Moloney, shares that the average tenure of a B2B salesperson is only 16 months and it\u2019s steadily decreasing. He believes that having the right territory sales plan in place can lead to long-term success, growth, and longevity in the profession. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Wayne shares how salespeople can transform their plans with some simple questions.\xa0
Outline of This Episode- [1:01] The largest reasons salespeople discount sales planning
- [3:20] How to overcome reactivity with territory sales planning
- [5:17] The ingredients for the perfect territory sales plan
- [7:53] Attributes or characteristics that make a salesperson great\xa0
- [10:48] A simple territory sales plan is the key to success
- [14:10] Top 3 territory sales planning dos and don\u2019ts
- [16:17] How a simple plan led to global sales success
If you\u2019re planning a territory, you\u2019re clarifying and articulating where you want to go and what roads will lead to them. If you\u2019re reactive, you\u2019re reacting to suspects, not the right type of customers. Territory planning helps you target the right customers, establish goals for income, and ensures sales growth over time. It also helps you engage with customers early enough in the sales process to have an impact.\xa0
A good sales plan defines the specific industries and sectors that will offer the most opportunity to you\u2014and why. That\u2019s the foundation of any plan. Then you must look at the characteristics of your high-value clients. That helps you identify your ICP. Focus on the organizations you can best help versus those looking for a white paper offered by your marketing teams. A good salesperson also completes a comprehensive competitive analysis (i.e. what your competitors are doing and why they\u2019re doing it).\xa0
Attributes or characteristics that make a salesperson great\xa0Accountability is\xa0critical. After 40+ in sales and business management, Wayne still has a mentor that he shares his goals with who helps hold him accountable. It\u2019s critical to Wayne\u2019s success and will be to yours, too. Accountability means taking responsibility for your plan and the actions you take. Another critical component? Set goals and\xa0write them down. Wayne emphasizes that \u201cA plan that\u2019s not written down is just a thought.\u201d You must define and implement\xa0actions\xa0to make things happen.\xa0
Great salespeople don\u2019t operate as islands. Wayne worked with someone who got a group of people together and asked them to pull apart and critique his plan to strengthen his approach. One of the biggest opportunities for salespeople is achieving domain expertise. Developing this starts by knowing what businesses to focus on. You can\u2019t be all things to all people. You need to understand and know your addressable market.\xa0
A simple territory sales plan is the key to successWayne shares some simple yet strategic questions you can ask yourself to build a successful territory sales plan:\xa0
- Where are you now? Why are you where you are? Walk back through what\u2019s happened with your territory, your best and worst clients, and even those you\u2019ve lost.
- Where do you want to be and when do you want to be there? This gives you a starting line and a finish line. The middle is the gap that will grow your territory.
- What resources will you need? What tools do you have available to aid your planning?
- How will you measure performance? When and how will you review your progress? When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? Who will you involve in the process?\xa0
Walking through these questions is the easiest way to build a plan that\u2019s simple, easy to understand, and helps drive you to success.\xa0
What are Wayne\u2019s top three territory sales planning dos and don\u2019ts? Listen to find out!
How a simple plan led to global sales successA man Wayne calls \u201cJim\u201d used to work for him. Jim was very successful in his sales position but didn\u2019t know why. He was always reluctant to make a plan. Because he was so successful, it was hard for Wayne to argue why he should build a plan. He still taught him the proper framework but never truly enforced it.\xa0
Jim moved on and took a role with a major credit card company. One day, Jim called Wayne and thanked him. Why? Because Jim struggled in the credit card industry. So he sat back and went through Wayne\u2019s planning process. He became the top salesperson in his organization. He closed the two biggest global opportunities because he knew where to focus his territory plan.\xa0
As a sales manager, whatever you teach your team is not wasted if you coach them properly. Wayne\u2019s message to salespeople? Don\u2019t dismiss what you\u2019re taught\u2014it\xa0will\xa0become useful at some point in your career.\xa0
Connect with Wayne Moloney Connect With Paul Watts\xa0Audio Production and Show notes by
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