I’m often amazed how few people have a proper sales plan in place!  I mean a specific document, written down, with a focused plan of how the individual, team or business is going to win business for the forthcoming year.

Without a proper sales plan in place, most people will miss opportunities that they could have converted, and miss other opportunities they weren’t even aware of.

Not the best thing to happen in a tough market, so start your year off well and get a written sales plan in place, right now!

• Examine Your ‘Selling Level’

2009 was the year that purchasing and ‘sign-off’ responsibility shifted somewhat.  Managers or department heads that were previously able to sign-off quite large sums of money were ‘reigned in’ somewhat, and Directors and Owners started taking more interest in exactly where the company’s money was being spent.

This means that all the salespeople that were selling at ‘user’ or ‘manager’ level found that decisions we’re going ‘above’ – and that they weren’t coming back as positively or as quickly as previously might have happened!

• Ask Better Questions

If you or your team are still asking mainly ‘fact-find’ questions of prospects you’re calling or going to see, then you’ll probably be one of the first to be left behind in 2010!

If your prospects and clients are looking at other vendors, and your phone calls and meetings are conducted knowing you’re not the only supplier they’re talking to, one of the biggest things that will differentiate you is your questioning ability.

How does yours (or your team’s) currently measure up?

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