1. Directors’ Briefing Selling
Your sales
strategy
Effective marketing is crucial to the success such as market changes and the
of any business. But simply understanding activities of competitors. Take into
your market is not enough. You need to account changing customer tastes and
build on your business and marketing plans developments in technology
to turn theory into profits. A good sales or legislation. Identify the key drivers of
strategy will help you identify and take your business — the people, knowledge
advantage of the best opportunities. and conditions that influence how well your
business functions.
This briefing covers:
1.3 Concentrate on generating profitable
• Clarifying your sales objectives. business.
• Deciding how to reach target customers.
• Planning and supporting your sales effort. • Rank customers in order of profitability,
• Monitoring and improving effectiveness. identifying existing, potential and key
customers. Take into account the total cost
of selling to each one.
1 The right approach • Identify criteria that will enable you to
understand what a profitable customer
1.1 Base your sales strategy on your business looks like. Use this profile to identify specific
and marketing plans. customers to market to.
• Set out in detail how you will deliver
marketing objectives, target market
segments and support major marketing
activities, such as promotional drives.
• Identify the key aims of your strategy. For
example, which target markets you are
aiming for and the timescales involved.
• Get realistic, accurate plans by involving
sales people.
1.2 Understand your market.
• Find out more about your customers. For
example, their needs, what products they
want and what level of service they expect.
• Establish when, where and how your
existing customers buy.
• If you sell to other businesses, identify who
influences buying decisions, who actually
makes them and who places the orders.
• Monitor the key trends in your market,
England Reviewed 01/04/11

2. Directors’ Briefing 2
• Identify what you are good at by analysing • Work out a sensible balance between time
the activities that led to your most profitable spent developing new business and that
sales last year. spent keeping existing customers happy.
• Define the benefits to your business • Be aware of, and manage, seasonal sales.
of serving each type of customer. For Many businesses find that only ten months
example, a high-profile customer may out of 12 bring income.
provide you with credibility. Or your first
one or two customers in a new sector may
enable you to access other customers in 3 Reaching the customer
that sector. Give all criteria for a profitable
customer a weighting and focus sales Once you have worked out which customers
activities on customers that meet those to target, you need to decide which sales
criteria. channels will be most effective.
• Only sell to unprofitable customers for a
good reason. For example, sales to a large You can either sell direct or through an
customer may provide a regular revenue intermediary. Weigh the costs of each
stream. channel against the benefits it would bring.
• Try to improve your gross margin on your
less profitable sales. For example, you 3.1 Most businesses sell to customers direct.
“
might use a cheaper sales channel (see 3). Direct sales methods include selling face-to-
face, direct mail, telesales and e-commerce. Overtrading is a
common cause of
2 Your target customers • Selling face-to-face is the most expensive business failure.
sales method, and works well for high-value Production and
Business growth depends on creating sales. Complex products (eg customised purchasing costs
new, profitable business with different types accounting software) need to be explained soar and payments
of customer. and sold by an experienced sales person. are not yet coming
• Direct mail and telesales are more in. Make sure you
2.1 Generate business with new prospects. cost-effective options for lower value have the capacity
products. and finances in
• Target prospects efficiently. For example, you might aim to complete place to enable you
For example, analyse your top ten existing all sales under £100 over the phone. to fulfil your sales
clients and identify customers with a • Selling via your website can be the targets and order
similar profile.
• Plan how to approach each new customer.
For example, to win the custom of a key
customer, you may drop your prices —
cheapest method of all. Involve sales and
marketing employees in the design and
layout of the site.
commitments.
June Lonsdale,
”
Anglo Recycling
Technology Ltd
creating a loss-leader — or give your 3.2 If you cannot reach your customers directly,
product away on a trial basis. use an intermediary.
• Make sure you have a strategy to eventually
move prices back up to a profitable level or • You might target customers that are
be prepared to live with reduced margins individual consumers through retailers.
from these customers. • If you are breaking into overseas markets,
consider using an agent. Contact the
2.2 Develop more business with existing British Agents Register on 01423 560 608;
customers. www.agentsregister.com or contact the
Manufacturers’ Agents’ Association on
• Set out what you will do to get existing 01582 767618; www.themaa.co.uk.
customers to make higher-value purchases
and buy different products (‘up-’ and You may need to focus on selling to the
‘cross-selling’). intermediaries. For example, persuading
• Plan how to keep key customers happy retailers to display your product prominently.
and build relationships.
3.3 You may be able to join forces with other
2.3 Build up a mix of customers, to help businesses to boost your sales effort.
safeguard your sales revenue.
Do not rely too much on one customer and • For example, related, but non-competing,
be aware of potential customer cashflow companies might share customer information.
problems. If you plan to share customers’ information,
the Data Protection Act requires you to
inform customers which organisations you

3. Directors’ Briefing 3
will share their information with and give This is a detailed breakdown of the sales
them the option to object. you plan to achieve by month, by customer
and by product.
3.4 Promote and support your sales channels • Base forecasts on previous sales levels.
by communicating with your customers. Take into account information about major
new orders, changes to customers’ buying
• Advertise to build recognition and habits, and other factors such as pricing
awareness of your product. and marketing activities.
• Provide promotional material to • State the likelihood of achieving sales,
intermediaries selling your product using a percentage figure, and set out
or service. For example, brochures and when you expect to close them.
leaflets. • Agree how many leads are needed to
achieve the forecast growth. Set out how
Think carefully about how customers would many leads should come from new and
prefer to hear about, and buy, your products existing customers.
or services. • Identify customers by name or by the
“
number you expect to sell to.
• Define the number of sales you expect In recessive times,
4 Sales planning from a set number of visits, calls or other customers look
contacts (your sales ‘conversion’ rate). for two factors —
4.1 Together with your sales employees, • Determine the frequency and levels of sales ‘Am I putting my
prepare your sales forecast. activity needed to achieve targets. business into a
For example, allocate the amount of time safe pair of hands?’
to be spent on each account. Remember and ‘Are we really
to include the whole range of activities getting good value
Technology on your side needed to complete a sale. for our hard earned
The right technology can significantly improve
your selling efficiency. For best results, give
your sales people the training and technical
• Decide how many sales people you need
to achieve your sales targets, and allocate
territories or accounts (see 5.3).
• Take into account your sales costs,
money?’.
Huthwaite
”
Guy Aston,
International
support they need to use it. including promotional materials, salaries
and equipment (see 6.1).
A If you have many high-value customers Plan sales costs in proportion to the
and prospects, customer relationship returns you expect to make.
management (CRM) software can be an
invaluable tool. 4.2 Prepare your annual sales budget.
This is a summary of the sales forecast. It
• Get CRM software from a supplier with does not change, and acts as a benchmark
knowledge of your industry. that you can compare your updated
• Make sure the software lets you forecasts with.
generate the reports you need. For
example, you should be able to analyse • Prepare pessimistic, realistic and optimistic
and group your customers using versions of your budget, and plan what you
different criteria. will do in each case.
• If necessary, make sure data can
be transferred and stored across 4.3 Revise your sales forecasts quarterly
different sites. or annually, using past performance as
• Feed in data from different parts of a guide.
your business. For example, a sales
rep should be able to see if customers • Compare sales achieved with your sales
are over their agreed credit limit before budget (see 4.2).
selling them new products. • If there is a significant difference between
the two figures, find out why.
B Use appropriate technology to improve You may need to plan new sales initiatives
selling activities. or adjust your sales expenditure.
• For example, you might provide your 4.4 Be aware of sales cycles. The total
field sales reps with remote access amount of time taken to complete a sale
to your intranet, so they can check can have a critical impact on your cashflow.
warehouse supplies and input orders
while on the customer’s premises. • If you have a new, untested product or
service, it may take longer to make sales.

4. Directors’ Briefing 4
• Work with customers’ decision-making negotiable areas. Expert
habits. For example, large organisations • Get sales people to record their activities contributors
may be slower to reach decisions. and produce weekly sales reports. These
• Time sales drives and product launches should give scores out of ten for each Thanks to Guy
well. For example, suppliers to the retail customer, reflecting the potential value Aston (Huthwaite
industry are geared to making sales at of sales and the likelihood of conversion. International, 01709
exhibitions at the beginning of each year. Monitor the accuracy of their scoring 710081).
procedures.
4.5 Co-ordinate sales with your other business • Train your sales people, to improve product
activities. and market knowledge as well as selling
For example, do not plan for sales that your skills.
production processes cannot fulfil. • Monitor and drive progress in supportive,
weekly one-to-one meetings.
• Plan sales campaigns to support promotional
efforts (eg new product launches).
• When you have defined your sales strategy, 6 Measuring performance
you may need to adjust your marketing
plan accordingly. For example, your sales 6.1 Conduct an annual or quarterly profitability
people may identify a new customer group analysis.
to target.
• Examine and justify the time and money
spent on different customers. Focus on
5 Selling resources profitability rather than volume of sales
and the quality rather than the quantity
5.1 Use sales tools to increase efficiency. of contact.
• Find out if turnover was lower or higher
• A good database is essential to manage than forecast and, if so, why.
information on customers. Where possible, • Analyse which sales people, and channels,
link information held on different databases. are most productive, and why.
• Consider what equipment could make your • Monitor the returns on sales costs.
sales people more productive (eg mobile Distinguish between sales representative
phones or laptop computers). and sales support costs.
• Compare this year’s sales with the previous
Also provide appropriate administrative year’s and with those of similar companies
support to allow sales people to focus on in your market.
selling.
6.2 Analyse conversion rates monthly, using
5.2 Give sales personnel access to the sales people’s weekly activity reports.
standard documents they need.
• Work out how many sales have been
• Include call sheets, standard contracts, made, and calculate their average value.
proposal forms and promotional material. • Analyse the relationship between leads,
• Use sales report forms to record relevant visits, proposals and orders achieved.
information for each customer contact. • Monitor activity with both new and
For example, customer name, reason for existing customers.
contact, issues covered and follow-up • Examine each stage in the selling process
action required. to find out where you are losing the sales.
• Consult a lawyer to draw up major legal
documents, such as long-term contracts 6.3 Identify problems, and find out what has © BHP Information
or exclusive distributor agreements. caused them. Solutions Ltd 2011.
ISSN 1369-1996. All
For example, you might have reductions rights reserved. No
5.3 Organise and support your sales team. in sales to key customers caused by an part of this publication
may be reproduced or
unreliable delivery service. transmitted without the
• Make sure sales people understand what
written permission of the
sets your product or service apart from • Identify dead accounts and follow them up. publisher. This publication
those of your competitors and get them to Making a sale to an existing customer is is for general guidance
communicate this to customers. far easier and cheaper than winning a only. The publisher, expert
contributors and distributor
• Understand just what value your product new one. disclaim all liability for
or service will bring to the customer’s • Find out what percentage of your customer any errors or omissions.
business; this is your value proposition. base no longer buys from you, and why. Consult your local business
support organisation or your
• Give sales people key information — for professional adviser for help
example about pricing, profit margins and and advice.
Published by BHP Information Solutions Ltd, Althorp House, 4-6 Althorp Road, London SW17 7ED
Tel: 020 8672 6844, www.bhpinfosolutions.co.uk