Sales & Marketing Plan Check-up Time

Now that the 2nd half of the year has begun, it is time for some routine maintenance.

Much the same as your car or home, you should also schedule periodic check-ups of your sales and marketing plans to ensure that you are receiving the optimal performance and results.

These check-ups should be done on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis as part of the business planning process. Regularly scheduled plan reviews will enable you to capitalize on emerging business and market trends, and make necessary course corrections to minimize potential shortfalls.

At a minimum, the areas that are listed below should be audited as an integral part of your business plan reviews to determine your company’s sales and marketing effectiveness.

  1. Sales Metrics. Review the number of first calls, customer visits, proposals, closed sales, customer adds, and revenue.
  2. Sales Productivity. Determine the total revenue amount per individual sales headcount in each period vs. plan.
  3. Sales Pipeline. Evaluate the total number of projects in the pipeline, dollar value of the pipeline, % of total per funnel phase, average days to closed sale, and average sale value.
  4. Lead Conversions. Identify the “hit rate” by calculating the ratio of new sales to leads from all sources.
  5. Marketing ROI. Calculate the revenue to expense ratios for all marketing activities to determine where you are receiving the greatest return from your marketing spend.
  6. Budget. Are you meeting your sales and marketing targets in all areas – i.e. sales, revenue, customer adds, expenses, etc.?
  7. Execution. Are you delivering new products, promotions, projects, collaterals, etc. on-time? On-time delivery is a must for you to reach your sales and revenue targets.

The data you compile from these sales and marketing plan check-ups will provide you with the insight required to develop future business plans consistent with prevailing market trends and historical performance.

If you do not have a similar sales and marketing review process in place today, make it a priority. These periodic check-ups will enable your team members to stay on-track with their performance goals, while helping the business to run smoothly throughout the year.

Enjoy the journey!

John

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