I’m often asked that when it comes to major changes in the sales landscape, where the heck do you start? Here are four tips to set you on the right course toward developing a winning sales playbook that will yield sales in today’s environment.
- Take a deep breath. It will center you and prevent you from getting overwhelmed.
- Check in with the people you work with. Come to an agreement and secure one another’s commitment to necessary changes. This isn’t just sales, but operations, marketing, customer service, and so on. Set a development schedule and stick to it. Assign who contributes what and when. All of the effort will be worth it. Think of this in the same terms as prepping your tax return. We grimace at the idea of putting all of our receipts and statements together, meeting with our accountant, proofreading the return, signing it, and sending it off. However, the refund makes it all worth it, right? And even if you aren’t owed a refund, the sense of catharsis you enjoy having completed the Herculean task on time can be very gratifying in itself! As you and others track your incremental progress the mutual encouragement will grow, and as your projects develop and finalize it will become an incentive to keep going.
- Start auditing your existing content. This includes things like email templates, calling scripts, meeting agendas, presentation decks and the questions you ask prospects. It’s almost always easier to edit an existing document than starting with a blank page. And if you don’t even have a draft to work from, aren’t you glad you’re starting now?
- If you know what has been working the best, continue to apply it, that will give you a good start. You can push off the pier as you launch your boat and sail toward the horizon. You may have to pivot your sales plan a bit, but you’ll manage to stay the course.
