• Marketing and Sales Strategy
  • 11 July, 2022

10 Steps to Create a Complete Sales and Marketing Business Plan [Templates included]

Jump to the end of the post to get access to our free sales and marketing business plan templates.

Turning an idea into a functional business requires laser-sharp focus. You must take care of development, marketing, sales, customer success, and whatnot. 

While most entrepreneurs start with some form of a plan, they often forget about it soon after. 

Blame it on changing dynamics, trial and error to find a product-market fit, or blatant ignorance. But overlooking the planning process is a sure shot reason for failure — as the common saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail.

An essential part of this document is the sales and marketing segment. The sales and marketing plan outlines everything you need to do to promote your products and generate revenue for your business. 

Why do you need a sales and marketing plan? 

Having a revolutionary product that solves a genuine problem is great. But it won’t mean anything if people don’t know about you. 

A sales and marketing plan helps you get discovered, structure your activities, and move forward with your growth goals. 

It’s more or less like a roadmap about what you should do to make things work in your favor. 

Your sales and marketing plan will help you: 

  • Identify the bridge between where you are today and where you want to reach your business goals. 
  • Get much-needed clarity and avoid conflicts and confusion in case of any disruptions.
  • Gain and document insights about your target audience, industry, trends, costs, etc. 
  • Justify your business model in front of investors and lenders in case you need to raise funds.
  • Stay focused on a north star metric, improvise growth tactics and achieve harmony between various growth activities. 
  • Promote sales and marketing alignment.

Your sales and marketing plan would also help you avoid distractions and save time and money lost. 

And you know how easy it is to lose direction and get distracted when starting or running a startup. Documenting everything as a plan will help avoid confusion and add clarity to your everyday affairs and long-term mission. 

However, different companies need different plans based on the stage of operations and their unique growth goals. 

A clear marketing and sales plan promotes alignment between marketing and sales departments at every stage . This reduces resource waste and creates fewer “blame-game ” occasions in your meetups. 

What to include in the marketing & sales plan? 

Planning is a subjective activity. 

You’d receive several different answers if you read, talk to, and consult multiple experts on what to include in your marketing and sales plan. 

So, how should you decide which elements to include in your marketing/sales plan? 

Let’s take a step back and understand the “why” of planning. 

You need a plan so you don’t get confused and can keep walking towards your goal.

Your plan should: 

  • Serve as a roadmap for everything related to sales and marketing for the first few months if you’re just starting. 
  • Outline and articulate the core strategies you’ll experiment with, the desired outcome, and the KPIs to measure performance. 
  • Set realistic KPIs, outcomes, and objectives based on market understanding, competition, funding requirements, and your target audience’s pain points. 

Marketing plan for your startup: The what and why

In an ideal world, every penny you spend in marketing should enhance your visibility, take you closer to your audience,  and increase your conversion rates. 

But in reality, it takes a lot of effort, time, and investment to make it happen. 

A marketing plan helps you navigate through the tricky maze called marketing without getting lost in the process. 

Basically, you build a marketing plan to gain enlightenment about how you’ll promote and stay relevant to your audience. 

You do it beforehand so that when things get tricky, you have a directional beacon to guide you.  

Creating any plan should start with an understanding of the purpose. The same applies to marketing, too. Try to find the reason behind marketing your product – why are you working towards your goal. 

Knowing your why would help you gain clarity – an essential element for the success of any activity on the planet. Before you begin, you should try to find answers to the following questions: 

  • Why are you making the marketing plan?
  • What do you want to accomplish with the marketing?
  • What will be the value proposition? 
  • What are the goals that we want to achieve?

These answers will allow you to think better and prepare for strategizing your plan with a better perspective. 

Also, while at it, remember that your marketing plan is not a rigid document etched in stone. Instead, it’s a result of an iterative process that depends on five fundamental aspects: 

1. Product: What are you marketing? 

The product section should explain what you are selling exactly. 

  • What do you sell? 
  • How is your offering different from your competitors?
  • What are the benefits your potential customers would derive from your offerings? 
  • What is your core USP? 

Answering these questions would help you craft a great positioning statement and marketing message for your marketing campaigns. 

2. Place: Where are you available? 

This section should outline where you will sell or market your products. How will you get customers to reach out to buy your product or service? 

Though this will depend on the nature of business — online or offline, manufacturing or services, answers to the following questions would help you gain clarity: 

  • Where will you be available for your customers? 
  • Which distribution channels would you use to be more accessible to customers? 
  • What percentage of sales/conversions do you expect from different distribution/marketing channels? 

3. Price: How much will you charge? 

This is an essential part of your planning process. Your pricing decisions would decide how you will generate revenue for your startup . 

Your pricing decision should be based on market analysis, competition, value offering, buying behavior, etc. 

  • What will be the pricing model you’ll adopt to generate revenue? 
  • What is the most favorable price point that your customers are ready to pay for your offering? 
  • Will you make any profit/loss at this price point? 
  • How soon can you break even based on your pricing strategy? 

4. Promotion: How will you promote your offering? 

You can have the best product, but no one would care if you’re not promoting it. 

Moreover, one of the primary reasons to create a marketing plan is to help you promote your offering. 

  • Who is your target audience? 
  • How will your reach your target audience? 
  • What strategies will you adopt to convert your audience into customers? 
  • Which channels of promotions will you use to promote your offerings? 
  • How much will you spend on promotions and marketing? 
  • What will be your team structure for the next quarter, year, and long term?
  • How will you track the marketing effectiveness? 

5. People: Who will do the marketing?  

While most marketing plans you see out there would cover the traditional 4Ps of marketing, often the fifth P, people, is ignored. 

And you know there’s no growth or promotion without your team – your people. 

This aspect should help you understand your current capabilities and the resources needed in your team. Think about how you will find them, their responsibilities, and where they stand in the big picture. 

  • Who will do the marketing for you? 
  • What do you look for in a human resource?
  • At what point do you start expanding the team? 
  • Who are you going to hire first?
  • How do you plan to hire for marketing? 
  • What will be the core responsibilities and KPIs for your team? 
  • How will you set KPIs/OKRs and analyze your team’s performance? 

Sales plan for your startup: The what and the why

Your sales plan would help you generate revenues from your marketing efforts by completing the journey from generating leads to turning them into customers. 

A sales plan defines your sales goals, the strategies you’d bet on, your desired results, your challenges, the solutions you have for them, and the structure (people, budget, process, and tools) you need.

Your sales plan would cover everything you need to register sales and generate revenue for your business. 

A sales plan is created to: 

  • Provide a strategic direction to your sales team
  • Define the core objectives and goals in terms of sales 
  • Outline roles and responsibilities
  • Analyze and measure your wins in terms of sales. 

These reasons help you succeed more than experimental businesses that beat around the bush while trying to make things work in a world where everyone’s selling something. To ensure your sales plan is effective, it should include: 

1. Sales goals — What do you want to achieve? 

Like any other activity in the world, your sales planning process should also revolve around the end goals for sales

Saying that you want more customers is a generic goal that doesn’t have any tangible metrics attached. Moreover, saying that you wish for more sales is too broad a goal that would involve outlining several action steps. 

So, it’s always better to have a SMART goal and break it down into tangible, measurable, and KPI-driven objectives. You can say that you want to: 

  • Nurture 10% more MQLs into SQLs, and ultimately, customers.
  • Reduce your churn rates by 5% before the end of Q1.
  • Expand your sales team with 3 people to nurture and convert leads faster — reduce time to conversion by 5 days.
  • Increase the customer lifetime value through upsells or cross-sells by $200.
  • Expand your sales activities into new territories or regions.
  • Optimize your pricing strategy to improve your conversion rates by 8% for new accounts.

2. Tactics — The process and activities

This segment will include the specific tactics, processes, and activities you’ll use to generate revenue for your business . 

A solid understanding of your target audience, goals, and capabilities would help you discover exciting and profitable tactics for your industry. 

Try to pick and choose the tactics in line with your ideal customer profile. You can conduct a survey and get insights from your marketing team to align your sales efforts accordingly. 

An aligned sales and marketing team will help you accelerate sales enablement and strike gold with more leads, higher conversions, and better results. 

Interested in exploring new sales tactics? Read this blog on popular sales strategies and techniques for your business. 

3. Timelines — The time you’ll need to make things happen

A plan without a timeline is just a wish. You must link your goals, tactics, and sales strategies with realistic deadlines. This will ensure that everyone’s motivated to work towards your goals. 

Keep all the stakeholders in the loop by developing a realistic growth goal and attaching a practical timeline to it. 

While you’re at it, don’t forget to assign one person who’ll be responsible for ensuring compliance. 

This tactic is known differently in business circles. 

Some call it a key Point of Contact (POC) for an activity; others call this person a Directly Responsible Individual (DRI). 

Another popular approach includes assigning OKR (Objective and Key Results) to an individual in a team who owns up the responsibility of making this happen. 

Whatever you may do, make sure you are realistic, practical, and sensible in creating achievable deadlines for your sales teams. 

Failure to do so would lead to dissatisfaction among sales team members, ultimately harming your bottom line. 

4. KPIs — the metrics you’ll track to determine success 

KPIs will help you understand if your sales tactics align with your revenue generation goals. These metrics help enhance sales teams’ performance, optimize the sales funnels, and improve conversion rate. 

If you want a solid sales plan, you need to tie everyone (and everything) to a tangible sales metric. 

You also need to ensure proper sales and marketing alignment so that all your marketing spends get attributed to some kind of improvement in KPIs. 

Here are some questions and corresponding KPIs you can think of adding to your sales plan: 

If you track these KPIs well, you’ll understand the challenges better, predict future problems, and get better at generating revenues from your sales activities. 

Moreover, the answers you gather and the KPIs would help you keep an eye on the overall efficiency of the sales process and build a strong sales team. 

Apart from these standard inclusions to your sales plan, you can also add the following information: 

  • Team structure: How big your sales team should be, and what will be the responsibility (job role and KPIs) of each member of the team? 
  • Resources/tools required : What tools and resources do you need to execute the sales tactics and strategies you’ve planned? 
  • Current market trends: How is the present market regarding customer interest in your product, competition landscape, and overall sentiment in your industry? 

Rethinking the traditional plan for digital businesses, service companies, and SaaS startups 

The traditional ways of creating a sales and marketing plan are geared more toward the product economy. 

Today, most businesses don’t even have a physical “product”.

Distribution and conversion cycles are not so simple, too.

The sales and marketing ecosystem has transitioned from a single-sales mindset to a culture of lead nurturing , upsells/cross-sells, and experiences to enhance the customer’s lifetime value. 

Even users don’t look at companies, products, and solutions like they used to anymore. 

Don’t you think the old ways should be reimagined? 

In his book, Subscribed, Tien Tzuo mentions how the world economy is transitioning to a digital era powered by subscription-based startups and digital businesses.

Naturally, with changing consumer mindset, the traditional business planning models (including sales and marketing plans) should change, too. 

There has been a hot debate about reimagining marketing and sales operations for the future — digital businesses, SaaS products, and the subscription economy. 

PADRE is a promising framework with all the elements of a traditional business plan, reimagined for the modern digital economy. 

The PADRE framework keeps the customer at the heart of everything and divides all activities (including sales and marketing) into eight subsets: 

  • Position: How will you create awareness, turn it into demand for your product and build a pipeline of leads? 
  • Acquire: What is your ICPs buyer’s journey? How will you address their pain points and turn them into customers? 
  • Deploy : How will you onboard , service, and delight your customers as efficiently as possible so they can use your product, service, or SaaS quickly?   
  • Run:  How will you ensure that your customers get what they expect (and deserve) from your product or service? 
  • Expand: How will you grow your company through retention, growth, and customer advocacy? 
  • Product: How will you evolve your product, service, or offering and manage everything? 
  • People:   How will you recruit, onboard, train, and retain the best talent to serve your customers? 
  • Money: Where and how will you fund and fulfill your need for running and growing your business most efficiently? 

If you look at the PADRE model carefully, it has almost all the elements discussed above for sales and marketing plans, just in a different way. This differentiation makes more sense for a dynamic digital business than the traditional sales and marketing business plan. 

You can take ideas from the PADRE model to create your version of a dynamic business plan based on your unique business idea. 

10 steps to create a solid sales and marketing plan

Regardless of your approach to creating a business plan, you will have to gather data, make some important decisions, and collate everything together. 

Remember, your sales and marketing plan is a living document that should be revisited repeatedly for optimization. 

Here are the steps you can take to create an actionable plan based on the insights shared above: 

Step 1: Gather data based on company insights and external trends

“Always measure the depth of the pool you’re diving in!” 

Before you start planning your sales and marketing observing and documenting macro-level industry trends is a must. It will give you an understanding and insight into what to expect in the future. 

You can use industry insight to strengthen your assumptions, understand the market, add clarity to your sales and marketing mix, and refine your plan. 

Always look for industry insights around sales and marketing trends — what worked in the past, how things are changing, and what future trends will drive growth. While industry trends are not a full-proof solution, it gives you a direction to provide a concrete shape to your plans. 

Use industry trends to add “meat” to your hypothesis, and see if you can get data about: 

  • Consumer behavior and psychology that drives sales. Use the Facebook Ads manager audience tool to find your audience’s topics of interest and behavior trends.
  • Psychographic analysis of your target audience.
  • Marketing effectiveness of different channels. You can use platforms like Similarweb to peak into the traffic sources of your competitors and get an estimated idea of the volume.
  • Sales trends of lateral and complimenting businesses. 
  • Competitor analysis, including their past financial performance and effectiveness in generating revenue. 

Step 2: Create your ideal customer profile (ICP) 

As a business owner, you must know everything about your target audience. 

Without a deep understanding of your ICP, you could end up like a door-to-door salesman trying to sell but end up annoying everyone. 

This information helps you take the necessary steps to add context and relevance to your marketing and sales plan. 

You should break up your ideal customer persona (ICP) into several sections covering all aspects of your persona’s — the demographic profile, what they think, believe, and trust in, their needs, motivations, drives, and psychographic profile. 

Sample questions for building an Ideal Customer Profile

Knowing your audience allows you to talk the way they want to be talked to. Also, you get to understand what makes them buy, their problems and pain points, and where they spend most of their time. All this is crucial for creating an effective marketing strategy. 

You can even use this knowledge to segment your audience personas and personalize your marketing campaigns — a powerful tactic to market your brand in 2022. 

Step 3: Assess your current situation 

Once you’ve gathered data and foresight, start the self-introspection process. 

Ask yourself where you stand in your startup journey. 

✓ How is your business performing right now? 

✓ Are you performing according to your revenue estimates and KPIs? 

✓ Do your business and revenue generation efforts align with market and industry trends? Do they need to align?

✓ Are you marketing and selling where your customers are looking for options? 

✓ What are your strengths and weaknesses? 

✓ What challenges are you facing in getting your business to the next level? 

✓ Is there any better way of doing things than you do now? 

All these questions will give you ideas to start the actual planning process. Moreover, you’d understand if whatever you did was even worth it. 

Step 4: Define metric-driven objectives and goals

Have you ever traveled without a destination? 

Well, maybe you have. But that’s not how you run a business. You need to have an exact destination in mind — where you’re headed to. 

That’s why having an objective and goal is essential for making a sales and marketing plan. Tangible and realistic goal-setting should be the #1 priority of anyone trying to succeed as an entrepreneur. 

Your goals will will allow you to track if you’re making a real impact on your business. Plus, having a metric-driven goal gives you an understanding of what you need to do for success. 

Your goals and objectives should be tied to your business vision and mission.

Often, we see there’s a misalignment between sales and marketing objectives. That leads to confusion and, thus, poor performance. Hence setting a SMART goal is critical for ensuring clarity.

SMART objectives for your sales and marketing plans should be: 

  • Specific: The goal is clearly defined, and everyone within your team understands the goal and its importance. 
  • Measurable: The goal/objective should be tied to key performance indicators (KPIs) and visibly measurable.
  •  Achievable: Being realistic is an important factor in setting an attainable goal. Look at your team’s ability, budget, and current situation to ensure the goal is within your limits. Setting the bar too high will only lead to disappointment and wasted time and effort. 
  • Relevant: Your objectives should be aligned with your business vision and mission. If your marketing and sales aren’t aligned to your bigger picture, it will lead to losses (and potential conflicts). 
  • Time-bound: Any objective you define must have a clear timeline, which means there should be a start and end date. Without that, your goal is just a wish. 

Step 5: Determine metrics for success (KPIs) 

You know you need to measure your goals and objectives in real-time. 

That would ensure everything’s on track and help you red flag any deviations from your desired path. 

But setting a measurable KPI for any business is a tricky business in itself. Especially when there’s a lot to plan in sales and marketing, and every business is different. 

KPI or key performance indicators should be planned based on industry best practices, prevailing marketing trends, and taking stakeholders in confidence. 

You can align standard industry KPIs with your business or marketing/sales goals to create your version of KPIs that will objectify your success figures. 

Standard Goals and KPIs you should track

Always ensure that each KPI you track links to the bigger picture — where and how it contributes to your business’s mission and mission. This will add relevance to your sales and marketing plans giving you more accurate insights for the future periods.

Step 6: Build a forecasting model

Forecasting is an activity that predicts what your sales and marketing efforts will lead to on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. 

Creating a sales or marketing forecast involves taking the opinions of industry leaders, financial consultants, CPAs, marketers, sales managers, and your team members. It also will involve studying and analyzing the insights you gathered in step one.

A forecast will help you make better hiring decisions, budget for your expansion in a better way, and linearly predict your revenues. You can also add dynamic variables to the forecasts to analyze how your KPIs would perform under real-life situations. 

Creating a forecasting and budgeting model for your sales and marketing team is highly essential to keep things in check. However, it would be best if you didn’t fall into the lure of creating forecasts for more extended periods as things are changing quite rapidly, especially after COVID-19. 

Better to create a forecast for a quarter, review it based on actual expenses and performance, and keep iterating. You can also take advantage of popular forecasting tools for more accurate models. 

Step 7: Identify gaps within your assumptions 

By this step, you’d have a clear idea about your capabilities, the goals you want to achieve, the industry trends and the forecasts for the future.

This will give you an opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of your sales and marketing activities in terms of your revenue growth. 

You can use this information to plug in gaps because of your assumptions and biases, analyze what’s required and the challenges you’d face to make things happen. 

Identifying gaps between your existing situation and your goals based on forecasts would help you make informed decisions. 

You can choose to hire more people in sales and marketing, increase your budget, try new marketing tactics, or even start an entirely different lead generation and nurturing channel to achieve your goals. 

Step 8: Create a team structure and involve stakeholders. 

The most important part of the planning process is to understand your capabilities. If you’ve assessed your current scenario correctly, you’ll have a clear picture of who’s responsible for growth, marketing, sales, etc. 

And if you’re just starting, this is a great time to start planning a structure for your marketing and sales team, starting with: 

  • How many people will be needed for each team? 
  • Who will be responsible for specific KPIs?
  • What will be the responsibilities of each member of the team? 
  • How will teams communicate with each other and ensure alignment between efforts? 
  • How will the performance be measured? 
  • What are the challenges marketing and sales teams face in your company (or industry)? 
  • How will expansion needs be identified?  

Remember, if you’re just starting to build a team and have existing team members, take them in confidence and involve every stakeholder before creating a structure.

The more aligned and closely knit your sales and marketing, the faster you achieve your growth goals. 

  • Build a Strong B2B Marketing Organization Structure for Modern Teams
  • Sales Operations Responsibilities: Roles, duties, and obstacles
  • Revenue Operations Roles: Who do you need to build a RevOp team?

Step 9: Outline action items 

By this step, you’re almost done with the planning. You just need to answer two more questions:

  • What do you need to do to achieve your goals? 
  • How will you do what you need to do? 

This means outlining action steps, developing marketing and sales tactics, and finalizing the cogs required to run your marketing/sales engine. 

You can start by putting together a rough draft of all the insights you’ve gathered, the available resources, the budget, best industry practices, trends, and growth projections. This will give you foresight into what can work in your favour. 

Build a list of action steps that you need to take to move in the direction of your goals. 

Step 10: Identify and implement tools and systems

Okay! This is the last step of the planning process. After this, you will be left with the exact steps you need to take daily to achieve your KPIs. 

But don’t take this step lightly. Think of this as the building blocks of a bridge that would take you from “here” to “there”. 

You’ll need to make a list of tools, systems, and solutions you’d need to make things happen. 

For example, if you’ve concluded that you need to set up a lead nurture campaign , you need a tool or platform that makes that happen. 

You’ll need to evaluate the available options and pick a tool that aligns with your goals and budget. 

While picking up any tool, make sure that it should: 

  • Save time, money, or effort for your marketing and sales team members.
  • Have prominent success stories and case studies that closely relate to your goals, tactics, and life stage.
  • Is reliable and doesn’t use any under-the-hood tactics to make things happen. 
  • Has an active developer and customer success team.
  • Is supported by a thriving public community of happy users. 

Make sure that whatever tech stack you’re finalizing has a solid mechanism to track success and your KPIs. 

This will help you ascertain success quicker. Also, communicate with all the stakeholders about the tools and success metrics. 

Ready-to-use sales and marketing plan templates

To make things easy for you, we have prepared comprehensive templates for both your sales and marketing plans. To download the template click on the links below and duplicate the document. Then, fill in the blanks.

Download the Marketing Plan Template

Download the Sales Plan Template

Your sales and marketing plan is a living document. Keep revisiting! 

If you’ve come this far with your planning, you should have a functional plan for supercharging your marketing and sales operations in the coming weeks and months.. 

But remember, sales and marketing planning isn’t a one-time activity. Keep optimizing your plans with fresh insights to stay on track with changing dynamics. And don’t forget to track the right metrics and KPIs.

A marketing automation platform like Encharge can help you to execute your marketing and sales plans. Don’t believe us. Check the success stories to see how others businesses are amping up their marketing and sales game now.

Meet your new marketing automation platform

“encharge helped us visually redesign our onboarding flow resulting in a 10% increase in our trial activation rate .", 10 product management best practices for saas companies.

Product management might seem like a tangled mess of a job, but some best practices might help you figure out

How to present your sales and marketing strategy in your business plan?

the marketing and sales subsection forms part of the overall strategy section of a business plan

The marketing and sales section forms the cornerstone of any business plan. It details your approach to reach and sell to your target audience. Whilst some entrepreneurs believe that this section should predominantly be about advertising, it covers a lot more than that.

Without adequate knowledge of the information required, writing this section can be challenging. This guide covers that aspect and also talks about the overall objective of this section and how long it should be amongst other things.

After reading our guide, you’ll be well on your way to drafting a comprehensive strategy section that can help you secure financing from lenders and investors.

Ready? Let’s get started!

In this guide:

  • What is the objective of the marketing and sales strategy of your business plan?

What information should I include in the marketing and sales strategy section of my business plan?

  • How long should the marketing and sales strategy of your business plan be?
  • Example of a marketing and sales strategy section in a business plan

What tools can you use to write your business plan?

What is the objective of the marketing and sales strategy section in your business plan.

The sales and marketing section follows both the market analysis and the pricing subsections. Its main objective is to communicate to readers that you have a well-defined go-to-market strategy that will help you reach and sell to your target customers. 

A compelling sales and marketing section can help you convey how you plan to capture your target market’s attention and generate sales as well as build competence with investors and lenders. 

When writing this section, you need to show that you plan on using effective distribution and communication channels.  

  • Distribution channels are what you use to sell your goods or services. Online or physical stores, or door-to-door sales, for example.
  • Communication channels are what you use to promote your brand to target customers. This can include ads or flyers for example.

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We have discussed that your business plan's marketing and sales section should be well-structured and presentable. 

When writing this section, all businesses should provide a rationale for their distribution and communication channels by elaborating on the following factors: 

Here, you need to talk about why you think your chosen channels will help you reach your target market. 

For example:

  • Younger audiences might be more receptive to messaging and marketing initiative on social media, while other demographics might prefer traditional media like TV or radio.
  • Selling through national retailers might give you immediate scale - though being at a lower margin than through a network of owned stores

The best channels for your business will depend on the type of products or services you sell and the tarket customer segments you identified in your market analysis.

Cost and margin

In this section, you need to emphasize why the channels you have chosen will be cost-effective and share details pertaining to the budget allocation. 

For example, cold calling small businesses might be a cheaper way of selling your services than using advertising.

Competition 

To address this factor, you need to provide details about how and why your chosen channels will help you gain a competitive advantage.

A competitive advantage refers to a unique attribute, quality, or strategy that allows your business to outperform its competitors and achieve superior performance in its industry or market. It's what sets your company apart and gives it a strong position in the marketplace. 

For example, a hybrid network of owned and franchised stores might enable you to quickly achieve national coverage and greater brand recognition than your competitors.

Implementation 

Here, you need to provide details about who (from your sales and marketing team) will be responsible for actioning these channels and a timeline pertaining to key goals and objectives for each.  

entrepreneur writing about their business's sales target as part of the marketing strategy

Key performance indicators (KPIs) 

Lastly, you also need to provide details about the KPIs you will use to measure the effectiveness of the distribution and communication channels. 

For distribution channels, this could include:

  • Gross profit margin
  • Return on investment

For communication channels, this could include:

  • Brand recognition
  • Number of website or in-store visitors

It’s important to understand that the factors stated above (reach, cost, competition, implementation and KPIs) may be applicable to all industries. However, the details used for each factor must be tailored to the industry and customer profiles targeted by your own business. 

With that understanding, let’s look at what information should be included in this section for different industries. 

Agriculture

Agricultural businesses usually sell either to farmers (equipment, services, etc.), to consumers (food) and retailers (food, raw materials, equipment, etc.), or to food manufacturers.

With that in mind, your marketing plan should ideally provide details about how you plan to communicate in order to reach these customers. For example, you might decide to invest in a couple bilboards with directions to your farm if you sale directly to consumers.

As for the sales strategy, you need to discuss your approach to distribution and inventory management (especially for fresh produce). For example, selling to food manufacturers might give you a greater scale at the cost of a lower margin and a dependency on a small number of customers.

Construction

Construction businesses usually sell either to households or other construction businesses and builders (subcontractors).

Your marketing strategy might include actions such as highlighting past projects to showcase customer satisfaction on your website and brochures, to attend industry events to promote your know-how, or to invest in a branded fleet of vehicles.

When providing details about your sales strategy, you need to explain how you'll bid on projects, provide estimates, and effectively manage client expectations. 

Hospitality

The hospitality industry is one that’s heavily based on customer demand around your location(s) and meeting patrons' expectations to generate positive word of mouth.

Your marketing plan might revolve around using local advertising and food bloggers to increase awareness, and a loyalty program to increase repeat visits.  

Your sales strategy might be centered around: leveraging online booking platforms to fill the restaurant outside of peak hours, marketplaces to drive takeaway sales, and staff training to promote higher margin items on your menu.

Manufacturing

For manufacturers, your marketing and sales section will depend on whether you plan to manufacture your own products or produce them for other brands. It’s important to understand that both these are entirely different target customers with varying requirements. 

If you plan on manufacturing for other brands, you need to showcase your manufacturing capabilities, quality standards, and ability to fulfill orders. You can also provide details about your production process and ability to meet tight deadlines. 

If you plan to manufacture your own products, you must detail how you plan to attract competent distributors or set up your own distribution network. To do this, you can provide details about the uniqueness of your product and how it adds value to the end customer. 

The sales and marketing plans of retailers will most likely revolve around customer acquisition, repeat purchases, and enhancing the shopping experience. You could provide details about visual merchandising, store layout, online presence, and loyalty programs.

You could also mention store locations, pricing strategies, and promotions.

The way services are marketed and sold vary greatly depending on the type of service, the type of customers (businesses vs. consumers), the contract duration and the price point (which will influence the length of the sales cycle).

The sales and marketing plan of a hairdresser might be close to the one put in place by a retailer or other types of high street businesses.

Inversely the sales and marketing plan of a high end business consulting firm might include lead generation efforts through content marketing, networking, cold calling, and targeted advertising.

How long should the sales and marketing plan of your business plan be?

The ideal length for the sales and marketing plan depends upon several factors, such as the reader's familiarity with the industry you operate in and the size of your business.

The sales and marketing section of a grocery shop may not require much information as foot trafic around the location will be the primary lever. 

However, a business-to-business (B2B) company that provides software for human resources might be more complex and require further details.

In general, one or two paragraphs per action planned or lever mobilised is enough, though a complex industry or larger business may require to communicate more information. However, you can use visuals and graphics to help reduce the length and make complex concepts easier to understand.

Need inspiration for your business plan?

The Business Plan Shop has dozens of business plan templates that you can use to get a clear idea of what a complete business plan looks like.

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Example of a sales and marketing section in a business plan 

Below is an example of how the sales and marketing section of your business plan might look like.

The Business Plan Shop's online business planning software: sales and marketing plan example

This example was taken from one of  our business plan templates .

In this part, we will review three solutions for writing a professional business plan:

  • Using Word and Excel
  • Hiring a consultant to write your business plan
  • Utilizing an online business plan software

Create your business plan using Word and Excel

Creating a business plan using Word and Excel is old fashion, error prone, and (very) time consuming.

First of all, using Excel to create your financial forecast is only feasible if you have a degree in accounting and experience in financial modelling, because lenders are unlikely to trust the accuracy of your financial forecast otherwise.

Secondly, using Word means starting from scratch and formatting the document yourself once written - a process that is quite tedious. There are also no instructions or examples to guide you through each section making the overall process much longer than it needs to be.

Thirdly, for a business plan to be really useful it needs to be tracked against the company's actual financial performance and regularly updated which is a very manual process if you are using Excel.

Hire a consultant to write your business plan

This is a good option if you have the budget for it - from experience you need to budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) for a complete business plan, more if you need to make changes after the initial version (which happens frequently after the initial meetings with lenders).

Consultants are experienced in writing business plans and most of them adept at creating financial forecasts without errors. Furthermore, hiring a consultant can save you time and allow you to focus on the day-to-day operations of your business.

Use an online business plan software for your business plan

Another alternative is to use online business plan software .

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

  • You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
  • You can be inspired by already written business plan templates
  • You can easily make your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
  • You get a professional document, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank
  • The software will enable you to easily track your actual financial performance against your forecast and update your forecast as time goes by

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try our software for free by signing up here .

Also on The Business Plan Shop

  • How to do a market analysis for a business plan
  • 7 tips for writing an effective business plan

Do you know anyone struggling to craft the marketing and sales part of their business plan? Share this article and help them out. 

Guillaume Le Brouster

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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The sales and marketing section of your business plan is especially crucial because it determines how you’ll plan on generating profit and describes how you intend to create exposure to best sell your product. It’s in this area of your business plan that you’ll hone the key elements of your marketing strategy. The actual implementation of your sales and marketing initiatives actually occurs before you launch, when you’ve set your go-to-market date so strategize the components of your sales and marketing plan early on.

Here’s a quick guide on what your key sales and marketing considerations should be:

This section should contain the following elements and should be no more than four pages.

Unique Value Proposition

Pricing strategy.

  • Sales/Distribution Plan

Marketing Plan

Your unique value proposition is the market need you’re planning to solve. Think of it as your secret ingredient – your “special sauce.” This may be a combination of factors including customer service, technology, a twist on a product or service, etc. Create the case for why your product deserves to have a sustainable business built around it.

Determine your pricing scheme. First, check what your competition is charging. This should give you an indication of what customers are willing to spend. Then, determine how you can add value. Until you get your product out there, it’s hard to know for sure how much your added benefit is worth in the customer’s mind. The keyword here is “reasonable.” You can charge any price you want to, but for every product or service, there’s a limit to how much the consumer is willing to pay.

Remember, even if you’re trying to be the lowest-cost provider, give a higher perceived value to your ideal customer to stand apart from the competition. Competitors can slash their prices to meet or beat yours, so be very careful if you decide to compete on cost.

Sales & Distribution Plan

This section describes how you intend to get your product to customers and how you’ll measure the effectiveness of those methods. For example, once you figure out where you’ll be selling your product – online, at a retail outlet, door-to-door – determine the type of sales team you’ll need and how you’ll compensate them.

In terms of distribution, think about how you’ll actually get the product or service into the hands of the customer. Ultimately, you’ll want to sell your product or service in as many ways that make sense for your company: online, at a retail outlet, via house parties or mail order, or through other companies. Initially, however, focus on selling through just one of these channels so you can build your business before comfortably extending to others.

You’re going to need customers to buy your product. How do you plan to get them? There are many free or low-cost strategies such as referrals, word-of-mouth, public relations, and marketing partners to help cross-promote or sell your product, so I would avoid any expensive print, TV, or radio advertising campaigns at these early stages.

Create your strategy for attracting customers. Before you start actually executing your marketing strategy, however, think about “branding.” This is the look and feel of your business, what customers experience when interacting with it, from the fonts, colors, and text of the website and your business cards to the overall image you portray in the product itself. This branding will be reflected in the execution of your marketing strategy.

Describe how you want customers to experience your product or service. Take a look at products or companies that you really like, and think about why you like them. What makes you feel good about them? Do these characteristics permeate all aspects of the product, from website to packaging to letterhead?

After you document the marketing plan activities, calculate the costs that you expect to incur. For example, if referrals are part of the strategy, then calculate how much you’re willing to pay a referral partner for each new customer they bring your way. Will it be $1, $20, $50, or more? Let’s say, for example, you expect a referral partner to refer 100 clients to you, and each of those referred clients spends $10, giving you a total of $1,000. You’ve agreed to pay this partner $1 for each referral, so you’ll spend $100 on referrals for your marketing strategy. In this example, your cost of acquisition – the cost you pay for each new customer – is $1. You’ll need to know this number, especially when you draft your financial plan.

Business Plan Template for a Startup Business To increase your odds of a successful business startup, download this step-by-step business plan template you can use to plan for your new business.

Every Business Deserves Planning Don’t make the common mistake of dismissing the value of planning. Every well-run business needs to manage strategy, metrics and essential business numbers.

Copyright © 2023 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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Business Plan Section 6: Sales and Marketing

Learn about the points to address in the sales and marketing section of your business plan, plus key aspects for a successful sales strategy.

business plan for sales and marketing

Remember all that research and hard work you put into the Market Analysis section of your business plan? You learned all about your company, your customers, and your competition. This is where it will all pay off: sales and marketing!

In this section of the plan, you’re actually going to spell out how you’ll market your idea, along with the specifics of how you’ll get business. Sales and marketing are what will grow your business and help you achieve success.

As always, keep your audience in mind. If your business plan is meant for your eyes only, or as an internal document for your staff, you won’t have to be as detailed or specific as you should if it’s intended for a lender or potential investors. In the latter case, you’ll want to demonstrate a very well-planned strategy that will give them confidence in your proposal and make them more likely to want to fund your business.

Sales and marketing strategies will vary by industry, and your strategy will be individually tailored to your company, but there are general guidelines that cover most businesses. Because your marketing plan will lead to sales, let’s start there.

4 Things Your Marketing Plan Must Cover

Many marketing textbooks refer to the “four Ps” of marketing, which is an easy way to remember what’s involved in a solid plan.

Explain in detail the product(s) or service(s) you’re offering, particularly how they are different from or better than what’s already available. What benefits do they provide to your potential customers? What ways is your product or service unique? What makes doing business with you preferable to dealing with someone else? All of these things will help make up your marketing message.

Talk about how you’ll portray the company and what kind of image you’ll present, especially how it will help connect you to your potential customers. Include a picture of your logo and anything that might carry your image, such as vans, trucks, or uniforms. Show screenshots of your website, photos of your store, pictures of your packaging, and anything else that conveys your company’s brand.

Once you’ve gotten the customers in the door (or online), you have to deliver on what you’ve sold them. Marketing isn’t just about promising, it’s also following through and delivering what you said you would.

You may find it helpful to outline exactly how a transaction with your business would take place. Also touch on return policies and customer service. You may not immediately think of these as “marketing” issues, but think back to the last time you had difficulty with a company and told five friends you’d never do business with them again, or you saw someone complain about a company on Facebook or Twitter. Cover your bases before you get caught short in a situation you hadn’t planned for.

It’s important to talk about where you’ll be located and how you’ll get your products and services to your customers. If you’re planning an online business, will you also have a brick and mortar store? What percentage of sales do you project will come from each?

If your business involves manufacturing or distribution of a product, discuss shipping and labeling requirements, and how you’ll meet them. What are your delivery terms and costs? Are you using distributors, and will you charge separately for shipping or build that into the product price?

How you decide to price your product or service is key to how much you’ll sell and how much profit you can make. Again, the Market Analysis work you did will come in very handy in helping you to price your product competitively while still turning a worthwhile profit.

By now, you should have a solid understanding of what your expenses will be, so you know how much you need to make to break even. Of course, if you have startup expenses (and who doesn’t?), you will need to factor those in, as well, understanding that your profit margin will grow when they’re paid off.

Discuss how you’ve arrived at the prices you have, where they fit in with what the competition is doing, and what kind of volume you’ll need to do to be profitable.

You can have the best idea in the world, but if no one knows about it, it won’t sell. So, how are you going to reach your target audience and turn them into customers? Will you advertise? Which media? How often? And how will you split up the budget?

Keep in mind that some forms of traditional and digital advertising cost money, such as buying radio or print ads, or advertising through Google. Some, such as social media or public relations can be handled in-house by a staff member (or outsourced for a fee). And others can be quite variable in cost, such as printing brochures, flyers, catalogs, etc.

How much business do you think you’ll get from each campaign? Will you give coupons, discounts, or offer other incentives to get people to try you out?

Describe how you’ll know whether or not your marketing strategy is effective, such as how many coupons are redeemed or how much of an increase in web or store traffic you expect. You’ll need to project what kind of a return on your advertising investment you anticipate to figure out how much you should be spending.

The Fifth P: People

Some marketing experts think a fifth “P” should be added to the four we’ve already discussed: people. We touched on it under customer service, but a big part of marketing is the level of service you’re able to offer to your customers, and your people are the ones responsible for that.

Your restaurant might serve the best food in town, but your servers can have an even greater impact on the dining experience. You can discuss it here or in the next section, sales, but do make sure to talk about the people who will deal with your customers and handle your customer service, what kind of training they’ll get, and how you’ll measure their effectiveness.

Now that you have your marketing plan together, you need to close the sale and make it pay off. Marketing will help you get customers in the door, to your website, or on the phone, but the best marketing in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t make the sale. That brings us to the next step of the plan, your sales strategy.

What to include in your sales plan:

How much product will you sell or how many contracts will you close over the first month, six months, and year? Be specific, understanding what your cash flow needs to be to keep the lights on and your employees paid. Keep the numbers realistic, however, even though you may want to impress potential funders.

How will you make the sale, and who will do it? Are you selling a product directly to users through a website? Will you bring your merchandise to retailers for them to sell? Are you doing the selling yourself or will you have a sales force? If you have salespeople, will they be paid a straight salary or commission? If you have a service business, where will you get your leads, and how will you follow up? Perhaps you’ll offer an incentive program to current customers for referrals. Describe the sales effort in your plan.

If you offer different product lines or services, you may need a separate strategy for each. Similarly, if you’re selling to different segments of the market, you shouldn’t rely on the same approach to sell everyone. Selling at a craft fair is quite different than setting up a website or offering your product through ebay.com or etsy.com.

Detail whichever approaches you’ve decided on and spell out how you’ll proceed, including any sales quotas you may have established.

Get specific about the numbers you’re looking to achieve over a specific time period. Not only will investors want to see that, it’s an important way for you to know if you’re meeting your targets so you can make any necessary adjustments along the way.

Once you’ve established yourself, how will you continue to expand? This covers both your internal growth as a company, such as how you’ll increase your staff, and how you’ll grow beyond your current boundaries, such as buying another business or setting up franchises, if that’s applicable. Will you grow by offering a wider range of products and services? Perhaps you’ll expand by offering your current goods to a wider audience.

Perhaps more than any other section of your business plan, the Sales and Marketing section will act as your playbook for the actual running of your company , so think it through very carefully and use it!

Next Article: Business Plan Section 7 – Financial Information

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business plan for sales and marketing

How to Create an Effective Sales and Marketing Plan

business plan for sales and marketing

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan sets up organizations for long-term growth and success. In this guide, we’ll dig into the differences between sales and marketing plans, how to create your plan, and templates to get the ball rolling.

What is a Sales and Marketing Plan?

Sales plan vs. marketing plan, marketing plan template: the essential components, sales plan template: the essential components, steps to create a sales and marketing plan.

A well-crafted sales and marketing plan is indispensable for the success and growth of any company, whether it’s a startup, small business, or enterprise. This plan serves as a roadmap, outlining clear objectives, targeted customer segments, and actionable tactics to drive sales and promote brand awareness.

It enables companies to understand their market position, competitive landscape, and customer needs. On top of that, it provides a structured approach to buyer engagement , ensuring consistent and effective communication across various touchpoints.

By defining specific goals and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), a sales and marketing plan provides a structured framework for marketing and sales to align their go-to-market efforts. And when teams are aligned, companies can generate up to 208% more revenue from their marketing efforts.

While sales and marketing are integral to an overall business plan, they serve distinct purposes and focus on different aspects of the customer journey. Here are the key differences between a sales plan and a marketing plan:

Focus and Objectives

Sales Plan: Primarily focuses on the activities and strategies to drive direct revenue generation. It outlines the specific actions the sales team will take to achieve targets and goals.

Marketing Plan: Concentrates on creating awareness, generating interest, and positioning new products or services in the market. It aims to build and maintain the brand, nurture leads, and create favorable conditions for sales.

Sales Plan: Typically more tactical and operational, it details the sales team’s day-to-day activities. It addresses how sales representatives engage with prospects, close deals, and meet revenue targets.

Marketing Plan: Has a broader scope, encompassing the overall market strategy, brand positioning, promotional activities, and communication efforts. It sets the stage for sales by creating a favorable market environment.

Sales Plan: Often focuses on short-term goals and immediate revenue generation. It may have a more immediate and tactical orientation focusing on quarterly or annual targets.

Marketing Plan: Can have a longer-term perspective, building brand equity and customer relationships over time. It may include short-term and long-term initiatives aligned with the overall business strategy.

Sales Plan: Includes sales tactics, prospecting strategies, target setting, and customer relationship management (CRM) activities.

Marketing Plan: Encompasses market research, target audience identification, advertising, content creation, social media strategy, and overall brand positioning.

Sales Plan: Metrics focus on sales performance , revenue targets, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and individual sales representative performance.

Marketing Plan: Metrics include brand awareness, lead generation, website traffic, social media engagement, customer acquisition costs, and marketing ROI.

Collaboration

Sales Plan: Primarily involves collaboration within the sales team, setting individual and team goals, and coordinating efforts to meet targets.

Marketing Plan: Requires collaboration between marketing and other departments to ensure a consistent brand message and a seamless customer experience. This collaboration extends to content creation, advertising, and customer relationship strategies.

Here, you can see that a sales plan is more tactical and concentrates on direct revenue generation. In contrast, the marketing plan is strategic, focusing on creating a favorable market environment and building brand equity.

An effective marketing plan outlines a business’s strategies and tactics to achieve its marketing objectives. Here are the key components that typically go into creating a new marketing plan:

Executive Summary

  • Brief overview of the marketing plan, including goals, strategies, and key components.

Market Analysis

  • Analysis of the target market, including demographics, trends, and opportunities.
  • Competitor analysis, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).

Target Audience and Buyer Personas

  • Detailed profiles of the target customers, specifying their needs, pain points, preferences, and behaviors.
  • Development of buyer personas to guide marketing strategies, messaging, and sales outreach.

Marketing Goals and Objectives

  • Clearly defined SMART goals for the marketing efforts.
  • Specific objectives, such as brand awareness, lead generation, customer acquisition, or market share.

Positioning and Messaging

  • Clear articulation of the brand positioning and competitive advantages.
  • Development of consistent messaging that resonates with the target audience.

Marketing Strategies

  • Overview of the overarching marketing strategies, including product positioning, pricing, distribution, and promotion.
  • Differentiation strategies and competitive positioning.

Marketing Mix (4Ps)

  • Product: Details about the products or services being marketed.
  • Price: Pricing strategy, discounts, and payment terms.
  • Place: Distribution channels and logistics.
  • Promotion: Advertising, public relations, digital marketing, content marketing, and other promotional activities.

Marketing Budget

  • Allocation of budget for each marketing activity and channel.
  • Cost projections and expected return on investment (ROI).

Marketing Calendar

  • Timeline for planned marketing activities, campaigns, and promotions.
  • Seasonal considerations and industry-specific events.

Marketing Channels

  • Identification and description of the marketing channels to be utilized (online and offline).
  • Social media strategy, content marketing plan, email marketing, advertising channels, etc.

Content Strategy

  • Development of a content plan, including types of content (i.e. case studies, one-pagers), frequency, and distribution channels.
  • Content creation and distribution strategy.
  • Regular content audit to see what’s working and what isn’t.

Measurement and Analytics

  • KPIs to benchmark the success of marketing activities.
  • Tools and methods for data collection and analysis.

A sales plan is a strategic document that outlines the tactics and activities a business will undertake to achieve its sales objectives. Here are the key components that typically go into a sales plan:

  • Brief overview of the entire sales plan, summarizing the goals, strategies, and key components.

Sales Objectives

  • Clearly defined and measurable sales goals, such as revenue targets, market share, or customer acquisition metrics.
  • Specific and realistic objectives for the sales team.

Target Market and Customer Segmentation

  • Identification of the target market and specific customer segments.
  • Create ideal customer profiles and characteristics to guide sales efforts.

Product or Service Offering

  • Detailed information about the products or services being sold.
  • Value propositions and key differentiators.

Sales Strategies

  • Overview of the overarching sales strategies , including prospecting, lead generation, and conversion tactics.
  • Strategies for acquiring new customers, upselling, cross-selling, and customer retention.

Sales Team Structure

  • Organization of the sales team, including roles, responsibilities, and reporting structure.

Sales Tactics and Techniques

  • Detailed description of the tactics and techniques the sales team will use to engage with potential customers and increase the bottom line.
  • Sales methodologies employed by the team.

Sales Forecast

  • Prediction of sales performance over a specific period.
  • Revenue projections, taking into account market conditions and other relevant factors.

Sales Territories and Distribution Channels

  • Definition of sales territories and distribution channels.
  • Strategies for reaching and serving customers in different geographic areas.

Sales Metrics and KPIs

  • Identification of key metrics to measure sales performance.
  • KPIs such as conversion rates, average deal size, and customer acquisition costs.

Sales Training and Development

  • Plans for training and developing the sales team.
  • Continuous improvement strategies.

Now that you have templates in place, let’s put them together to create an overall plan and what it could look like.

Look for trends in the data

Before you start digging into the meat of your plan, you need to gather data, drawing from internal company insights and external market trends. Internally, you can look at historical sales data, customer behaviors, and product performance, providing a foundation for understanding the company’s strengths and areas for improvement.

On the other hand, keeping a keen eye on external market trends, consumer preferences, and industry developments allows for a proactive approach to shifts in the market. This data-driven strategy enables businesses to effectively tailor their sales and marketing initiatives , aligning them with evolving customer needs. By combining internal insights with external trends, organizations can craft a dynamic plan that is not only grounded in historical performance but is also adaptable to the changing landscape of the business environment.

Know your customer

One of the most important steps when creating a sales and marketing plan is to know who you’re selling to. You should develop in-depth buyer personas based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes. By understanding your target audience’s characteristics, preferences, and pain points, you can tailor your sales and marketing strategies to resonate more effectively.

This key step not only enhances the efficiency of marketing campaigns but also streamlines the sales process by aligning efforts with the expectations and behaviors of your customers.

Set achievable goals

Now that you have a clear image of who you’re selling to, where you stand, and where the market is, you and various stakeholders can begin to set realistic goals and targets for your team.

Setting goals is crucial for your success. They allow you to track if you’re making a real impact on your business. They create alignment between teams so they know what they must do to achieve those goals. A recent study by HubSpot found that 25% of companies say their sales and marketing teams are either “misaligned” or “rarely aligned” on goals, leading to confusion and poor performance.

To get your teams on the same page, you should consider setting SMART goals. Here is a great example of how to think about goal setting:

Specific: Make sure your goals are clear. What will be accomplished? What actions will you take? Don’t just say you want to increase revenue — explain how you plan to achieve it. For example, you can say: We will increase revenue by 15% by using a guided selling approach.

Measurable: What metrics will you use to determine if you met your goal? This makes a goal more tangible because it provides a way to measure progress.

Achievable: Consider how to accomplish the goal, if you have the tools and skills needed, and what it would take to attain it. Don’t set objectives that are impossible to reach. The goals are meant to inspire motivation, not discouragement.

Relevant: Goals need to fit your current situation and sales strategy. They should align with the overall business goals and department objectives.

Time-Bound: Realistic timing for when you can achieve your goals is crucial. Provide deadlines and target dates to hold teams accountable.

Determine how you will measure success

Now that you’ve set goals, it’s time to start measuring them.

KPIs are crucial metrics that help measure the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts. Here’s a list of KPIs for a sales and marketing plan:

Sales KPIs:

  • Revenue: Total income generated from sales.
  • Sales Growth Rate: Percentage increase in sales over a specific period.
  • Conversion Rate: Percentage of leads that convert into customers.
  • Average Deal Size: Average value of a sales transaction.
  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Cost incurred to acquire a new customer.
  • Sales Cycle Length: Average time it takes to close a sale.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Predicted revenue generated throughout a customer’s lifecycle.
  • Win Rate: Percentage of opportunities that result in a sale.
  • Churn Rate: Percentage of customers lost over a given period.
  • Upsell and Cross-sell Rate: Percentage of existing customers who purchase additional products or services.

Marketing KPIs:

  • Lead Generation: Number of new leads acquired.
  • Website Traffic: Number of visitors to the website.
  • Conversion Rate (Marketing): Percentage of website visitors who take a desired action.
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of people who click on a specific link.
  • Cost per Lead (CPL): Cost associated with acquiring a new lead.
  • Social Media Engagement: Likes, shares, comments, and other interactions on social media.
  • Email Open and Click-through Rates: Percentage of opened emails and clicked links.
  • Content Engagement: Interaction with blog posts, videos, or other content.
  • Brand Awareness: Measured through surveys, social media mentions, or search volume.
  • Return on Investment (ROI): Ratio of the net profit from marketing campaigns to the cost of those campaigns.

Overall Business KPIs:

  • Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Measurement of customer satisfaction.
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS): Indicator of customer loyalty and likelihood to recommend.
  • Market Share: Company’s portion of the total market.
  • Brand Equity: Perceived value and strength of a brand in the market.
  • Customer Retention Rate: Percentage of customers retained over a period.

Regularly monitoring these metrics provides insights into performance, helping businesses make informed decisions and optimize their sales and marketing strategies.

Define your sales and marketing strategies

How are you going to generate demand for your product or service? At this stage in your plan, you can start to define how you will reach your ideal customers and move them through the buyer’s journey. Integrated marketing campaigns that use various channels, such as social media and paid ads, are a great way to get started. Additionally, you should include lead generation strategies such as content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and targeted promotions to nurture prospects and guide them through the sales funnel.

It’s important here that you work with your sales enablement team to create relevant content for the sales team .

Formulate a sales team structure and training program

A well-defined sales team structure and comprehensive training program are vital to a successful sales and marketing plan. The structure of the sales team should outline roles, responsibilities, and reporting hierarchies to ensure efficient workflow and clear lines of communication.

Along with getting the structure right, you must ensure that your sales reps have the right training and coaching to improve their skills, ramp up product knowledge, and stay aligned with the right messaging and communication techniques.

Teams should work closely with sales enablement to schedule regular training sessions that not only focus on enhancing existing skills but also address emerging market trends and customer expectations. Continuous improvement is key, and fostering a culture of learning within the sales team contributes to adaptability and responsiveness. This dual emphasis on structure and training ensures the sales team is well-organized and equipped to navigate challenges.

Download resource: What Good Onboarding, Training, and Coaching Look Like

Create a sales forecasting model

Creating a sound forecasting model provides a structured framework for predicting future sales performance. This model involves analysis of historical sales data, market trends, and external factors that might impact sales.

The sales forecasting model should incorporate variables such as product demand, pricing strategies, and market conditions to provide a comprehensive and accurate estimation.

A well-crafted model not only aids in resource allocation, inventory management, and budgeting but also serves as a proactive tool for anticipating challenges and capitalizing on emerging opportunities, contributing to the overall success of the sales and marketing plan.

Continuously Optimize

Recognizing that markets, consumer behaviors, and competitive landscapes evolve, an effective plan should be agile and responsive. This involves regularly reviewing KPIs, analyzing data, and soliciting feedback to identify areas for improvement.

Whether refining marketing strategies, adjusting sales tactics, or fine-tuning messaging, the goal is to stay attuned to shifts in customer preferences and market trends. By fostering a culture of continuous optimization, businesses can adapt swiftly, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and mitigate potential challenges.

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Business News Daily

6 Tips for Creating a Great Business Marketing Plan

E very successful company needs a well-thought-out business plan to outline its course of action. A marketing strategy is one key part of that plan: It spells out critical information, including how a business will distinguish itself from competitors and what the team will aim to achieve.

While marketing plans don't always produce immediate results, they are still a crucial aspect of a business plan and should be given a considerate amount of attention. A complete and effective marketing strategy can reveal opportunities through new audience segments, changes in pricing strategy or by differentiating the brand from the competition.

Here's how to create an effective marketing plan for your business. 

How to develop a business marketing plan

A focused marketing plan sets two goals. The first is to maintain engagement and customer loyalty , and the second is to capture market share within a specific audience segment of your target audience.

Your marketing plan outlines the strategies you'll use to achieve both goals and the specific actions your marketing team will employ, such as the specific outreach campaigns, over which channels they will occur, the required marketing budget and data-driven projections of their success.

Marketing is a science-driven commitment that typically requires months of data to refine campaigns, and an interconnected marketing plan keeps your business committed to its long-term goals. 

All marketing guidelines will circle back to the four P's: product, price, place and promotion. The following tips are starting points that will ingrain the habit of continually returning to these four P's.

1. Create an executive summary.

Marketing campaigns should not be considered individual functions. Marketing is the story of your brand as told to customers; like any narrative, its tone and characters should remain consistent. An executive summary details your marketing goals for the next year and helps tie each campaign together. 

When establishing your marketing goals, they should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound – or SMART. These goals should work together to achieve both internal and external harmony, telling a consistent story that informs customers of your exact message while building on its previous chapters. 

For example, you may set a SMART goal to increase your company's social media traffic by 15% in a 90-day time frame, and plan to achieve this by creating four relevant, informative and high-quality posts per week on each platform, using your company's brand kit. 

2. Identify your target market.

Before you write a marketing plan, you need to find and understand your niche. Ask yourself who the specific demographic is that you're targeting. For example, if your business sells 30-minute meals, then those who work traditional 9-to-5 jobs are likely in your market. Study that group of individuals to understand their struggles and learn how your business can solve the problem.

FYI: Targeting your audience can drastically improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and help you avoid wasting resources on fruitless campaigns.

3. Differentiate your brand with inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing utilizes internal tools – such as content marketing, social media activity and search engine optimization (SEO) – to attract a customer's attention primarily through online communication. Content marketing can include informative blog posts, interviews, podcasts with relevant industry figures or supplementary guides on how to best use your product. For example, if you sell cooking supplies, consider posting several fun recipes around the holidays that your tools can help prepare.

Each of these strategies empowers the others in a loop to achieve greater customer attention. A strong content offering can improve your search engine ranking, which brings more people to your website and social pages. You can then share those developed content pieces to that wider audience, who will again improve your search engine rankings. All of this can be done without the expense of a famous endorser or commercial advertising campaign. 

4. Identify competitors that also target your customers.

No matter how original your product or service may be, there is always competition for your target customer's dollar. Small business personnel seldom take the time to study their competitors in-depth or pinpoint companies outside their industry that are just as capable of luring customers away. Knowing who your competitors are, their core competitive advantages, and how they might respond to your offerings – like price cuts or increased communication – helps you devise strategies to combat such losses. 

By seeking out these competitors, you can develop ways to differentiate your business by providing consumers with the things they may be lacking from your competition. Observe how your competitors operate to find ways in which you can stand out and steer your target audience toward your business. 

Did you know? According to SmallBizGenius, 19% of small businesses fail because of their competitors. 

5. State your brand position for your target customers.

Ultimately, your brand – and what it symbolizes for customers – is your strongest advantage. You should be able to write a simple declarative sentence of how you will meet customer needs and beat the competition. The best positioning statements focus on solving a problem for the customer in a way that promotes the best value.

6. Budget the plan. 

When implementing a strategy, consider the marketing budget you will allot. Marketing requires money for various reasons, including paid promotions, marketing software, events and outsourced costs. Consider your budget when creating the plan so that there is money available to spend on marketing tactics to achieve your goals. 

While drafting the plan and evaluating your course of action, note the estimated cost, assets, and time required to achieve the stated goals; this will help when it comes time to set the actual calculated budget. Any goals that you create should be realistically achievable within the budget you have set. 

Key takeaway: When developing your marketing plan, you should know why a customer would use your product, differentiate your brand from competitors, and audit your product offering and message to ensure consistency.

Channels to include in your marketing plan

Once you know the elements of your plan, the next step is to develop the blueprint of how you will reach your target customers. Aside from traditional print and broadcast media, here are three digital marketing channels that many business owners utilize.

Social media

Social media is an essential part of businesses' marketing plans, because every type of customer is on some type of platform – such as Facebook , Twitter or LinkedIn . You may feel overwhelmed at the possibilities, but focus on the sites that can benefit your business the most.

Brett Farmiloe, founder of internet marketing company Markitors, advised companies starting out in social media to get to know their customers and the platforms they use.

"Figure out where your customers are spending their time, and set up shop on those platforms," he told Business News Daily. "Develop a content strategy that can be executed internally, [and then] execute your strategy by posting branded content on your selected platforms."

Though email marketing is not as new as social media marketing, it is an effective and popular choice for small business owners. Companies can implement email marketing techniques in many ways, including newsletters, promotional campaigns and transactional emails. For instance, Mailchimp and Constant Contact help companies manage their email drip campaigns .

Farmiloe added to set your email marketing efforts apart from the others by segmenting your markets.

"Not all subscribers want to receive the same blast," he said. "Smart email marketers take the time to segment subscribers at the outset, and then continue to segment based on subscriber activity. Through segmentation, companies reduce the amount of unsubscribes, increase open rates and, most importantly, increase the amount of actions taken from an email send."

The popularity of smartphones and tablets has changed how companies target consumers. Since people have these devices with them nearly all the time, companies are looking to implement strategies that reach customers on their gadgets.   

"Mobile marketing is interruptive," Farmiloe said. "It's because of this power that a marketer has to let the consumer determine how and when to receive marketing material. That's why almost every app comes with the option to turn notifications on or off. The consumer has to hold the power with mobile marketing."

Key takeaway: Use digital marketing channels – such as social media, email and mobile – to reach customers, but only after researching each channel in depth and developing a strategy to capture consumers' interest. 

Monitoring results

Well-defined budgets, goals and action items – with appropriate personnel assigned to each – can make your marketing plan a reality. Think about how much you're willing to spend, the outcomes you expect and the necessary tasks to achieve those outcomes.

Analytical tools that track customer behavior and engagement rates can serve as a helpful guide for your marketing strategy . Unlike billboards or commercials, digital channels allow you to assess each step of the customer journey and gain insights on the individual patterns and intent of prospects. Intention can soon develop into prediction, empowering your marketing team to develop campaigns that consistently reach target audiences at the right time. 

You can find more tips for measuring your marketing ROI here.

Jordan Beier and Adryan Corcione contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

Every successful company needs a well-thought-out business plan to outline its course of action. A marketing strategy is

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The Ultimate Sales Playbook: How to Create Your Own with Examples for Success

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Help your team succeed with the sales plays they need to close every deal.

business plan for sales and marketing

Michael Windeler

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As a coach, it’s thrilling to see your game plan executed to perfection on the field. But it takes careful planning to get to the end zone. If your strategy is too complex, the team may get confused and fumble at a critical moment. Too simple, and you might not be ready when things go awry. What you need is an easy-to-understand sales playbook to guide your team to victory. We’ll walk through everything you need to know to create the right mix of winning plays that guide your sales team to big wins.

What you’ll learn

What is a sales playbook, what’s included in a playbook , benefits of a playbook, sales plays to include in your playbook, how to write an effective playbook, how to keep your playbook up to date.

  • 7 sales playbook types and examples

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A playbook is a comprehensive guide that outlines your team’s approach to selling. It compiles best practices, strategies, and tactics specific to the team and spells out roles, responsibilities, and objectives. The playbook also provides guidance and examples to help sales teams navigate through every stage of the sales process effectively.

What are sales plays?

Sales plays are specific strategies or steps that your sales team can follow during different parts of the selling process. Think of them as practical, easy-to-follow recipes for sales success. Each play is designed to handle a particular situation or challenge in sales, helping your team know exactly what to do and when.

Say you’re trying to engage a potential client who’s shown interest. An example of a sales play might be sending a personalized email, followed by making a phone call and then arranging a meeting. This straightforward, step-by-step approach can guide your reps toward higher chances of success.

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Just as every coach has their own playbook, a playbook is unique to every organization. That said, there are often common elements. Here’s what’s often included:

Sales strategies and tactics

This section is the heart of the playbook. It includes detailed methods for engaging with customers, such as how to approach cold calls , effective emailing techniques , and tips for successful face-to-face meetings.

Customer personas

Here, you’ll find detailed descriptions of your ideal customers or buyer personas and insights into their buying habits. This information helps sales reps understand and empathize with potential customers’ challenges and pain points and form personalized solutions.

Scripts and templates

To maintain consistency in communication, your playbook should include scripts for calls and meetings, email templates for various scenarios, and guidelines for social media interactions.

Product information

A thorough overview of your products or services should also be included, showcasing features, benefits, pricing, and competitor analyses. This section is crucial for ensuring your team understands what they’re selling. It can also help when handling objections from prospects.

Sales process

This is where you detail how your team should engage with potential customers from initial contact to closing a deal. This is crucial as it provides a clear, company-specific roadmap, ensuring all team members follow a consistent, effective sales strategy.

Supporting training materials and best practices

To help new and existing team members, your playbook should have training resources, best practices, and tips from top performers — a mix of learning materials and real-world wisdom teams can emulate.

Tools details and resources

Information on CRM systems, sales enablement tools, and other technologies that support the sales process are important inclusions in your sales playbook. This ensures everyone knows how to use the tools at their disposal effectively.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

This is a collection of all metrics and goals that sales reps should aim for. This includes targets expected of sales reps like total sales closed, the number of calls per day, conversion rates, or average deal size.

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A playbook provides a structured approach to achieving sales goals. Here’s what a playbook brings to the table:

• Assists with training for new reps: Your playbook becomes a time-saving tool in onboarding new team members. It provides a clear, step-by-step guide on everything from conducting sales calls to closing deals , significantly reducing the time it takes for a rep to ramp up to peak efficiency.

• Makes selling more straightforward: Your sales team won’t have to guess the best way to handle different selling situations. A playbook gives them ready-to-use methods and tips so they can spend more time selling and less time figuring out their approach.

• Supports a consistent approach: Companies often want reps to use specific messaging and competitive responses. If you don’t outline this for sellers, they may just make it up as they go. Sales playbooks help everyone on your sales team talk about your products and deal with customers in a similar way. Customers have a consistent experience, which is good for your brand because it instills confidence.

• Shares success secrets: Sales teams can collect trade secrets from top sellers and share the most effective methods. That way, everyone can learn from them, which helps boost the performance of the whole team.

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When considering which sales plays to include, consider the specific challenges and opportunities your sales team faces. Examples include:

Prospecting plays

Develop a comprehensive strategy for identifying and reaching out to potential new customers. Focus on innovative techniques like using social media and crafting personalized outreach messages. Highlight the importance of understanding your target audience and tailoring the approach accordingly.

Lead qualification plays

Provide a detailed guide for evaluating whether a lead is likely to convert. Include a set of qualifying questions and criteria that sales reps can use to assess a lead’s potential. Emphasize understanding the customer’s needs and readiness to buy.

Ghosting plays

Equip sales reps with strategies for handling unresponsive clients. Offer examples of follow-up messages that show understanding, emphasizing empathy while suggesting actionable next steps.

Product demo plays

Outline strategies for effective product demonstrations. Emphasize tailoring the demo to the customer’s needs and interests and preparing to address common questions or concerns. If any employees are new to presenting, this is a good chance to outline best practices and tips for public speaking.

Follow-up plays

Highlight the best practices for follow-up communications. Include references to previous interactions and continually add insights for each contact while addressing any new changes or developments that might affect the customer’s decision.

Closing plays

Outline steps and techniques to help your team close deals effectively, whether creating a sense of urgency, addressing last-minute objections, or getting the deal through procurement.

When drafting your playbook, think of it as setting up a game plan that ensures every player on your team knows the plays, understands their roles, and sees the path to scoring sales. Here are the steps to follow to ensure your playbook covers everything you want your sales team to know:

1. Assemble a diverse team

Form a group that includes sales leaders, frontline sales reps, marketing experts, and customer service staff. This team should represent different aspects of the customer journey and sales process. For example, sales leaders can offer insights on overall strategy, while frontline reps can share hands-on experience with customer interactions.

2. Define your sales philosophy

Clarify your company’s sales approach and values. Involve top management in this discussion to ensure the playbook aligns with broader business goals. Asking “What values should drive our sales interactions?” and “How do we differentiate our approach from competitors?” can help crystallize your sales philosophy.

3. Create customer personas

Work with the marketing department to develop detailed customer/buyer personas. These should be based on market research and existing customer data. For example, a B2B software company might have personas like Tech-Savvy Startup Owner or Cost-Conscious SME Manager.

4. Document the sales process with reps

Collaborate with sales representatives to outline each stage of the sales cycle . This process might include steps like lead generation, qualification , proposal generation, negotiation, and closing. Document tactics that have been effective at each stage, such as using case studies in proposals or specific negotiation techniques.

5. Develop strategies with team input

Use brainstorming sessions to develop sales strategies and plays for specific products and scenarios. This could include handling objections or unique selling propositions for different products. For instance, you might create a strategy for upselling additional services to existing clients.

6. Craft templates, scripts, and outlines

Develop practical tools like call scripts, email templates, and proposal outlines. These should be based on successful past communications and refined through team feedback. For example, create an email template for follow-ups after initial meetings.

7. Create tools enablement materials

Select the most effective tools and resources, such as CRM systems or sales enablement platforms, to enable your reps to sell and draft enablement materials to help them use these effectively.

8. Integrate training resources

Incorporate educational materials and training resources into the flow of work. This might include online courses, internal training sessions, and materials from top performers. Ideally, fold these into your CRM so they’re easily accessible as your reps go about their work. Also, determine the best ways to facilitate continuous learning and skill development.

9. Set goals with management’s insight

Work with sales leadership to establish clear performance metrics and goals. These should be specific, measurable, and aligned with both individual sales role objectives and the company’s broader objectives. Goals might include sales quotas , conversion rates, or customer satisfaction scores.

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business plan for sales and marketing

Your playbook shouldn’t be static. It needs regular tune-ups to stay relevant and practical. Like a coach tweaks a team’s playbook for every season — sometimes even mid-way through a game — you should regularly refine your sales strategies to align with changing market and customer needs. Set times for regular playbook reviews, like at the beginning of each quarter, to ensure it stays in step with the market.

Keep a close watch on customer behavior and preferences, adapting your sales approaches and personas to reflect the current landscape. Above all, keep your playbook accessible, user-friendly, and well-organized, making it an effective tool for your team’s success.

7 playbook types and examples

Creating a playbook from scratch can be daunting, but you don’t have to start with a blank page. To help you get the ball rolling, here are examples of some different types of sales playbooks. Think of these are starting points, which you can customize to fit your team’s unique needs and sales goals:

1. Classic playbook

Envision this as the comprehensive guide for your sales team. It includes everything from identifying target customer personas to detailed strategies for each stage of the sales cycle. For example, if your product is an educational app and your target audience is busy parents, the playbook might include specific conversation starters for parent-teacher meetings, tailored email templates for follow-ups, and objection-handling techniques specifically addressing common parental concerns.

2. Start-up playbook

This one’s tailored for emerging businesses, focusing on fundamental sales strategies and innovative marketing. For a new coffee subscription service, the playbook might suggest leveraging social media platforms for brand awareness, using influencer marketing to reach a broader audience, and guerrilla marketing tactics like pop-up events or collaborations with local businesses to create buzz.

3. Product-specific playbook

This playbook zeroes in on effectively selling a particular product, like a high-tech home appliance. It would detail the appliance’s features, benefits, and competitive advantages. Sales strategies might include a comparison guide (a side-by-side look at your product vs. competitors’ products), case studies of satisfied customers, and tailored scripts for in-store demonstrations.

4. Account-based playbook

This is perfect for targeting high-value accounts such as large corporations or specialized sectors, as these accounts typically require more attention. It would outline methods for identifying and engaging key decision-makers, tips for personalizing pitches, and strategies for nurturing these relationships.

5. Solution selling playbook

Designed for complex, consultative selling scenarios driven by an overarching problem. This playbook would guide sales reps in diagnosing the problem, presenting a tailored solution, and navigating lengthy decision-making processes. It could include questionnaires to uncover client needs, presentation templates for solution proposals, and strategies for effective follow-up.

6. Social selling playbook

This is ideal for teams incorporating social media into their sales strategy. A solution selling playbook might include best practices for engaging potential customers on platforms like LinkedIn, tips for creating compelling content on Instagram, and strategies for using Facebook ads to generate leads. It could also cover how to transition online interactions into sales opportunities.

7. Remote sales playbook

Essential for teams that operate primarily in a virtual environment, this playbook covers techniques for effective video sales calls and virtual engagement, including how to set the scene for a professional backdrop during video calls, how to use engaging presentation tools, and how to build rapport over a screen. It might also include recommendations for CRM and sales tracking tools suited for remote teams.

Remember, these are just starting points. The most effective playbooks are tailored to your team’s unique selling environment, market conditions customer profiles, and sales goals.

Sales playbooks fuel future wins

Crafting and refining your playbook is not a one-time play. It’s an ongoing effort that must adapt to shifting markets and the growth of your team. Regularly updating your playbook keeps your sales strategies fresh, relevant, and ahead of the competition. Continuous refinement and adaptation will also keep your team agile, focused, and prepared for whatever the sales field throws at them.

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How to Write a Dog Grooming Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

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Elon Glucklich

8 min. read

Updated February 20, 2024

Download a free one-page dog grooming sample business plan

The bond between humans and their canine companions has always been strong. But spurred by increases in dog ownership across the U.S. , household spending on pets has risen in recent years.

The $5.4 billion global pet grooming services market is projected to grow at a 7% annual rate through 2030, creating new opportunities for dog-loving entrepreneurs to turn their passion into a business opportunity.

Whether you’re starting a boutique grooming salon or a mobile grooming service—a business plan can significantly increase your chances of success.

Download a free dog grooming sample business plan and complete it as you work through this guide.

  • What should you include in a dog grooming business plan?

Here are the common sections to consider when writing your dog grooming business plan.

  • Executive summary
  • Market analysis
  • Services and products
  • Marketing and sales strategy
  • Operations plan
  • Company summary
  • Financial plan and forecasts

The details of your plan will differ based on factors like the services you offer, whether you hire full-time employees or contractors, and whether your business is based in a brick-and-mortar building or goes to clients’ homes.

Check out our step-by-step guide to writing a full business plan for more details.

A sample dog grooming business plan outline.

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  • The 8 elements of an effective dog grooming business plan

Don’t make your dog grooming business plan longer than it needs to be . If you’re writing it for yourself, stick with a few pages and cover the aspects that will help you run your business.

But if you’re writing the plan because you’re seeking a bank loan or investment , it will likely need to be more detailed.

1. Executive summary

The executive summary is a concise overview of your dog grooming business plan. The executive summary should briefly touch on your company overview target market but shouldn’t be more than 2 pages long.

Its purpose is to highlight the mission and unique aspects of your business, whether that’s to provide superior pet care or introduce innovative grooming techniques to your market. 

2. Market analysis

What’s the opportunity that exists for your business? 

The market analysis section is a detailed assessment of the market you’re entering. In this case, you should cover current trends in the dog grooming industry, such as increasing pet ownership rates and a growing emphasis on pet care and wellness.

You must also identify your primary customer segments . Include demographics that help define who your customers are and what they want. Maybe you target pet owners in urban areas, busy professionals, or families seeking convenient and comprehensive grooming services.

Be sure to list out key competitors in your region, noting their service offerings, pricing, and market positioning. This analysis will help you identify opportunities to differentiate your business. For instance, your research might lead you to realize there are a lack of options in your area for mobile grooming services, or specialized care for anxious pets.

3. Services and products

The products and services section is where you detail the full range of grooming services and products you plan to offer. 

Consider writing them out as a list, like this example:

Basic services

  • Washing and drying
  • Hair trimming
  • Nail clipping
  • Ear cleaning.

Specialty services

  • Breed-specific grooming
  • Skin care treatments
  • Flea and tick treatments

Also, consider incorporating related products for sale, such as dog shampoos, conditioners, brushes, and other grooming tools. Whatever mix of products and services you choose to offer, connect them to your market opportunity. At its most basic, running a successful business is about identifying customer problems and providing solutions .

Detailing these services and products gives your customers a clear understanding of what your business provides and its value proposition .

4. Marketing and sales strategy

Your marketing and sales strategy turns your market research into a set of marketing strategies you can execute to attract customers. 

Through your research, you should understand how your target customers find dog grooming services — online, in print advertisements or commercials, through social media or word of mouth, etc.

Based on what you think are the most relevant marketing channels , develop strategies to make your business more visible. Strategies to consider include:

  • Advertising online or in local publications
  • Creating a website and establishing a social media presence
  • Interacting with the public at community events
  • Pursuing partnership opportunities with local pet stores

You may also want to consider discounts or special offers for repeat customers to build loyalty. 

Whatever tactics you deploy, it’s crucial to measure the impact of your marketing efforts through key performance indicators, and adjust your strategies based on what delivers value.

5. Operations plan

The operations section outlines how you will run your dog grooming business efficiently day to day. 

Whether you’re operating out of a brick-and-mortar building, a mobile van, or in clients’ homes, include details on the physical setup of your grooming salon, equipment needs, and staff requirements.

You should also discuss the process for booking appointments and managing customer relationships. Detail any software or systems you’ll use for scheduling and record-keeping. Also, outline your plan for meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining a clean, safe environment for pets.

6. Milestones

Outlining the key milestones for your business can help you determine how long it will take to meet your goals. You can keep these brief, even writing them in bullet points. Milestones for a dog grooming business could include:

  • Obtaining initial financing
  • Securing relevant permits
  • Initiating marketing efforts
  • Acquiring a certain number of clients
  • Reaching specific revenue benchmarks

Each milestone should have an estimated completion date and designated team members responsible for achieving them.

7. Company summary

Summarize the history of your business, including its legal structure and location. Also, highlight your background in pet grooming and your reasons for wanting to start a dog grooming business.

If you’re just starting out, discuss the initial startup costs required to get the business off the ground. If you’re writing your business plan to secure a bank loan, state how much funding you need, what you will use it for, and how it will benefit your grooming business.

8. Financial plan

The financial plan is where you provide a look into your dog grooming business’s financial projections, including sales , costs , and profitability .

Remember, financial forecasts are really just educated guesses created to give you a sense of how your business can be profitable over the long term. 

They’re meant to be adjusted over time as your actual financial numbers come in, helping you determine which aspects of your business are performing as expected and where you might need to adjust your strategy.

Your financial plan should include a cash flow statement , income statement , and balance sheet .

  • Tips for writing a dog grooming business plan

Understanding pet owners’ needs and how you can best serve them is vital for writing a dog grooming business plan that you can actually use to help your business grow.

As you write the plan, give some attention to these key points.

1. Consider your business structure

Choosing the right structure is pivotal. When writing the company overview section, consider factors like taxation, liability, and business growth potential to determine whether an LLC, sole proprietorship, or corporation best suits your needs. This decision will influence your operational flexibility, financial management, and legal obligations.

2. Develop a pricing strategy

Establishing a pricing strategy that balances market competitiveness with profitability is essential. As part of your market analysis, take the time to explore pricing tiers and client expectations. Offering a variety of service packages can cater to different customer needs and enhance revenue streams. Connect those packages and pricing tiers to your projected revenues and expenses as you create your financial forecasts.

3. Create an online presence

A strong online presence is non-negotiable. So, even if you plan to leverage traditional marketing channels, you will still want to have digital marketing efforts be part of your plan. 

At a minimum, invest in a professional website, optimize for local search , and engage actively on social media platforms. This visibility attracts new clients and serves as a platform for showcasing your work and customer testimonials.

4. Highlight your credentials and training

Highlighting your credentials and commitment to ongoing professional development can set your business apart. 

Regular training in new grooming techniques, customer service excellence, and pet safety reassure clients of the quality and reliability of your services. Start by mentioning the qualifications of you and your team and include any supporting documentation, like resumes or awards, in your appendix.

5. Build on success with client referrals and reviews

Encourage satisfied customers to refer others and leave positive online reviews . Word-of-mouth and digital endorsements can significantly impact your business’s reputation and trustworthiness. Consider implementing a referral program to incentivize clients to share their positive experiences.

  • Download your free dog grooming one page sample business plan

Download your dog grooming business plan sample now for free. You can also explore Bplans’ collection of over 550 sample business plans to find other examples.

Writing a business plan for your dog grooming business helps you stand out in a crowded market. It’s one of numerous reasons that a business plan increases your chance of success. 

The plan is essential for getting your business funded. But even if you don’t need a bank loan, thinking through each aspect of your business will help you make the best strategic decisions and use your limited resources effectively.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Content Author: Elon Glucklich

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Check out LivePlan

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22 Best Sales Strategies, Plans, & Initiatives for Success [Templates]

Discover sales strategy examples, templates, and plans used by top sales teams worldwide.

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FREE SALES PLAN TEMPLATE

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

sales strategies initiatives and templates to plan your quarter

Updated: 10/17/23

Published: 10/17/23

A strong sales strategy plan creates the foundation for a cohesive and successful sales organization.

Sales strategies and initiatives also align salespeople on shared goals and empower them to do their best work — keeping them happy and successful, too.

Free Download: Sales Plan Template

In this guide, we'll dig into some sales strategies and initiatives that can help you generate more leads and close more deals. But first, let’s define what a sales strategy is.

What's a Sales Strategy?

Types of Sales Strategies

Building a Sales Strategy Plan

Inbound vs. Outbound Sales

Sales Initiatives

Sales Strategy Examples

What is a sales strategy?

A sales strategy is a set of decisions, actions, and goals that inform how your sales team positions the organization and its products to close new customers. It acts as a guide for sales reps to follow, with clear goals for sales processes, product positioning, and competitive analysis.

Sales Strategy: Cranney sales process graphic

Image Source

Most strategies involve a detailed plan of best practices and processes set by management.

Why is a sales strategy important?

A clear sales strategy serves as a map for the growth of your business. Your sales strategy is key to future planning, problem-solving, goal-setting, and management.

An effective sales strategy can help you:

  • Give your team direction and focus. Strategic clarity can help your sales reps and managers understand which goals and activities to prioritize. This can lead to improved productivity and outcomes.
  • Ensure consistent messaging. Your sales strategy can help your team deliver a consistent message to prospects, partners, and customers. This can increase both trust and effectiveness.
  • Optimize opportunities. Strong sales strategies will help you target the right prospects and customize your approach. This can help your team make the most of every sales opportunity.
  • Improve resource allocation. Your sales strategy outlines priorities and resources. In turn, this can help your sales team use their time, effort, and resources efficiently. This efficiency can boost your team's ability to focus on high-potential deals.

Let's cover some popular sales strategies — including inbound sales.

Sales Strategies

  • Increase online sales through social media.
  • Become a thought leader.
  • Prioritize inbound sales calls as hot leads.
  • Properly research and qualify prospects.
  • Implement a free trial.
  • Don't shy away from cold calling.
  • Offer a demonstration of the product.
  • Provide a personalized, clear end result.
  • Be willing to adapt your offering.
  • Close deals with confidence.
  • Nurture existing accounts for future selling opportunities.

1. Increase online sales through social media.

Social media is one of the most popular ways that people consume information these days. That’s why nine out of ten retail businesses are active on at least two social platforms. With the data on your side, increasing online sales through social media is attainable with some creative thinking and strategic planning.

Although it may be tempting to jump on the hottest social media trend or go where your competitors are, that probably won’t be your best choice. Time is precious and you’ll want to build your pipeline as efficiently as you can. So, be diligent about figuring out where your target customers are spending their time and meet them where they're most active.

Keep in mind that your tone and voice may need to adjust to the platform so that you can connect with your audience. You’ll want your content to blend in naturally with the platform and not seem out of place.

Featured Guide: 37 Social Selling Tips for LinkedIn

Download the Guide

2. Become a thought leader.

Sharing your advice, tried-and-true best practices, and niche expertise are some of the most long-lasting ways to build your personal brand and lend more credibility to your organization. I’m sure we all can agree that nobody wants to feel like they’re being sold to. Instead, it’s better to help people by offering solutions to their problems.

Thought leaders do exactly this, and it’s even been backed up by Edleman data . In its 2022 Thought Leadership Impact Report , Edelman found that "Thought leadership is one of the most effective tools an organization can use to demonstrate its value to customers during a tough economy – even more so than traditional advertising or product marketing, according to B2B buyers."

According to the study, 61% of decision-makers said thought leadership could be moderately or very effective at demonstrating the value of a company’s products compared to traditional product marketing. Additionally thought leadership becomes even more important during economic downturns with 51% of C-suite executives stating it has more of an impact on purchases.

So what’s the catch?

Not all thought leadership content is created equal. While it can positively affect a company, poor thought leadership can be devastating to a company’s sales goals. A quarter of decision-makers who answered Edleman’s previous survey reported that thought leadership content contributed to their reasons for not doing business with an organization . Ouch!

Before you plan a spree of LinkedIn posts to drive leads, consider who your audience is, what they need to know, and how your organization can help. And, it may not hurt to have a second set of eyes from your marketing, communication, and PR departments review your plan first to make sure everything is on-brand (and trackable!)

business plan for sales and marketing

Free Sales Plan Template

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent sales plan.

  • Target Market
  • Prospecting Strategy

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

3. Prioritize inbound sales calls as hot leads.

There’s the age-old question: "Should I discuss product pricing with a prospect on the first sales call?" The honest answer is: It depends.

You and your sales team know your process front and back and if you’ve seen success with pitching with pricing first, last, or somewhere in between, stick with what’s working for you.

Besides that, your team should always prioritize those prospects who call into sales first. These hot leads are definitely interested in what you have to sell and want to know enough information about how it’ll benefit them before they make a decision.

By prioritizing talking to these prospects as soon as they call or send an email, you’re putting your best foot forward and showing them that you’re helpful, solutions-oriented, and considerate of their time. If it means closing the deal on the first call , there’s no harm in it so long as the customer has the information they need to make an informed decision.

4. Properly research and qualify prospects.

Even the strongest sales strategy can't compensate for targeting the wrong customers. To ensure your team is selling to the right type of customer, encourage them to research and qualify prospects before attempting to discuss your product. They'll find that more work on the front end can lead to smoother closing conversations later on.

Outline the criteria a prospect should meet to qualify them as a high-probability potential customer. This should be based on a prospect’s engagement history and demographics.

Featured Guide: 101 Sales Qualification Questions

Hubspot Sales qualification questions offer

5. Implement a free trial.

Offering a free trial or freemium version of your product is a highly effective way to convert prospects. HubSpot’s sales strategy report found that free trials were 76% effective followed by a freemium option with 69% effective in turning prospects into paying customers.

sales strategy example: graph showing popularity of free trial offerings

Free trials give potential customers the opportunity to test your product out before committing. You can place restrictions on your free version like limited features or usage caps. Besides offering prospects a risk-free chance to try your product, free trials also help build brand loyalty and expand your customer base. Prospects that have a positive experience using the free version will be more likely to convert to the paid version.

6. Don't shy away from cold calling.

In sales, cold calling is unavoidable. But it doesn't have to be miserable. There are a number of cold-calling techniques that really work, including our bulletproof cold-calling template . Have your sales team practice cold calls with one another before making actual calls; it'll boost their confidence and get them comfortable with the script.

7. Offer a demonstration of the product.

Pitching can be the make-or-break moment in a sales strategy. The sales pitch has to be a powerful, compelling presentation, but it also can't come on too strong lest you scare away the prospect.

Study the elements of a successful sales pitch and prove to prospects how they’ll benefit from making the purchase. Have your team practice amongst themselves, too. Better yet, test your presentations on a few loyal customers and gather their feedback.

8. Provide a personalized, clear end result.

When customers come to your business, they aren’t necessarily looking for a product or service, they’re looking for their desired end result. These customers want to purchase a means to improve their own operation, or simply improve their strategies with the help of your offering.

After you explain your product or service offering, you have to personalize the benefits to each client in a way that’s valuable to them.

If you’re selling customer service software to a small business that has no experience with one, it’s your job to educate them on its use in the setting of a small business, not to manage hundreds of employees in larger ones. By doing so they will have an easier time seeing how they can use it and spend less time debating what they’ll use it for.

By painting a clear picture of the end result, your customer will be able to see the value of the purchase and feel more inclined to accept the offer.

9. Be willing to adapt your offering.

In sales conversations, you should expect to come across clients with unique demands. It’s only natural when working with companies that have different structures and needs.

Instead of saying "you won’t" or "you can’t" — make sure your sales strategy is adaptable to accommodate the customer’s desire.

10. Close deals with confidence.

How you close a sale is just as important as how you start the conversation. Encourage clear, concise, and firm closing techniques to make sure your sales team sets the right expectations and delivers on their promises.

Keeping a list of proven, go-to closing techniques will help salespeople routinely win deals. Such techniques can include the now or never close, "If you commit now, I can get you a 20% discount," or the question close, "In your opinion, does what I am offering to solve your problem?"

Sales strategies offer, sales closing guide

Available for free is our downloadable Sales Closing Guide to improve your closing techniques and to close deals with confidence.

11. Nurture existing accounts for future selling opportunities.

Once a deal is done, there's no need for a sales strategy ... right? Wrong. Account management is an incredibly important part of the sales process, encouraging loyal, happy customers, and leveraging cross-selling and upselling opportunities .

After your sales team sees success with the sales strategy, form a partnership between your sales team and customer service/success teams. Ensuring customers’ continued satisfaction with your product or service will make them more likely to do business with your company again and even advocate for it.

Sales Strategy Types

Who is your sales strategy for.

The most important element when choosing the best type of sales strategy for your business is your customer .

Once you consider your customer needs, it's time to think about your sales team — the professionals who are responsible for closing deals.

Your sales strategy needs to offer a framework that attracts and engages prospects. At the same time, it needs to enable your team to build relationships that help them achieve sales targets.

For these reasons, a sales strategy shouldn't be one-size-fits-all. Every customer and team is different; so, each organization should draw up the type of sales strategy that works best for their needs.

Outbound Sales Strategy

In outbound sales strategies — the legacy system of most sales teams — companies base their sales strategy on the seller, not the customer.

Outbound sales processes often include cold calling, purchasing email lists, and other cold prospecting techniques. And daily success is often based on the quantity of connections, not the quality.

Outbound sales teams often rely on manually-entered data to monitor the sales pipeline and coach their salespeople. They may also run sales and marketing independently, which can create a disjointed experience for buyers.

Inbound Sales Strategy

In inbound sales strategies — the modern methodology for sales teams — companies base their sales process on buyer actions.

They automatically capture seller and buyer data to monitor the pipeline and coach salespeople. Inbound sales strategies connect to the three stages of the buyer journey — awareness, consideration, and decision. Then, sales reps will map their tactics to the right step in the customer journey.

Many popular types of sales strategies have a customer-centric approach, including:

  • Account-based selling
  • SPIN selling
  • Value-based selling
  • Consultative selling

Learn about these approaches and more in this post about customer-centric selling systems .

Another important point — the inbound methodology aligns sales and marketing, creating a seamless experience for buyers. Check out this post to learn more about inbound sales and how to develop an inbound sales process.

Inbound vs. Outbound Sales Methodology

In the past, buyers suffered through evaluating a product and deciding whether to buy it using only the information offered to them by the seller. Today, all of the information needed to evaluate a product is available online and buyers are no longer dependent on the seller.

If today’s sales teams don’t align with the modern buyer’s process and fail to add value beyond the information already available to them, then they’ll have no reason to engage with a sales team.

As mentioned above, inbound sales benefits buyers at each stage of the buyer process:

  • Consideration

inbound sales methodology sales strategy hubspot

Inbound sales teams help the buyer become aware of potential problems or opportunities and discover strategies to solve problems. Then, they evaluate whether the salesperson can help with a problem, which leads to that buyer purchasing a solution to their problem. Inbound sales reps are helpful and trustworthy, creating partnerships rather than power struggles.

Not sure how to get started with inbound selling? Every sales team should have a sales strategy plan outlining its goals, best practices, and processes designed to align the team and create consistency.

Keep reading to learn how to create a sales strategy plan for your team.

Sales Planning: Building a Sales Strategy Plan

Now that you have the template you need, let's go over how you can build a sales strategy.

How to Build a Sales Strategy

  • Develop organizational goals.
  • Create a customer profile that is tailored to a specific product offering.
  • Hire, onboard, and compensate sales team members adequately.
  • Create a plan to generate demand.
  • Measure individual and team performance.
  • Track sales activities.

To build a comprehensive sales plan, you’ll find the following activities helpful along the way:

1. Develop organizational goals.

Setting goals is a no-brainer for most sales teams. Otherwise, how else will you know you're executing the right activities for the best results? To develop clear organizational goals for your sales strategy:

Involve cross-departmental stakeholders.

When developing sales goals, avoid doing it in a silo. Get input from stakeholders across the organization since every department is held accountable to the company’s bottom line.

Create SMART goals.

SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Setting SMART goals helps your team simplify and track complex or long-term sales goals .

For example, a specific, measurable, and time-bound goal could be to sell 150% of the projected sales quota in Q2. Your internal team will create this goal and can decide whether this goal is relevant and attainable.

SMART goals help reduce confusion when it’s time to review your strategy to see what worked and what didn’t. Attainability is also important, because unrealistic sales goals can impact team motivation.

Connect individual goals to organizational goals.

If you're creating a team-specific strategy, you may also want to set goals for individual team members. Building ownership and accountability into sales goals can help keep your team aligned. It also makes your sales strategy more cohesive.

2. Create a customer profile that is tailored to a specific product offering.

A detailed profile of the target customer — a buyer persona — is essential to an effective sales strategy. There are many ways you can create a useful buyer persona.

Find target markets and segments.

First, look at your industry as a whole. Get to know your ideal customer's company size, psychographics, and buying process. You may want to look at industry trends too.

Conduct market research to understand customer needs and preferences.

Next, do some market research. This template can help you streamline the process and understand which types of research will be best for your business.

You may also want to do some competitor analysis at this stage. Once you know the strengths and weaknesses of competing brands you can more easily find gaps that you can fill for specific customers.

Create a clear value proposition to attract your ideal customer to your product or service.

Your product offering should outline the product benefits. It should also use insights from your customer profile to emphasize features that solve your target customer's pain points.

Your business may already have a clear value proposition, but if not, you can use these free value proposition templates to draft one.

Quick tip : Be sure to schedule time to update and refine your buyer persona to make sure it aligns with current customer trends and expectations.

3. Hire, onboard, and compensate sales team members adequately.

To develop your sales strategy, you must have a powerful sales team in place.

According to HubSpot research, the churn rate for sales teams was about 35% in 2021 and 2022. But the ideal churn rate for most businesses is around 10%, a significant difference.

To create a supportive and successful sales team that can both support and enhance your sales strategy:

Create great processes for hiring new members of your sales team.

To begin this process, create a list of criteria for sales managers to screen for when interviewing candidates. A well-defined job description and competency framework are also useful. These tools can help your team with recruiting and retaining top talent.

Develop sales onboarding, training, and development programs.

Your training and onboarding program should prepare your sales team to sell effectively and efficiently. It should also help sales reps build advanced skills and industry knowledge.

But what if you don't have the resources to develop comprehensive training in-house? In these situations, think about combining organization-specific training with online sales training programs .

Create a motivational compensation and rewards plan.

Many organizations connect sales compensation to organizational sales goals. Regardless of what compensation plan you choose, make sure that it meets or exceeds industry expectations. It should also inspire your team to celebrate individual and team achievements.

4. Create a plan to generate demand.

This section should include a detailed plan for how to target potential customers to increase awareness of your offering. For example, using paid social acquisition channels, creating e-books, hosting webinars, and other strategies in this post.

Featured Resource: Sales Plan Template

Hubspot sales plan template offer

Download the Template for Free

As you create your sales plan, be sure to consider these tips:

Create targeted messaging and positioning for your target audience.

This positioning will help your team create a foundation for targeting your top audience. It will also help you choose the best channels and tactics for each campaign. This boosts your chances of increasing demand and qualified leads with each sales strategy.

Add clear goals and KPIs to your sales plan.

This step will help you stay motivated and track the effectiveness of your sales strategies. This approach can also help you change or update your strategies for effectiveness over time.

Create processes for lead nurturing and follow-up.

Once you've generated demand, it's time to convert. But not every lead generation opportunity translates to qualified leads or sales opportunities.

As you track your newly generated demand, find ways to align your processes with your buyer's journey. Then, use sales automation tools to manage leads and create personalized follow-ups. This can help every rep on your team send the right message at the right time.

Optimize your sales plan and process.

Build in time to review your metrics. Then, use A/B testing, customer feedback, and sales team insights to refine your sales strategy plan.

5. Measure individual and team performance.

Time to track! Once the infrastructure is set up, create a procedure for tracking performance on the individual, team, and company levels.

Tracking your efforts is imperative if you plan to optimize your processes and practices for growth in the future. Even if you’re just getting started setting benchmarks for the team, write those down and track your progress toward them.

Build useful metrics to track sales performance.

This measurement can take the form of quarterly KPIs, weekly dashboards, monthly reviews, or some combination of all three. It should also highlight the specific metrics that the team should focus on.

If you're not sure where to start, these KPIs can help you align performance expectations with sales goals :

  • Revenue targets
  • Sales quotas
  • Conversion rates
  • Lead-to-opportunity ratios
  • Average deal size
  • Pipeline velocity

Think about real-time performance tracking.

While business KPIs are useful for the long-term, fast-moving industries may need real-time tracking. To get an at-a-glance look at sales team performance, choose tools that can give you instant visibility, like Sales Hub .

Real-time insights can help you find and address issues more quickly. They also create opportunities for proactive sales performance management.

Create a process for sharing performance data.

With performance metrics, you have data that can help you offer constructive feedback and coaching to each member of your team.

Whether you offer one-on-one meetings, performance reviews, or team huddles, be sure to make space for these conversations. They’re a great way to understand performance gaps, offer guidance, and share best practices. This process also supports individual and team development.

It can also help you understand whether it’s your team or your strategy that needs extra attention.

6. Track sales activities.

Data is key to an effective sales strategy plan and sales activity metrics can help you go beyond individual team performance.

Collect a range of sales activity data.

Sales activity metrics can help you understand how the team approaches day-to-day sales as a whole. You should track everything from the sales presentation to closing techniques.

Collect data to see how your sales team performs beyond call or deal numbers, in individual activities such as:

  • Meetings scheduled
  • Presentations delivered
  • Proposals submitted
  • Sales presentation success rates
  • Closing techniques

Comparing this data to other goal metrics can show you patterns, best practices, and areas for improvement.

Track lead and prospect sources.

If you’ll be publishing thought leadership content or sourcing leads from social media, make sure that any link you share is trackable with a UTM parameter.

Trackable links aren't just valuable for learning which channels are generating the most leads. They can also help you focus your resources on the channels that generate the most relevant qualified leads for driving sales.

Focus on continuous improvement.

Once you have a complete set of analytics to track your strategy, use it to refine your sales strategies, team knowledge, and plans. A clear data-driven process will make it easier to use customer feedback to grow your sales. It will also give your sales team the ability to flex with industry and market changes that could impact your business.

  • Refresh your buyer personas regularly.
  • Actively align sales and marketing.
  • Listen to your prospects.
  • Invest in sales development and team-building.

Businesses should always be looking for ways to innovate their approach to sales . Here are some creative things sales reps and teams can do on their own to jumpstart their performance, stand out from the competition, and boost team productivity.

1. Refresh your buyer personas regularly.

Buyer personas inform all kinds of activity at your business, including (and most importantly) who your marketing and sales teams pursue as customers. But as your market and company shift, your buyer personas can become out-of-date — which can cause your sales team's work to become stagnant and ineffective. Work with your marketing team to refresh your buyer personas to best equip your sales team for prospecting and outreach.

2. Actively align sales and marketing.

Speaking of marketing, create and honor a service-level agreement (SLA) between your sales and marketing teams. This agreement will detail how each team can support each other, contribute to the other's goals, and honor boundaries in a way that still moves prospects toward conversion.

Download our free SLA Template for Sales & Marketing to align Sales & Marketing goals and activities.

3. Use a CRM.

Successful sales teams and strategies require the right tools. HubSpot all-in-one CRM eliminates manual work and streamlines your sales activity and data. It also keeps your sales team up-to-date about all relevant activity with your prospects — an important transparency factor that helps motivate and align your team.

4. Listen to your prospects.

Just because prospects aren't customers doesn't mean they can't give valuable feedback. As you move prospects through their sales funnel and (especially) when they drop off, ask for candid feedback about their experience with your team and products. You may learn something that can help convert them or your next prospect.

5. Invest in sales development and team-building.

The best sales teams not only align with customers but also with their coworkers. Sales is a difficult career and can lead to burnout without proper encouragement and camaraderie. Invest in sales development and team-building activities to keep your sales team feeling satisfied and supported.

Sales Strategy Examples from Successful Sales Teams

In this section, we’ve analyzed two incredibly high-performing sales teams and how they achieved success using their unique sales strategies.

Founded in 2006, HubSpot has since grown to over 184,000 customers in over 120 countries and over $1.7 billion in annual revenue. With an IPO in 2014, HubSpot is now valued at over $24.63 billion.

That said, we want to share a few pages from our own sales strategy playbook.

Hire the right people according to repeatable evaluation criteria.

We first started by determining a list of attributes that made a successful sales rep: Work ethic, coachability, intelligence, passion, preparation and knowledge of HubSpot, adaptability to change, prior success, organizational skills, competitiveness, and brevity.

From there, we established a repeatable process to evaluate candidates during interviews based on these weighted criteria.

Train the sales team by making them wear customers’ shoes.

Again, the first step we took was to define the sales process that we thought would be most successful. We outlined our unique value proposition, target customer, competition, most common objections, product features and benefits, and so forth.

Then we created a hands-on training program that would not only imitate the sales process for reps before they actually began selling but also allow them to experience our target customers’ pain points.

Today, a large part of our training program involves making reps create their own website and blog, and then drive traffic to it. This exercise allows reps to better consult potential customers in the future. We also use exams, certification programs, and presentations to measure each rep’s performance.

After employees are onboarded, we continue tracking their progress throughout the various stages of our sales process. The primary criteria we look at includes: leads created, leads worked, demos delivered, and leads won. Then we measure these criteria against each other to create ratios such as leads created to leads won.

We track each stage in the process so that if a rep is struggling with any particular metric, we can dig deeper to understand why that’s the case.

Align sales and marketing.

The sales and marketing teams work closely together in a process we call " Smarketing " to generate consistent leads each month.

In this process, marketing understands which qualities a sales lead needs to meet before it’s handed over to sales as well as how many of those qualified leads it must create each month to meet our sales projections.

Meanwhile, the sales team understands how long they should wait before contacting a lead and how many attempts they should make to contact that lead. All of these decisions are led by data and science, not by gut.

Shopify is known for consistent momentum and customer satisfaction.

Loren Padelford, VP at Shopify and General Manager of Shopify Plus, shared his secret sauce for increasing sales .

Hire great people, not necessarily great salespeople.

Hiring is arguably one of the most essential components of a great sales strategy. Many sales managers , though, are misled into believing that they must hire sales superstars. Padelford looks for six key personality traits when hiring salespeople: intelligence, work ethic, history of success, creativity, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness.

The truth of the matter is that sales teams first must look for great people and then train them so they become great salespeople.

Treat sales as a science, not an art.

According to Padelford, we can now measure sales down to the second. We can explain success according to cold, hard data points rather than mystical qualitative assessments. Every sales team should be tracking their average deal size, average sales cycle length, lead-to-deal conversion rate, calls per day per rep, and the number of deals in the pipeline.

Each of these metrics, tracked over longer periods of time, will inform companies about the health of their sales process and pinpoint areas they need to improve upon.

Build a smart, technological foundation.

Before Padelford took over the sales process at Shopify, sales reps would manually log phone calls and emails into the CRM, consuming five precious hours each week. With a sales force of 26, that added up to 130 wasted hours per week.

Realizing this misuse of time and capital, Padelford led Shopify to adopt the HubSpot CRM . With the CRM, sales reps were able to receive notifications when prospects opened their emails, clicked links, and viewed document attachments.

With the prospecting tool , they also have access to over 19 million prospects as well as detailed information about said prospects like estimated revenue, the number of employees, suggested email addresses, and so forth.

Maintain a high-quality pipeline by eliminating unqualified leads.

Shopify uses the 4/5 Threshold to filter out unqualified leads, thereby allowing its sales reps to focus on selling to leads who have a higher probability of becoming customers.

When evaluating whether a lead is qualified, a rep must have a concrete answer to four of the following five variables:

  • Pain : Is the prospective customer experiencing a prominent business issue or challenge that requires them to make a change?
  • Power : Is the prospective customer directly involved with the decision-making process? If not, who is?
  • Money : Does our offering fall within their budget constraints?
  • Process : What's their buying process?
  • Timeline : What stage are they in the buyer’s journey? Will they purchase within a reasonable time frame?

Grow Better with Sales Strategies, Initiatives, and Templates

Every company can benefit from crafting a sales strategy plan. The free template below includes everything you’ll need to customize your strategy for your business and sales team. Regardless of what strategy you choose, always implement a buyer-first approach. Learn from these winning sales team examples, too, to grow your sales team and performance.

Editor's note: This post was originally written in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India launches Sustainability Garage

A csr initiative of mbrdi, the sustainability garage will serve as a hub for multidisciplinary research, focusing on developing eco-friendly materials with diverse applications to benefit society.

The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen near the Daimler headquarters. Photo: Reuters

Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) has launched the 'Sustainability Garage', an initiative for promoting innovation in sustainable mobility in association with Prayoga Institute of Education Research

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Mercedes-Benz launches its most affordable SUV in India: Check price here

Mercedes-benz sets eyes on smaller cities to fuel further growth, mercedes names amrit baid as head of marketing, customer experience, budget wishlist: mercedes-benz india expects long-term gst plan on evs, mercedes-benz india to hike prices of select models by up to 2% from jan 1, glenmark pharma eyes $80 mn from it's nasal spray ryaltris sales next year, gmdc approves capex of rs 3,041 cr for fy25, targets rs 800 cr this fiscal, 34% of women leave jobs over work-life balance, only 4% of men do: report, sebi orders attachment of bank, demat accounts of dhfl's ex-promoters, google's gemini ai accused of acting too 'woke', company admits mistake.

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List of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia

Number of carpet manufacturers in russia with email address, phone number, geocoded address, and other key details for download., number of carpet manufacturers, email addresses, phone numbers, with websites, smartscrapers has the most up to date and comprehensive carpet manufacturers list in russia. our lists are constantly being verified and our database is constantly being updated..

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Number of Carpet Manufacturers locations by each state/territory

How many carpet manufacturers are there in russia .

There are a total of 46 Carpet Manufacturers in Russia as of January 09, 2024 .

Download the list of 46 Carpet Manufacturers in Russia as of January 09, 2024 based on phone number, email, and both.

Number of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia with Phone Number

Number of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia with Email

Number of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia with Phone Number and Email

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Data of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia with/without Website

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Sales and Marketing Plan

    A sales and marketing plan is a document that outlines strategies for creating awareness of your product or service among a defined group of prospective buyers. It also describes pricing and distribution structures that provide the highest anticipated return on investment. A successful sales and marketing plan is based on the estimated market ...

  2. What is Sales Planning? How to Create a Sales Plan

    If you create a sales plan for business development, inbound sales, outbound sales, field sales, and so forth, you can get even more granular and specific in your goals and KPIs. ... Marketing-Alignment Sales Plan. Download Now: Free Marketing & Sales Alignment Template. In many ways, a traditional sales plan is already aligned with marketing ...

  3. How to Write a Sales and Marketing Plan

    You've addressed what you're selling and why in the products and services section. You now have an understanding of the market and an ideal customer in mind thanks to your market analysis. Now, you need to explain how you will actually reach and sell to them. The marketing and sales section of your business plan dives into how you're ...

  4. 10 Steps to Create a Complete Sales and Marketing Business Plan

    Nurture 10% more MQLs into SQLs, and ultimately, customers. Reduce your churn rates by 5% before the end of Q1. Expand your sales team with 3 people to nurture and convert leads faster — reduce time to conversion by 5 days. Increase the customer lifetime value through upsells or cross-sells by $200.

  5. Sales Plan

    Many business leaders see their sales plan as an extension of the traditional business plan. The business plan contains strategic and revenue goals across the organization, while the sales plan lays out how to achieve them. ... Collaborate with marketing: Your marketing teams live and breathe the positioning of your company. Take the time to ...

  6. How to Write a Great Business Plan: Sales and Marketing

    Evaluate your competition. Your marketing plan must set you apart from your competition, and you can't stand out unless you know your competition. (It's hard to stand out from a crowd if you don't ...

  7. How to present a sales and marketing strategy in a business plan?

    The sales and marketing section follows both the market analysis and the pricing subsections. Its main objective is to communicate to readers that you have a well-defined go-to-market strategy that will help you reach and sell to your target customers. A compelling sales and marketing section can help you convey how you plan to capture your ...

  8. How to Write a Business Plan: Guide + Examples

    Download a free one-page plan template to write a useful business plan in as little as 30-minutes. Explore over 500 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries. Try the business planning and growth tool trusted by over 1-million business owners.

  9. How to Build a Detailed Business Plan That Stands Out [Free Template]

    List your advertising channels, organic marketing methods, messaging, budget, and any relevant promotional tactics. If your company has a fully fleshed-out marketing plan, you can attach it in the appendix of your business plan. If not, download this free marketing plan template to outline your strategy.

  10. 9 Stunning Sales Business Plan Templates to Close Your Next Deal

    2. Organize the team and roles within the team. Part of the planning includes organizing a group of people that will work together to meet the goals laid out in the plan. Create a branded org chart visualizing team roles and responsibilities. Include this chart on a page in your sales plan; make it part of the process.

  11. Business Plan 101: Sales & Marketing

    February 6, 2024. The sales and marketing section of your business plan is especially crucial because it determines how you'll plan on generating profit and describes how you intend to create exposure to best sell your product. It's in this area of your business plan that you'll hone the key elements of your marketing strategy. The actual ...

  12. Business Plan Section 6: Sales and Marketing

    In this section of the plan, you're actually going to spell out how you'll market your idea, along with the specifics of how you'll get business. Sales and marketing are what will grow your business and help you achieve success. As always, keep your audience in mind. If your business plan is meant for your eyes only, or as an internal ...

  13. How to Create an Effective Sales and Marketing Plan

    Tools and methods for data collection and analysis. Brief overview of the entire sales plan, summarizing the goals, strategies, and key components. Clearly defined and measurable sales goals, such as revenue targets, market share, or customer acquisition metrics. Specific and realistic objectives for the sales team.

  14. The Best Free Business Plan Template For Individual Sales Reps

    In the automotive industry, customers are always looking for the best deal. You also have to be very visible with your marketing. Possibly one of the most important sections of your automotive sales business template, include a detailed course of action for promotional ideas and plans. 4. Territory Business Plan.

  15. Marketing and sales

    Marketing takes time, money, and preparation. One of the best ways to stay on schedule and on budget is to make a marketing plan. It describes the actions you'll take to persuade potential customers to buy your products or services. Your business plan should contain the central elements of your marketing strategy.

  16. Marketing Plan Component of Your Business Plan

    The marketing portion of a business plan addresses four main topics: product, price, promotion, and place. ... The marketing and sales plan usually includes a calendar that ties marketing and sales activities to specific operational events. For example, an advertising campaign may begin some months before a new product is ready to be sold. ...

  17. Sales & Marketing Strategy: The What, Why, and How of a ...

    A Sales and Marketing strategy provides a cornerstone for alignment - and alignment is a worthwhile goal for every B2B organization. Our own research found that 54% of Sales and Marketing ...

  18. Business Plan Sales and Marketing Strategy

    Your business plan's sales and marketing strategy section begins with a description of who your target customers are and how you intend to attract them. This is an extension of your market analysis section. Start by summarizing the characteristics of your target market. Then begin to detail your marketing plans, including your strategies for ...

  19. 6 Tips for Creating a Great Business Marketing Plan

    A focused marketing plan sets two goals. The first is to maintain engagement and customer loyalty, and the second is to capture market share within a specific audience segment of your target ...

  20. Ultimate Sales Playbook: How to Create Your Own

    Form a group that includes sales leaders, frontline sales reps, marketing experts, and customer service staff. This team should represent different aspects of the customer journey and sales process. For example, sales leaders can offer insights on overall strategy, while frontline reps can share hands-on experience with customer interactions. 2.

  21. 2024 Digital Marketing Strategy Guide

    A digital marketing strategy is a plan that gets a product or brand in front of potential customers. The goal could be to grow the brand or hit specific revenue targets. Digital marketing strategy ...

  22. How to Write a Dog Grooming Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

    8. Financial plan. The financial plan is where you provide a look into your dog grooming business's financial projections, including sales, costs, and profitability. Remember, financial forecasts are really just educated guesses created to give you a sense of how your business can be profitable over the long term.

  23. 22 Best Sales Strategies, Plans, & Initiatives for Success [Templates]

    5. Implement a free trial. Offering a free trial or freemium version of your product is a highly effective way to convert prospects. HubSpot's sales strategy report found that free trials were 76% effective followed by a freemium option with 69% effective in turning prospects into paying customers.

  24. Businesses for sale & Business funding

    Buy or Invest in a Business in Moscow. Children's book publishing house with mobile apps and digital contents seeks investment for expansion. Business loan: B2B sales consulting agency helping startups and growing companies scale their sales. For Sale: 16,000 hectares diversified farmland portfolio based in various regions in Russia. For Sale: Profitable company producing cultivated mushrooms ...

  25. Office of Governor Janet T. Mills

    Forty Maine businesses will undertake projects to market their products to new customers throughout Maine and the United States Governor Janet Mills announced today that 40 Maine businesses have been awarded $3.13 million in grants from her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to increase sales of Maine-made products across the United States.

  26. Number Of Business Networking Companies in Moscow Oblast

    List of Business Networking Companies in Moscow Oblast with email address, phone number, geocoded address, and other key details for download. Data updated on December 5, 2023 $79

  27. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India ...

    "Researchers at MBRDI are deeply engaged in ensuring sustainability as a core priority from analysing materials to design greener products or better battery chemistry to pivoting increasingly towards digital engineering processes that reduce emissions or waste," Manu Saale, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, said.

  28. Number Of Carpet Manufacturers in Russia

    Essential data for sales, marketing professionals, investors, and analysts. Strategically compiled to inform and guide your marketing and sales tactics. Leverage monthly data to refine your sales leads and marketing strategies. Stay ahead of market trends with timely, comprehensive business insights.