Nearly every business niche involves sales in some form—although the skills necessary to run certain businesses or be successful in these niches are different from others, there is no doubt that having successful and honed sales skills is a benefit to businesspeople of all levels in all organizations. The good news is that sales skills can be learned; they are not limited to people who are “born salesmen” by any means (Abrams). Instead, sales skills can be learned just like any other skill—with lots of practice and a good understanding of the end goal (Krizan).
The underlying structure of any successful sales plan is the goal. Once the goal is understood, a more complete plan can be created. However, many people skip the crucial step of goal-setting by choosing goals that are too broad or too long-term. Goals for any sales plan should be measurable and achievable (Zimmerer, Scarborough, and Wilson). This does not mean that there cannot also be long-term goals; however, it is important to be able to see small successes that lead to larger successes along the way.
Once the goals for the plan are set, the tactics must be determined. Of course, tactics will vary based on industry and the needs of the organization. If there are skills that an individual needs to learn, the steps to learning these skills must be broken down as well—learning new things and acquiring new talents is often not as complex as one thinks, as long as the process is broken down into appropriately-sized pieces. Like the goals, tactics used to meet objectives should be quantifiable in some way. An excellent way to keep goals and tactics manageable is to use figures and numerical goal-setting strategies to keep the individuals using the sales plan accountable.
Works Cited
Abrams, Rhonda. The successful business plan: secrets & strategies. The Planning Shop, 2003.
Krizan, A. C. Business Communication. Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western, 2008. Print.
Zimmerer, Thomas, Norman M. Scarborough, and Doug Wilson. Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
