Action plan for a new salesperson. How to organize sales training for newbies

Today, there is an urgent need to train sales managers, but it should be borne in mind that the passage of any one training is unlikely to increase the effectiveness of their work for a long time. To achieve sustainable sales growth, you need a systematic approach. Sales manager training should be carried out in stages, in accordance with a pre-planned plan.

Why a systematic approach to learning is needed

If you want to achieve serious results, then you need to approach training systematically, because:

• At one training, only sales skills are analyzed.
• A series of trainings is required to introduce and develop the skills.
• To form a habit, it is important to organize a control system.
• If difficulties arise, the training program should be adjusted.
• At all stages of training, performance should be monitored.

3.3. - 1 day.

1. Practice:

4.1. The beginning of daily practice at work.

4.2. Development of own individual "chips".

1. Result evaluation:

5.1. Checking the skills of a new employee.

5.2. Conducting tests.

Also, in addition to an intensive training program, the plan can include the stages of a daily professional development: analysis of one's own actions, watching free video trainings, reading useful literature (books, articles). Only such an integrated approach will achieve good results.

Did you grow up to the head of the department, or did your business grow and the question of training the sales department staff arose?

Let's see how to do it. First answer the question: have you already given people who will work as sales managers in your department, or do you need them? If you were given people, then everything is bad. Well, not as bad as you thought. But it's better when you recruit managers yourself. Let me explain how this relates to the training of the department.

1. Which is better - the old or the new department?

In the market, sellers are taught anyhow and anything. Only a small part of salespeople achieve real skills after training. Therefore, if you want your managers to really sell, you need to teach them from scratch., oblivious to the scraps of knowledge they have. The ideal situation is when you can recruit managers yourself without work experience and training experience, because in an empty head you will put exactly the knowledge that is needed for sales.

If you end up with existing managers, you can amplify the learning effect by saying that only those who are successful will stay on. will pass the course. In the process of learning itself, look at people and decide if they will be of any use. Of course, you can test the existing knowledge of managers, break it down by levels and conduct training in those areas that are important for a particular group of employees. But this is difficult and ineffective, because a complete system of knowledge about sales is not created.

2. Who should train the sales team?

Looking for a new coach? Use the services of an internal trainer for training, or send a person to study on one of those hundreds of courses that the Internet is full of?

Answer a few questions:

• Do you want to train sales managers to sell in general, or teach them how to sell a specific product or service?
• Do you want managers from the department to increase sales after training, or to know the theory of sales?
• Do you want them to have knowledge of hundreds of tricks in different markets, or do you want them to automatically develop specific skills that they will use?

Do these questions seem stupid to you? To be honest, me too. Then explain why 90% corporate trainings in sales as if people don't know the right answers to these questions?

3. What is most sales training?

A specialist comes for 1-3 days. He tells the theory of sales and says: “Well, how you use my knowledge is up to you.” With the same success, one could buy employees from a sales book. It might have made more sense, because after the book, you wouldn't expect sales to explode. Find effective trainings in sales, which are aimed at obtaining and practical consolidation of sales skills, you can.

4. What is the main task of training a sales manager?

Tell the classic sales theory?
How do super-efficient salespeople sell?
Show a super motivating video from the sales movies "Boiler Room" or "Wall Street"?
Play one role-playing game with a product that has nothing to do with your product?
All this is great, but none of these elements will help the sales manager learn how to sell a particular product.
Sales will only be helped by specific skills developed for a specific manager, on a specific product, with a specific type of customer.

5. To organize effective training for the sales department, you need to:

• test managers and identify their individual characteristics;
• study the product in the context of sales;
• study the portrait of clients with whom managers will have to work;
• talk about the skills that may be needed in sales;
• create an individual sales style for each manager;
• to develop to automatism the skills corresponding to individual style;
• control the use of skills in sales;
• make adjustments during this process.

You must understand that sales training is not a one-time job, but an ongoing process. First, sales managers are the most fluid contingent. You must put up with this if you do not plan to create the best conditions for them on the market. Therefore, you will have to train someone constantly. Secondly, any information is forgotten without being used, even the most interesting and important. And how to control whether the manager uses this information? That's right: you need to go to a meeting with each manager at least once every two weeks. Analyze his weaknesses and in the next stage teach what he does not succeed.

Can it be done in 1, 2 or 3 days? Never. If you need training for the sales department not just for show, you need to develop a unique training system that will contain theory, practical application of this theory and skill development, taking into account individual features manager . I will talk about how to draw up a system or training program for the sales department in the process of work in the article ""

Hello! In this article, we will talk about how to create a sales plan.

Today you will learn:

• Why do you need a sales plan?
• How to calculate and arrange it;
• How do you get your employees to stick to the plan?

Why you need a sales plan

Do you need a sales plan for your business? The answer is unequivocal - yes. And not only for those who sell specific goods, but also for service workers, it is also simply necessary.

1. For the organization of work. The enterprise should function as a well-established mechanism, when each employee has a goal for his work and knows what he must do in order to achieve it. Employees should have clear ideas about what awaits them after the implementation or failure of the sales plan.
2. To increase profit. Try to transfer the seller from the fixed wages on the minimum wage and the bonus for the implementation of the plan, and you will see how the employee's motivation will affect the company's income.
3. For development. fades if it stays in one place. Setting a goal and achieving it is the task of a successful entrepreneur. Otherwise, he will be overtaken and "crushed" by more ambitious businessmen.

Types of planning

At the heart of any sales plan is an understanding of the minimum and maximum quantities a company must sell in order to exist.

The most important for start-up entrepreneurs is the minimum allowable value, it means a “bottom”, below which it is no longer possible to function. For companies that have embarked on the path of growth and development, it is more important to achieve maximum plans.

There are several types of planning:

• Prospective - long-term strategy for 5-10 years;
• Current - is developed for a year, clarifies and corrects the indicators of long-term planning;
• Operational and production - tasks are divided into shorter segments (quarter, month, etc.).

Rules for creating a sales plan

The volume of possible sales depends on many factors. When creating a plan, you need to take into account all the points that are important for your field.

For example, these could be:

• seasonality;
• Dynamics of development and trends in the market;
• Reasons for the decline in past periods;
• Changes in politics, economics and legislation;
• Change of assortment and prices;
• Sales channels and potential buyers;
• Employees;
• Advertising.

The procedure for developing a sales plan

A full annual plan, based on in-depth analysis, is created over several months.

To get an adequate result and not miss anything, you need to:

1. Analyze trends in politics and macroeconomics. How is the country's GDP changing? What happens to oil and gas prices and exchange rates? It would not be superfluous to get acquainted with the opinions of experts, leading economic media.
2. Study the market situation. Will demand increase or decrease? Have new competitors and potential customers emerged?
3. Display sales statistics for past periods. For the year in general and for each month in particular.
4. Analyze the causes of recession and growth. This may be seasonality, changes in company policy, a new assortment, personnel changes. When planning for next year, be sure to rely on significant moments.
5. Compile sales statistics separately for salespeople and departments. Focusing on leaders will be too optimistic, but try to bring the average value closer to them.
6. Build a base of loyal customers. How much profit do they bring, how often and for what goods do they come? Of course, this stage does not apply to companies focused on one-off sales.
7. Set a goal. Based on the analysis made earlier, it is already possible to imagine what sales were last year, and how much they can be increased in the future. It is better to set two goals: feasible and ideal. It is the presence of the second that will remind you that you should not stop there.
8. Discuss the plan with subordinates. Set deadlines and personal instructions.
9. Create a budget. Having a clear sales plan, it is easier to calculate how much you will have to spend on purchases, advertising, and employee bonuses.

Sales plan calculation methods

When calculating planned sales, you can use the following methods:

1. Subjective: surveys, questionnaires, decisions based on the entrepreneur's experience;
2. Objective: test sales, analysis of early periods, demand statistics.

There is no universal method for developing a sales plan for any company. Each company chooses its own way, based on the needs and characteristics of the activity.

There are many methods, but it is not necessary to know them all. It is enough to select a few suitable certain business and use them in combination.

Let us consider in more detail several basic methods used in calculating the sales plan.

Method	Advantages	Flaws	Short description
Analysis of customer expectations	Assessment and detailed information about the product comes from potential consumers. Effective for new products	There may be errors in determining the group of buyers. Dependence on the accuracy of estimates	Polls of potential buyers are used to evaluate the product
Staff opinion	Accuracy	Low objectivity	The plan is based on the opinion of the sellers
Collective opinion of leaders	Simple and fast	Collective responsibility	The assessment of managers is averaged, and if there are strong disagreements, a discussion is held
Delphi method	The most objective of subjective methods, the influence of group opinion is minimized	Long and relatively expensive	Company executives (or other employees) each make their own sales forecast (by product and period) and pass it on to an expert. He generates an anonymous summary and distributes it again to the study participants, who study it and come up with a new prediction. This continues until all disagreements are ironed out.
Market test	Full test of consumer reaction to the product and evaluation	Openness to competitors, long and expensive	Test sales of the product are carried out in various regions
Time series analysis	Objectively and cheaply	The method is difficult to implement, does not take into account the impact of marketing campaigns, and is not suitable for new products.	It is divided into three types: moving average, exponential smoothing, decomposition
Statistical demand analysis	Objective and understandable result, allows you to identify hidden factors affecting sales	The most complex and time-consuming method	The forecast is made on the basis of all factors affecting sales (economic indices, currency fluctuations, and others)

Time series analysis

moving average

Using the moving average method, projected sales in the future period will be equal to sales for past periods of time. This does not take into account any other factors. The more periods are taken into account, the more accurate the forecast will be, which is why this method is not effective for young companies.

Example. The stationery store sold 2,700 ballpoint pens in 2016, 3,140 in 2015, and 2,900 in 2014. Forecast for 2017: (2700+3140+2900)/3=2910.

Exponential Smoothing

A method for creating short-term forecasts based on historical data analysis. Convenient for predicting development retail sales. Allows you to calculate how much goods will be needed in the next similar period (month, week).

The smoothing constant (CS) can be from 0 to 1. With an average sales level, it is 0.2-0.4, and during growth (for example, holidays) - 0.7-0.9. The most appropriate value of the COP is determined empirically - the value with the smallest error for the past periods is selected.

Formula:CV * Actual demand for the current period + (1-CV) * Forecast for the current period.

Example. During the month, 640 notebooks were sold in the stationery store, while the previous forecast was 610, SC - 0.3. Forecast for the next month: 0.3*640 + (1-0.3)*610= 619.

Decomposition and seasonal factor

The decomposition consists of seasonality, trend and cyclicality. In practice, many entrepreneurs stop at applying the seasonality factor. It is used when creating a sales plan based on historical income for an enterprise whose turnover is seasonal.

Step 1. Determination of seasonal dynamics. A clear numerical indicator here will be the seasonality coefficient.

1. Take the total sales for last year and divide it by 12. Thus, you will get the average monthly value.
2. The amount of sales for each month of the billing year divided by the average.

Example. Over the past year, the store carried out sales of 850,000 rubles. Of these, 44,000 in January, 50,000 in February, and so on. The average monthly value is 850000/12 = 70,830 rubles. January seasonality coefficient: 44000/70830=0.62, for February: 50000/70830=0.71.

As a result, each month will receive its own coefficient. For reliability, it is worth calculating such coefficients for the past few years and leaving for further action their average value.

Step 2. Determine the goal. For example, you set a goal to increase sales by 20%. The calculation is simple: you need to add 20% to the amount of sales for the last year.

850000+20% = 1,020,000 rubles

Step 3. Make a sales plan for the month. The general plan for the year will be further divided into smaller periods - in our example, these are months.

1. Divide your yearly goal by 12 to get the average plan for the month.
2. Multiply the average plan by the seasonal factor for each month.

Example. Average monthly plan: 1,020,000/12 = 85,000 rubles. Plan for January: 85,000 * 0.62 = 52,700 rubles, plan for February: 85,000 * 0.71 = 60,350 rubles.

The result will be a sales plan for each month. If the monthly plan is met, then the overall goal of increasing sales for the year will also be achieved. It is much easier to monitor the implementation of the plan for small time periods, and take prompt measures than to try to catch up with the goal in the last months of the year.

Making a sales plan

The sales plan as a document consists of several items.

We list all the main ones in order:

1. A header consisting of a title (“Department sales plan ....”) and an indication of the author (“Composed by ...”, then the position and full name of the person who compiled the plan).
2. The first point is employees and achievements. Here it is worth listing all the employees of the department, indicating the need for new personnel, if any, and also mentioning key achievements over the past period.
3. The second point is the results of the last period. For clarity, you can include in the document a graph of growth and decline in sales, bring the totals not only for the department as a whole, but also for each employee in particular, indicate in percentage terms how much the previous plan was overfulfilled or underfulfilled.
4. The third point is a plan for the future. The amount of the plan is indicated, the main planned transactions are listed, customers who are already ready to conclude a contract and other points that provide a guarantee of profit in the new period.
5. The fourth point is the necessary measures. Further, we are talking about the actions that have yet to be performed to achieve the goal. It could be change pricing policy, promotions, updating the technical base of the company and many others.
6. Date and signatures of the managers who approved the plan.

All employees of the company should familiarize themselves with the resulting document. Only after collective discussion and approval can the plan be officially recognized as a “compass” by which the company will move in the new year, quarter or month.

Structuring the plan

A sales plan is a map for the development of any business that sells goods or services. Without this map, the business runs the risk of getting lost, going in circles, or even moving in the opposite direction. And the more detailed the map, the easier it is for the traveler not to go astray.

Based on the features, set goals in several directions at once:

• Share of regional and macro market;
• Overall sales volume;
• financial profit.

Break each large plan into smaller ones if possible. For each direction, product, number of customers, and so on, depending on your business.

The larger the company, the more plans will have to be made. In addition to the general sales plan common to all employees, each branch, division, department, manager and simple salesperson should have their own goals.

Such a detailed plan is necessary for every enterprise.

Ideally, the structuring of the plan should take place along all available sections:

• Regions (where and how much will be sold);
• Sellers (who will sell and how much);
• Goods (how much will be sold);
• Time (when and how much will be sold);
• Sales channels (to whom and how much will be sold);
• The nature of sales (how many sales are guaranteed and how many are planned).

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1. Sales forecast instead of a plan. The forecast may be part of the sales plan, but cannot replace it in any way. The forecast only describes a situation that may or may not develop in the future.

The plan contains a description of the goal to be achieved, and the conditions that will need to be met for this. It implies a set of certain tools with which the result will be achieved: promotions, employee training, price reduction.

Mistake 2. The plan is built on the basis of only last year's achievements. The analysis of the sales plan should take into account all the important factors. It is unacceptable to discount the economic situation in the country and region, competitors, new technologies and other changes that will certainly affect sales.

Mistake 3.Combining all buyers into one. Even the smallest trade enterprises there are certain groups of buyers. They can be combined according to various criteria: buying one category of goods, regular customers or new customers making random purchases in point of sale or who found your products on the Internet. When forming a plan, you need to consider what you can offer each of the groups, and what you can get in return.

Error 4. The plan does not indicate the deadlines and responsible persons. In terms of sales, everything should be clear: what is the goal, when it must be completed, by whom and at the expense of what tools.

Mistake 5. The plan is not structured enough. Mine individual plan should be at each department and the seller in particular. Agree that when there is no own plan, the temptation is too great to lay all the responsibility on colleagues.

Mistake 6. The plan was not discussed with the sellers. A plan will never be worked out to the end if it was compiled by one manager, guided only by reports and charts. Front line salespeople should at a minimum be able to discuss the plan with management, and even better be directly involved in the creation of the sales plan.

Be sure that you made the plan correctly if at the end of the period it was completed by 85-105%.

How to get the plan done

It's one thing to make a plan for yourself. This can be done by an entrepreneur seeking to increase profits or a manager aimed at career growth.

But the situation with plans for subordinates is completely different. It is not necessary to punish in the strictest way for each failure to fulfill the sales plan and keep employees in a tight grip - this is ineffective.

Better listen to the advice of experienced entrepreneurs:

1. Briefly, but as fully as possible, formulate what you want from your employees. It is better to convey this to them in writing.
2. Incentivize financially. The best workers worthy of an award.
3. Set bonuses not only for 100% completion, but also for each overcoming of a certain minimum threshold (for example, 60%). Although the worker did not fulfill the plan, it is clear that he tried.
4. Penalize for systematic violations.
5. The entire vertical of employees (from an ordinary seller to a top manager) should be financially dependent on the implementation of plans.
6. Respect and value your employees and strive to ensure that they love their place of work and are interested in the development and prosperity of the company.

The organization of the work of sales managers implies the following:

• managers understand the stages of the sales business process in your company, moving the deal from one stage of the funnel to another,
• the work of the staff is strictly controlled by the heads of the sales department and is in accordance with the goals set,
• your employees fit a specific skill model.

In this regard, you should focus on the following actions:

Description of the business process with all intermediate stages and milestones. The resulting model must then be implemented and configured in .

Conducting meetings with employees using SMART technology and bringing personal goals of employees in accordance with common goals companies.

Control employees with an intermediate reporting system.

Training of employees in negotiation techniques and preparation of trainings on the sales business process.

Organization of the work of managers: stages of the sales process

If the sales process in your company is not formalized, then it is necessary to carry out preliminary work. This is the first and most important step in organizing the work of managers. Therefore, you need:

1. Identify your sales stages in accordance with the specifics of the business segment and industry;
2. Discuss the resulting model with ROPs and sales managers for the purpose of initial correction;
3. Implement business process in CRM;
4. Test the business process in real conditions;
5. Adjust the business process model based on the results of testing "in the field";
6. Approve the final business process model;
7. Introduce interim reporting to control the movement of transactions by stages in the context of each sales manager;
8. Control the transitions of transactions from stage to stage and work with problem areas.

We have looked at the essential ingredients for effective organization managers' work. Obviously, employees in the sales department must always stay within the framework of a streamlined business process, work for a result that is measurable and controllable, and constantly learn negotiation skills as part of corporate trainings.

The genre, the manner in which advice to novice managers is written, is a kind of revelation of a manager who at least once faced hiring, training and working with sales managers. Having read the tips at the beginning of a career path, a sales manager will be able to bypass many of the "sharp corners" of professional development. The instruction is recommended for reading to every novice manager who seeks to increase his efficiency.

So, "practical advice" to novice sales managers who claim the title of "EFFICIENT MANAGER":

• Work is not a wolf, it will not run away into the forest! Do not rush to do the current work, postpone it "for later"! Mind your own business, accumulate "turnover". Why rush? Then do all the work in one fell swoop on the last day! And if it doesn’t work out, so ... with her! You are not a horse!
• When holding meetings, do not set any goals or objectives for your subordinates. Better drink coffee with them, talk "for life", discuss your "bosses". Be "your boyfriend", managers love it!!!
• When the manager sets you goals and plans for sales, answer quickly and without hesitation: “It’s impossible!”, “They won’t buy from us!” Don't even try! Why do you need to get on your nerves? You are not a business owner! You do not bear any risks or losses!
• When prioritizing in working time Always put your own problems first. It’s better to pretend that you don’t feel well, and in the meantime drive to the dacha, to the store, call all your friends, get into “classmates”, dating sites, etc. And put the priorities of the company "in the tail."
• Do not fill out any work plans for the month/week/day ahead and, especially, reports on the fact of the past day, because to fill them out you still have to think hard, “What did I manage to do at work today?”. You will lose half a day of your life on creativity! Moreover, the boss can also check what was written! And you don’t need such strict control - you have a lot of your own things to do !!! You are insanely busy - "work work." Make it clear to the leader!
• Be smarter!!! Pull your bosses more often - let them take the rap for you at a meeting, let them work, nonsense, what on previous meeting You mumbled something indistinctly, now let them take the rap for you!!! Look for excuses, because you were most likely overloaded with work, reports, vague tasks and thus were not allowed to show good results, to prove yourself. EVERYONE is to blame, but not you!
• Often complain among your acquaintances and friends that everything in your company is “not like in normal / good / right companies!”. Complain, because it is strange that the director does not want to pay you for the fact that you just go to work! The “strange leader” wants you, moreover, not only to give results, but also to engage in your education and self-development! The management requires the implementation of sales plans ....

DO YOU NEED IT?!

THOSE WHO HAVE DECIDED TO LEAVE THEIR PLACE OF WORK IN THE NEAREST FUTURE, DO EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND NOT OTHERWISE!!!

The same who really interested in work, money, career, we suggest proceeding to further reading " practical advice for effective managers.

After all effective manager- this is just the manager who takes on what he has to do and brings the work he has started to the end, who creates the conditions that motivate the team to achieve the goals set, who achieves the planned sales plan!

Force yourself to manage yourself! So:

1. Do not put off "for later" the implementation of the current work. The accumulated work eats up your time, annoys you and your management, leads to poor results when performing other tasks. Clearly define each day: what work should be done now, what - today, and what after the completion of all other tasks.

2. Make it a rule every day:

• Read email carefully. mail every day, but not earlier than 16.00 (not from morning to evening or during breaks, chewing something along the way).
• Complete the tasks assigned to you before you leave home. Finish the implementation of the planned plan for the day and calmly leave! Any leader will see this and will certainly appreciate it, and the result will not keep you waiting long!

3. Start by planning workflows for yourself. Make your work plan for the day, week, month. Enter in it:

• days and times for office work with documents and mail;

• convenient time for your meetings;

• initiate meetings with executives;

• plan the development and study of new products;

• plan preparations for meetings, etc.

4. Send your work plan to your supervisor. Let him see that you work as an EFFICIENT MANAGER!

5. Start keeping a “report on the fact of work performed” for yourself “in a box”, in which every day, at the end of the working day, you can reflect your actions, set yourself a performance grade and evaluate the time spent on this or that work.

6. Submit your weekly progress report to your manager. He will certainly evaluate your progress and give feedback in the mode of "analysis of the results of the work done: goals - tasks - questions for discussion." Feedback from your manager in any case will be useful to you.

7. Be demanding of yourself! Make sure you complete your assigned tasks! This is the responsibility of the manager!

8. Don't pull your bosses over small things. The formula for addressing the manager should be: “I have such a problem/question…. I see the following solutions to the problem:

Please tell me what to do, what solution to the problem / question to choose? Thus, you will demonstrate: firstly, your desire to solve this problem yourself; secondly, respect for the leader's time.

This instruction was created in a comic form, but, as they say: "in every joke there is some truth", and here it is not small ...

We hope that our brief training manual will serve as a good instruction for novice managers in improving their work skills and will allow them to move one step forward towards the title of EFFECTIVE MANAGER!!!