​You have your sales and expense plan set in stone for the upcoming year.  The commitment to grow sales volume, sell new products and better control costs are aligned.  2015 is all tucked away. You have set your 2016 travel calendar with room for improvisation.  You have noted highlights and lowlights for the past year along with a succinct lessons learned.  Now is the time to look on the horizon to plan success for the sales team.  Outline your monthly playbook for the proactive events and broadcast team events.

​January-Launch

• Report to your peers and boss what went well and didn’t.  Highlight your action plan.
• Align individual goals with your team.
• Close out prior year compensation plans and inspire rewards programs for the upcoming year.
• Visit top 25% of the territory team:
  •  to internally review sales objectives, sales action plans, personal development plans
  • to externally review company objectives to channel partners

February-Field road show

• Visit middle 50% of the territory team:
  •  to internally review sales objectives, sales action plans, personal development plans
  • to externally review company objectives to channel partners
• Reinforce this year’s sales leadership message-what will success look like!

March-Engage Product Teams

• Visit final 25% of the territory team:
  •  to internally review sales objectives, sales action plans, personal development plans
  • to externally review company objectives to channel partners
• Meet individually with all inside Product Managers or business unit heads to share product goals and programs

April-Improve Sales operational Excellence

• Hold first sales training in house with Product Teams.
• Recognize last year’s top sales performance through a quick off-site event
• Review 1Q sales performance-tweak programs as necessary for current state of business.

May-Field sales blitz

• Go on field sales calls
• Conduct customer surveys.
• Obtain the pulse of the field sales force
• Listen-report findings back to executive team.

June-Assess sales productivity

• Sales calls to house accounts/key channel partners
• Review sales talent programs-recruiting, on boarding, retention, training
• Measure, assess and improve your own sales productivity

July-Assess 1H

• 1H individual objective review
• Hold summer sales meeting-1H review
• Explore sales effectiveness improvements

August-Take a breath

• Determine special year end efforts program
• Prep for 2017 sales strategy blueprint
• Blow off some steam

September-Finish strong

• Start the next year sales budgeting program
• Rededicate the sales team to finish the year strong.  Provide encouragement.
• Hit the road Jack!

October-Start 2017 Plan

• Review compensation plans
• Finalize next year’s plans with sales team at final sales team event
• Get on IT’s radar for next year improvements
• Review 3Q results

November-Close major deals

• Joint key account visits for major pipeline projects in the pipeline to start the next year strong
• Finalize 2017 expense planning
• Meet channel partners and set next year’s objectives

December-Roll out 2017 to the field

• Finalize sales plans by territory
• Set 2017 sales priorities
• Thank partners and sales team for 2016 with a personal touch

​It’s only a rat-race for the rats-plan for the best!  Happy New Year!

I have had the good fortune of working with two great entrepreneurs-both Mike’s.  The first was prone to speeches.  He taught me about negative cash flow financing before it became fashionable.  He was the consummate relationship builder and strategist.  He also was a voracious reader that was always trying to improve his vocabulary and knowledge of history and business.  This Mike was a character-he did three start ups-the third one survived and prospered.  I think of this Mike and a broad smile comes to my face. 

The second one was the farmer in a tuxedo.  He started a business so he could pay for his kids to go to college.  I always said that I felt better after talking to him than before we started the conversation-still do.  When thinking of this Mike it brings a big over the top smile too. 

This Mike had folksy quips similar to the great business leaders that get lots of air time today:​
1.On leadership, “My job was to make sure everyone wanted to come work in the morning.”
2.Any time someone left the work place he felt bad.  “We needed that person or else we would not have had a spot for them.”
3.On a salesperson’s job, “Nobody in the factory has anything to do until we have an order.  Go make it so.”
4.On acquisitions, “if you want to buy a business be prepared to overpay for it.”
5.On diversity of all types in the workplace, “I like a mixed jar of nuts.”
6.On marketing materials, “use the finest grade paper and inks on your marketing materials and you can extract a 16% price premium.”  Mike read that somewhere and implemented it.
7.On encouraging new business development, “high profit margins hide a lot of mistakes.”
8.On vision-“Always make the company look bigger than you are today.”
9.On innovation “if I knew how hard it was going to be to launch that product I never would have done it…but I’m glad we did.”
10.On thinking out loud as a business owner, “if I make a suggestion, the next thing I know someone is in implementation mode.”  Most CEO’s embrace this type of follow through.
 
The key to learning from both was to hold firmly onto their belt loops because you knew it was going to be one heckuva ride-fun and harrowing.  Thanks Mikes!