New sales manager role
No experience at this level before
Hands off MD who says sales must be doubled in 12 months
Constant pressure from management without any helpful input
Two new sales staff no experience with product
Where do I go to get an idea where to start a good sales plan so that the sales people can receive direction and I can be confident that what approach I take is the right one?
No experience as sales mgr I assume, but have experience in Sales, and working under a Sales Mgr.
So how were you driven / managed by former Sales Mgrs? Doesn't mean it was right, but sounds like a good place to start.
What do you know about your market. If x 2 is the goal, can the current market support it? Is your customer base wide enough and is your product range wide enough?
experience at sales but different product
I dont really believe market can support *2 sales figure.
small fish big pond, weak resources and squeezed on all sides(R&D, advertising, product development etc.)
9755 – It’s a difficult one to call. Doubling sales in a year depends on a number of factors - industry, product, typical sales cycle, the maturity of the product and customer base. A good point is to look if at all possible at their sales for the last year or two and review the following:
How many new customers did they add and what did they buy, how much did they spend
For existing customers, how much business did they account for. A good exercise is to identify those 4/5 customers that make up 80% of sales
How much of overall business was split between new and existing customers.
What product sold well and what didn’t.
What product/products accounted for the largest proportion of sales
The purpose of the above is to give you a feel for what’s working and where the business is currently concentrated from a product/customer mix. This should be the focus for investigating the potential for sales upsell. That is focus on keeping existing customers happy and look for new ways to upsell them, upgrades, etc. Also spend as much time with these customers and learn as much as you can about their business.
Another possible step is to focus on new business development. If you haven’t already, clarify how much business do they expect you to generate from new customers. Ideally, you should look to target new customers similar to ones that are currently generating strong revenues. Also, try and find out the typical sales cycle for customers who have purchased already and what products they tend to initially buy.
Once you have identified “where” your sales are going to coming from, you need to decide how you are going to engage prospective customers. This comes down to what you are selling and how complex it is. The more complex the product, the more time you are going to have to spend educating the customer and bringing them along to a sale. Also, usually the higher the level of investment the customer requires to make, the more proof of return on investment you are going to have to provide. Your presales activities should focus on educating the customer on why they should purchase your product. This is where marketing comes in. If someone else is charged with this, you should start working with them in putting together some activities.
You mention, you have 2 new sales people. Are these new roles or are they replacing existing ones. You will need to decide from a business perspective where it makes sense to focus their skills and what training they need. Sales Management is very much about motivating a team and ensuring the skillset matches what’s needed from a business perspective. For example, new business development versus account management etc.
Engage and challenge the existing management team particularly your MD. Put a plan in place outlining what you need and get their opinions on it and buy in. Don’t be afraid to challenge and question your MD, where does he see double the current business coming from. Simply having a target is not enough – you need a sound and realistic plan to get there. Once you have a plan, get as much people’s buy in and support as possible, particularly those who you will need to rely on the most when executing it. There are lots of books out there on how to put a sales plan in place but a great way to learn is to emerge yourself in learning as much aboutthe current business as possible. Your “gut” will also tell you what’s working and what isn’t.
Since you are new to management try and find a mentor or someone will support you and with whom you can bounce ideas and issues of. This can be difficult to find particularly within your place of work when you are only starting of. Possibly a former colleague, friend? Most of the time, just talking stuff out with a neutral ear will give you a sound perspective on things.
The above are only some suggestions to consider. Again it all really depends on your company’s unique position and what you are trying to sell.
Is the market you are selling into growing? If not it will be hard to double sales in one year. If you can give me a call in a year and I'll give you a job!