Setting a sales strategy may sound easy and maybe it is also easy making up the strategy. However, the real sales part is always the toughest. Anyhow, you should definitely make up a sales strategy.
Before making a good sales strategy you need to have been through a good business intelligence process which you can read more about in that the Business Intelligence section. Here you need to start by analyzing your customers
Define key accounts
How do you define your key accounts? Key account is something that your hear often in sales as nobody want to be “sales rep” but rather “key account manager” There is probably written many great books on this topic and the goal here is just to come with a few low practical approaches. A key account is obviously something that is key to your business. Maybe as measured in pure topline revenue, profit or maybe stability of business.
Define cash cows
Within your key accounts you should have your cash cows and many will probably define key accounts like cash cows. As with key accounts make sure that your cash cows are well taken care of. Moreover, try to analyze how you can maybe upsell, get additional business with these good customers. This is usually much easier than finding new business.
Define high maintenance low revenue customers
Define what you can develop and what you should maybe try to let go based upon complexity vs. revenue/profit. Some potential customers will take a great deal of your time and focus without ever materializing into actual revenue. In the same manner probably a lot of customers will generate very limited revenue but take a lot of time and focus to deal with. Assess where you time is most well spent.
Define some simple goals
For most people myself included it is very important to have some tangible goals and I like to set these between hard and soft goals. Either way I would say that you need both. By hard goals this would often be some kind of sales number as measured in revenue. Obviously it could also be units of a given product or a particular client that you deem a “must win battle”. The soft goals could be that you have set up X number of meeting with potential customers that you define or something similar. The hard and soft goals should compliment each other and soft goals are important to motivate when entering new business areas where revenue is only in the horizon.
Define how to develop sales force
A few lines on how you can develop your sales force let it be internal or external. I would say that if you make a good sales strategy with some good goals you will almost be there. You need to motive sales force and it must be fun most of the time as tough as selling is. Achieving goals will be usually be self-motivating but obviously a good leader must lead by good initiative. Showing the way. Giving kudos and incentives are definitely tools to be employed too. Incentives could be anything from bonus payout to exciting business travel, training courses etc.
Putting it all together
All these analyses should help you to come up with a simple prioritized action plan, a sales strategy on what to do. What to focus on and what not. Even though you could say that this sort of process is maybe performed once year in a bigger format during budget time it should not be static plan. It is important to constantly evaluate and adjust accordingly.
As a separate note then I cannot stress enough that you should make sure that you are always on top of your key accounts. Be in close contact with key accounts. Make sure that they are happy and if they are not make sure you know why so you can try to adjust accordingly. There should be no excuse for not knowing why you potentially best clients are not happy. When you feel that you are on top of existing business go chase down new business!