How To Create A Sales Plan Template

Whether you run a restaurant, a catering business, a retail store, or a call center, your ultimate goal is to make more money. For some businesses, that may mean gaining more clients. For others, it may mean controlling spending. But how, exactly, are you going to achieve those things?

The experts at Sling are here to help. In this article, we’ll show you how to create a sales plan template so you can achieve all your interim goals on the way to making your business a success.

Manager writing down ideas for a sales plan template

The Parts Of A Sales Plan Template

Part 1: Target Customers Or Organizations

In this section, list every aspect of your target demographic. Include information such as:

A description of your best customers
A description of your ideal customer
Customer data
Relevant job titles
Habits
Common memberships and clubs

Don’t be afraid to drill down and get specific. The better you know your target customer the more favorably you’ll be able to approach them.

Part 2: Sales Objectives

Base all your sales objectives on the acronym SMART, which stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timed

It’s vital that your objectives satisfy these five criteria, or they will be more difficult to achieve. Here’s an explanation of each category.

Specific—Don’t just set a goal to make more money. Be specific and set a goal to make a certain amount of money doing x, y, and z.
Measurable—It’s not enough to say, “I feel like our customer service has improved.” You need the numbers to prove it.
Attainable—It doesn’t do any good to set pie-in-the-sky objectives like, “Make a million dollars in one month.” Your goals should be attainable for your business.
Relevant—This one depends on the type of business you run. If you manage a restaurant, for example, producing a white paper about restaurant trends isn’t going to pull in more customers. But setting a goal to host a quarterly wine tasting with at least 50 guests is relevant to your target audience.
Timed—Set a start and end date for each objective, and then do your best to complete it in that time period.

When your objectives and goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timed, it will be much easier to tell if your team is accomplishing them over the long-run.

Part 3: Strategies & Tactics

In this section, focus your efforts on defining:

The strategies you’ll use (e.g., increase rate of customer walk-in and expand repeat business)
The tactics you’ll employ to get there (e.g., improve front-facing advertising and offer coupons on first visit)

This information will define how you move forward to achieve your goals. When considering your strategies and tactics, divide your efforts into two categories:

Acquisition of new business
Growth of existing business

That way, you can maximize your efforts on two different fronts.

Part 4: Tools & Systems

Here you should list any tools and systems you’ll need to support the strategies and tactics listed in part three. Common tools include:

Customer resource/relationship management (CRM) software
Phone system
Email
Push notifications
Scheduling software
Labor cost calculator
Time clock

And if you can find a software suite that satisfies a majority your needs, chances are it will be easier to use than separate apps that only perform one task. Sling, for example, bundles the last four tools into one system.

Because Sling is an integrated cloud-based platform, it’s easy to schedule, communicate, organize, and manage team members as well as track hours and calculate labor costs with just a few clicks or taps.

Part 5: Metrics

Metrics are the numbers by which you measure your progress toward achieving your goals. Common sales metrics include:

Projected value of each customer
Conversion rate for each stage in your selling process
Reasons why you may lose customers
How long it takes for a lead to turn into a customer

Your business will have its own unique set of metrics that will govern success and failure. Set as many metrics as possible to keep your team on track and engaged in reaching the objectives.

Part 6: Resources & Budget

In this section, list all costs associated with the tools, systems, strategies, and tactics necessary to reach your goals. Common costs include:

Salaries
Software costs
Hardware costs
Subscriptions (the Sling app is free for teams of up to 50!)
Communications tools (Sling has powerful communication features built in.)
Travel expenses
Supply costs
Inventory

As with the metrics in part five, your business will have its own unique set of costs. List as many as possible in order to get a complete picture of what it will take to achieve your objectives.

Part 7: Team Structure

Part seven is all about the team that will have a role in your sales plan. List the following information:

Team member name
Job title
Responsibility
Key performance indicators (KPI)
How they can make the sales plan run smoothly
Person to whom each team member reports

Depending on the size of your team, you may include less or more information as you feel necessary.

Review And Update Your Sales Plan Template Often

Woman reviewing her company's sales plan template

Once you’ve written your sales plan template, don’t file it in a drawer and forget about it. Review your sales plan every two or three months to track your progress. You should also update the plan as time goes by to ensure that your team stays focused on achieving your ultimate goals.

For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.

Free Sales Plan Template

<BEGIN TEMPLATE>

[Insert Company Name Here] Sales Plan

[Insert Start & End Date] [Author Name] (Optional)

[Insert Contributor Names] (Optional)

[Insert Date Last Updated]

Part 1: Target Customers Or Organizations

Males and females
Ages 20-45
Have no children or have grown children
Willing to spend money on quality food and atmosphere
Alcohol sales a necessity

Part 2: Sales Objectives

Increase revenue 33 percent over the next six months by adding one new customer per month.
Increase number of customers served between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Have all team members report for their assigned shifts on time.
Host a quarterly wine tasting with at least 50 guests.
Upsell the dessert course to at least one person by closing time each day.

Part 3: Strategies & Tactics

New business: increase rate of customer walk-in by improving front-facing advertising.
Existing business: Improve customer repeat business by offering coupons on first visit.

Part 4: Tools & Systems

Sling scheduling software
Sling time clock software
Sling labor tracking software
Existing phone system
Sling for push notifications

Part 5: Metrics

Projected value of each customer: $50
Conversion rate for each stage in selling process: 1 month
Reasons why you lose customers: Not enough engagement
How long it takes for a lead to turn into a customer: 2 weeks

Part 6: Resources & Budget

Employee salaries
Sling: Free
Upgrade computer: $1000
Subscriptions
Communication tools
Supply costs: $500 per month

Part 7: Team Structure

Employee: Scarlett Fox
Title: Bar Manager
Duty: Ensure smooth operation of bar facilities
Key KPI: Daily sales
Reports to: Restaurant Manager

<END TEMPLATE>

See Here For Last Updated Dates: Link

This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for specific advice.

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