Sales department development plan. How to create a strategic business development plan

SALES DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT: EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTROL TOOLS
Skriptunova E.A.
"Sales Management" October 2007

It has long been noted that the best salesman does not always become a good head of the sales department. A good boss is not one who knows how to sell well himself, but one whose subordinates sell well. The sales process and the sales management process are two different processes, requiring different abilities, knowledge and skills, organized differently, having different evaluation criteria. This article is addressed to sales department managers, both beginners and experienced ones. It's about about how to place department management at a high level and ensure that this level is maintained.

In any case, the process of organizing or optimizing the work of the department should begin with an audit of all cases. The audit must be carried out upon taking up a position and then repeated annually, preferably at the same time (for example, during a seasonal decline in sales).

It is necessary to audit 4 groups of factors:

• goals and objectives of the department and criteria for their achievement
• sales processes and their documentation
• current department management tools and their effectiveness
• compliance of personnel with requirements arising from the goals and objectives of the department

Let's take a closer look at each group of factors.

Goals and objectives of the department and criteria for their achievement

Building an effectively working sales department begins with defining the goals and objectives of the department, describing desired results activities. Ideally, the goals of the sales department should flow from the company's marketing strategy.

For example, pharmaceutical company developed the following marketing strategy:

1. Market positioning – manufacturer of unique pharmaceuticals. Advertising and PR - the main emphasis is on our own production, our own scientific developments and the ability to guarantee quality. The main way of promotion is participation in exhibitions and conferences.
2. Ensuring an increase in sales volumes by 20% and sales profitability by 5% by adjusting the assortment policy (item 3), sales policy (items 4-5), payment terms for customers (item 6).
3. The priority is the sale of pharmaceuticals of our own production (60% of sales volume and 80% of total profit). Supporting areas: purchasing and sales imported medicines(30% of sales volume and 10% of profit) and related products (10% of sales volume and 10% of profit).
4. Target clients: government agencies(clinics, hospitals, etc.), dealers.
5. Development of the distribution system (sales channels): opening of our own representative offices in large regions, 2-3 representative offices per year. After opening a representative office in the region, small clients are transferred to the representative office for service.
6. It is necessary to reduce the volume and timing of accounts receivable by introducing a flexible system: discounts for prepayment, a progressive scale of premiums for deferring payments for more than 20 days.

Based on this strategy, the following goals and objectives for the year can be set for the sales department:

1. Increase sales volume by 20%.
2. Increase the sales volume of pharmaceuticals of own production by 10%.
3. Increase sales of highly profitable items of your own production by 30%.
4. Ensure the participation of sales managers in exhibitions and conferences and provide appropriate training.
5. Work out the mechanism for working on government orders, including unifying tender documentation.
6. Develop a plan for opening representative offices for the next 3 years.
7. Open a representative office in Novosibirsk and Nizhny Novgorod.
8. Work out a mechanism for redistributing clients between managers after opening a representative office.
9. Develop and implement a system of discounts and allowances, including for payment terms and purchase volumes.
10. Optimize the motivation system for sales managers. Include a progressive percentage scale for sales volume and progressive penalties for receivables over 20 days old.

Accordingly, the criteria for assessing the work of the department will be as follows:

1. Dynamics of sales volume in general.
2. Dynamics of the share of domestically produced pharmaceuticals in total volume sales
3. Dynamics of profitability of sales in general.
4. Dynamics of sales profitability by main product groups.
5. Dynamics of average terms and volumes of receivables.
6. Opening of representative offices according to plan and budget.
7. Deadlines for preparing tender documentation for government tenders (no violation of deadlines and, as a result, non-participation in the tender).

If the company has not developed (or is not documented) a marketing strategy, the task of the head of the sales department is to obtain the necessary data to formulate goals from his managers (commercial director or general director).

At a minimum, the following targets should be identified:

• Desired sales volume for the company as a whole.
• Priorities in various areas (product groups, territorial markets, customer groups), desired shares of various areas in total sales.
• Desired level of marginal profit, in%.
• Desired level of net profit, in rubles or other currencies.
• Desired (maximum possible) level of receivables (in terms of volume and timing), including overdue receivables.
• Desired (maximum possible) level of warehouse age (in days) and warehouse size (in physical terms or in rubles or other currencies).

The sales manager should interview his managers and ask the necessary questions. When conducting an interview, the head of the sales department should have on hand analytics on all indicators of interest to him for several, preferably at least three, previous years. By analyzing the dynamics of sales and other indicators, you can develop more realistic goals. It is likely that not all of the listed targets are relevant for a particular company, but it will not hurt to clarify the situation in any case.

Next, the obtained target indicators must be compared with current state affairs and, based on this information, formulate the goals and objectives of the department for the year. After all, if, for example, it is necessary to increase sales by 20%, then perhaps no dramatic changes in the activities of the department, you can not plan, but simply intensify efforts, which is called “cleaning up the tails.” If the task is to double sales, then it is impossible to do without serious transformations, including the development of new distribution channels or, for example, a radical change in the assortment.

It is worth keeping in mind that the lack of regular audits of the goals and objectives of the sales department leads to the fact that sales in the company turn into a routine, long-established operation. Which inevitably, even under other favorable conditions, after a few years leads to a serious drop in sales volumes. If there is some sudden change in the market (for example, the entry of a new major player, the appearance of a substitute product, a change in fashion, etc.), then there is not just a drop, but a collapse in sales. Therefore, the main question to which the head of the sales department must know the answer at any time of the day or night is “what are we doing, why are we doing it, what should we get in the end.”

Sales processes and their documentation

The next group of factors that need to be periodically reviewed is sales processes. Existing sales procedures should be analyzed and evaluated more frequently than department goals. When taking up a position, it is mandatory, then as problematic situations arise.

An audit of the sales business process must begin with identifying all existing business processes in the field of sales and their enlarged description.

For example,

The company has identified the following sales business processes:

• Sales to regular customers under long-term contracts.
• Maintaining contacts with regular clients. Expanding orders for regular customers.
• Looking for new clients.
• Concluding agreements with new clients.
• Renewal of contracts with regular customers.
• Registration of bonuses for clients.
• Arranging business trips and hospitality expenses.
• Processing returns.
• Conducting reconciliations with accounting department.

It is possible that for different groups products (or sales markets), sales business processes will be different, in which case they need to be considered separately.

For example, the business process “sales to regular customers” consists of the following stages:

• accepting an application from a regular client
• placing an order
• transfer of an order for production and confirmation (clarification) of delivery dates
• invoicing the client
• control of delivery of goods to the client
• checking receipt of goods by the client
• control of the receipt of money from the client
• preparation of documents for the client
• sending documents to the client
• verification of receipt of documents by the client

The primary analysis consists of checking the necessity and sufficiency of the selected elements of business processes. Already at this stage of analysis, it is quite often possible to detect unnecessary, missing or ineffective actions in business chains.

For example, the audit showed that not all sales processes are organized optimally and have the necessary documentation:

Sales processes and procedures	How is it carried out, what document is it regulated by?	Conclusion about the process. Necessary changes
Receiving an application from a client (all possible ways: by phone, e-mail, fax, in person at the exhibition, etc.)	The procedure is not regulated. An application from a client by phone and email is accepted by the manager assigned to him. The department secretary accepts the application by fax and passes it on to the manager; faxes are not kept track of, and sometimes they get lost. Applications at exhibitions are accepted by any manager contacted by the client, but this rarely happens. It is also rare that an application is accepted at personal meetings during planned business trips to a client to maintain a relationship with him. If the manager is absent, his clients are not served, but wait until “their” manager comes to work.	In general, the process is carried out normally, with the exception of accepting applications in the absence of the manager. It is necessary to draw up a list of substituting one manager for another during his absence (vacation, business trip, illness) and approve this list with an order. Monitoring compliance with the order is entrusted to the HR department (it is necessary to ensure that vacations and business trips of replacement managers do not coincide). If both managers are absent for objective reasons (for example, illness), their clients are managed by the head of the department. The secretary needs to issue a list of distribution of clients to managers. It is also necessary to enter a fax log with the secretary and transfer faxes to managers against signature.
Placing an order (registration in the database)	Regulated by instructions for filling out the database. Difficulties arise when the client changes legal entity, since records are kept for each legal entity separately.	No additional regulation is required. It is necessary to task the IT department to consider the possibility of accounting for various legal entities as one client (group client).
Transfer of an order for production and confirmation (clarification) of delivery dates	The order is transferred by calling production and informing about the new order number. Sometimes failures occur due to the fact that the production manager forgets to take an order from the database. Sometimes several reminder calls are required, as well as several calls to confirm the ability to complete the order within the planned time frame.	Regulation of interaction with production is required: it is necessary to determine the timing of production's response to the sales manager's request and inform the sales department without additional reminders. It is necessary to discuss with the IT department the possibility of introducing automatic notification of production about the fact of placing a new order. Then one link in the chain (call to inform about the order number) can be shortened.
Invoicing the client	The manager issues an invoice to the client after receiving confirmation from production	No regulation required

The work of auditing sales business processes is painstaking and takes especially a lot of time when taking up a position. But if various problems arise in the future, information systematized in this way allows you to quickly understand the essence of the problem and find the most adequate solution. For the head of the sales department, it is vitally important to have excellent command of all sales technology, otherwise abuse and fraud on the part of managers cannot be avoided. We have often observed how many experienced managers conduct, in their own words, a “test of their boss’s strength”, openly deceiving him about their work. If the boss is in control of the situation, exposure of the sellers is inevitable and the manager’s authority grows. If the deception remains undiscovered, the boss will remain “empty” for managers and experiments on him continue. What this ultimately leads to, I think, is not worth explaining.

Often managers, in response to any instruction from a new boss, say: “this doesn’t work, we’ve already tried it.” This answer cannot be accepted under any circumstances. Because in 9 cases out of 10 it turns out that managers did this “something” in such a way that it could not work. And it is a step-by-step analysis (or even better, direct observation) of exactly what was done and how that allows the manager to understand the mistakes or stereotypes of his subordinates and avoid them in the future.

In addition, a thorough knowledge of sales processes is necessary to carry out structural changes in the department. To do this, the analysis is supplemented by compiling a list of functions performed by each employee. If the list of functions of one employee fits into one or more business processes, then this is good. But it often happens that there is no logic or connection with business processes in the distribution of functions between employees.

The next step in analyzing business sales processes is to compare the goals of the department and the processes that are currently carried out in the department. With current tasks, everything is usually relatively normal, but development tasks somehow quietly slip away from the manager’s attention. And the fact that the work was not carried out is discovered only at the end of the reporting period (year, half-year or quarter), when it is necessary to write a report. Or it is not detected at all. If the company does not accept the preparation of periodic reports. The manager may remember the task in a year or two and be very surprised why no one was looking into this issue.

For example,

The head of the sales department developed a department work plan for the quarter, which included the following points:

1. Fulfillment of the sales plan.
2. Reducing the volume of overdue accounts receivable by 20% for clients of group A.
3. Introduction of planning in the department (monthly plans and reports for each manager by customer groups and product groups)
4. Determining regional policy, setting priorities in the development of regions, determining sales plans for each region.
5. Development of regulations for interaction with the warehouse.

When summing up the results of the quarter, it turned out that only the first two points were fulfilled (and even then not in full), because It was on these that the head of the department reported to the general director at weekly operational meetings. And it was these points that fit into the main business sales process. Planning by customer groups was not introduced because... Customer categorization was not carried out, and planning by product groups required changes in the information system, but two managers (sales department and IT department) never found the time to meet and resolve this issue. The definition of regional policy was postponed because The manager at first wanted to redistribute clients between managers, but he also did not get around to doing this, and no regular work in this regard has yet been carried out. (In parentheses, we note that the process of distributing clients between managers must be regulated, and the reasons for the distribution must be clear to managers.) Well, interaction with the warehouse seemed to have improved by itself, and the manager simply forgot that he was going to develop regulations.

The easiest way to start an audit of sales processes is to study all existing regulations on this issue. Moreover, it makes sense to analyze not only existing regulations, but also those that have been canceled or “forgotten.” Those. the problem has already arisen, and appropriate regulations have been developed to solve it, and perhaps they were even followed for some time. But then everything quietly returned to normal. This situation, unfortunately, is not uncommon in companies where management is not regular. If such forgotten regulations are discovered, it is important to figure out why they never “worked.” The reasons can be very different, from the impossibility of realizing the plan due to objective reasons(for example, lack of appropriate accounting), and simple reluctance of employees to change something in the usual algorithm of actions. Oddly enough, there are usually more subjective reasons, and it is enough to show managerial will and the regulations begin to be followed.

After analyzing existing regulations, it is very important to compare the algorithms enshrined in them with what happens in practice. This is where the manager may encounter a typical excuse from subordinates, in response to the question of why they do not comply with this or that regulation. Of course, from the point of view of subordinates, the regulations themselves are to blame, because they “don’t work.” But any document is just paper. Paper cannot work or not work on its own. People force her to work (or don’t force her, if they can’t or don’t want to). Therefore, the manager needs to figure out what exactly his subordinates are doing and what are the reasons for failures. Most The best way in this case, this means direct observation of the work of employees, as well as individual conversations with subordinates. When taking up a position, it is necessary to simply observe the work of each employee at least once a week for a sufficiently long period of time (at least an hour), and conduct at least one conversation per week. To increase the effectiveness of observation, it is best to request weekly work plans from subordinates indicating the time for completing certain work. And then choose a time for observations that will allow you to obtain more information.

For example, the work plan of A.B. Ivanov, manager for working with large clients, for a week is as follows:

Day of the week	Time	Event
Monday	9.00 – 9.15	Preparing for work, checking email, answering urgent letters
	9.15 – 10.00	Working with the database, generating a weekly sales report, preparing for a department meeting
	10.00 – 11.00	Department meeting
	11.00 – 11.30	Urgent calls to clients
	11.30 – 12.00	Clarification of the work plan for the week and for the day based on the results of the meeting
	12.00 - 12.30	Checking customer payments, reconciling with accounting
	12.30 – 13.00	Preparing reminder letters to clients with overdue receivables
	13.00 – 13.45	Dinner
	13.45 – 14.00
	14.00 – 15.30	Preparation of a business trip report
	15.30 – 16.30	Calling new clients, recording results
	16.30 – 17.00	Collecting applications from regular customers
	17.00 – 17.30	Application processing, invoicing
	17.30 – 18.00	Preparing for negotiations with the client, creating a presentation folder
Tuesday	9.30 – 10.30	Negotiations with the client
	10.30 – 11.30	Road to the office
	11.30 – 12.00	Checking mail, responding to urgent letters, clarifying the plan for the day, receiving instructions from the head of the department
	12.00 – 12.30	Checking shipments from the warehouse, information calls to customers
	12.30 – 13.30	Filling out database cards, entering information about negotiations held
	13.30 – 14.00	Dinner
	14.00 – 14.30	Checking mail, replying to letters
	14.30 – 15.00	Preparing a commercial proposal for a client
	15.00 – 16.00	Meeting with the marketing department regarding client A's sales promotion program.
	16.00 – 17.00
	17.00 – 18.00	Preparation of an offer for client A under the sales promotion program
Wednesday	9.00 – 9.30
	9.30 – 10.00	Discussion with the head of the department of strategy for interaction with client V.
	10.00 – 10.30	Telephone conversations with client B to expand orders.
	10.30 – 11.30	Calling new clients
	11.30 – 12.00	Entering information into the database, invoicing clients
	12.00 – 13.00	Preparation of proposals for the head of the sales region development department N.
	13.00 – 13.45	Dinner
	13.45 – 14.00	Checking mail, replying to letters
	14.00 – 15.00	Preparation for sending contractual documents, coordination with lawyers and accounting departments
	15.00 – 15.30	Conducting an audit of stationery, preparing an application for stationery
	15.30 – 17.00	Calling clients, accepting applications, filling out applications
	17.00 – 18.00	Preparing for negotiations
Thursday	9.00 – 14.00	Negotiations with two clients, lunch, road to the office
	14.00 – 14.30	Checking mail, replying to letters
	14.30 – 15.30	Registration of the results of negotiations, entering information into the database
	15.30 – 16.00	Preparation of proposals for the head of the department on a system of discounts for large clients
	16.00 – 17.30	Calling clients, accepting applications, filling out applications, issuing invoices
	17.30 – 18.00	Meeting with the head of the department on the negotiations and further work strategy, as well as on proposals for the development of the sales region N.
Friday	9.00 – 9.30	Preparing for work, checking email, responding to urgent letters, clarifying the plan for the day
	9.30 – 10.00	Calculation of customer bonuses for the month
	10.00 – 11.00	Meeting to optimize warehouse operations
	11.00 – 12.00	Calling clients, entering information into the database
	12.00 – 13.00	Preparing a monthly sales plan
	13.00 – 13.45	Dinner
	13.45 – 14.00	Checking mail, replying to letters
	14.00 – 15.00	Self-education, studying new sales articles, reading magazines
	15.00 – 15.30	Meeting with the head of the sales department on the system of discounts for large clients
	15.30 – 15.45	Meeting with lawyers on draft contracts with new clients
	15.45 – 17.00	Calling clients, filling out applications, issuing invoices
	17.00 – 18.00	Preparation of a report for the week, work plan for the next week

The head of the department for observation can choose, for example, a time period from 11.00 to 12.00 on Wednesday to see how calls are made and how the manager works with the database.

We have given regarding good example planning working time, when physiological cycles, business habits of our business environment and the basics of time management are taken into account. In practice, the plan may look so depressing that it won’t even get to the point of observation. It will be necessary to first teach the employee to plan correctly or plan at all if he has not done this before, which happens very often. Getting employees used to making such plans is very useful in any case. Even if you don't intend to watch them work. Already an analysis of such a plan can show the employee’s reserves for the use of working time, as well as “!gaps” in business chains. But, speaking about photography of working hours (and this is the name of the described procedure), we have already smoothly moved on to the description of management tools.

Current department management tools and their effectiveness

We emphasize that the analysis of management tools used in work is important for both beginners and experienced managers. When taking office, a newcomer must understand what traditions and stereotypes of his subordinates he will have to face, what rules should be preserved, which ones should be abolished, and which ones should be reintroduced. But an experienced manager also needs to evaluate his own management tools. Because over time, it is often forgotten why this or that tool was introduced and perhaps the need for it has already disappeared, but it continues to be used simply by inertia.

For example, the head of the sales department of a company selling services to organizations introduced a single weekly reporting for all managers on the number and results (possible result: agreement to negotiate, agreement to call back later, refusal with the opportunity to return to the conversation later, categorical refusal) of calls to potential clients for the week. This form was introduced for two purposes: first, to introduce a competitive element for managers, since the results were heard at meetings, and leaders and laggards were named; secondly, conduct an interest analysis various groups potential clients, identify the most promising groups of clients. A year later, the situation in the department changed greatly. Prospective clients were identified and distributed among managers. Those. the purpose of the analysis was fulfilled, and competition between managers became impossible, since they were managing groups of clients with different potentials and using different sales technologies (not just calls). But weekly reporting remained the same, although it no longer worked for any of the purposes for which it was introduced.

To evaluate current management tools, it is necessary to understand what tools, in principle, the head of the sales department can use in his work. This:

• Planning and reporting
• Meetings
Individual conversations with subordinates, including to provide feedback
• Motivation system, awards and bonuses
• Visual information (stands with general sales schedules, indicators of each manager, regions of the company’s presence on the map, etc.)
• Photo working week(FRN)
• Joint negotiations, including conflict situations, assistance in conflict resolution
• Supervision (passive participation in negotiations as an observer, subsequent “debriefing” and recommendations)
• Receiving feedback from clients (both initiated by clients and scheduled conversations with clients)
• Receiving feedback from other company departments on the work of managers
• Trainings, debriefing, mentoring
• Test calls (conducting Mystery Shopping programs to evaluate the work of managers and train them)
• Planning the professional development of subordinates (drawing up professional development plans, assistance in their implementation, monitoring implementation)
• Testing, product knowledge certification and other tools.

It is very important to what extent the set of management tools used is adequate to the goals and objectives of the department. Both a lack and an excess of management measures used are equally bad.

If, for example, of all the management tools, the manager uses only assistance in difficult situations, then, obviously, there can be no talk of any management of the department. But it is also undesirable for the head of a department (as we observed in one small organization), having three experienced subordinates, to hold daily short meetings with them, weekly “debriefings”, collect weekly plans and reports (but does not comment on them in any way and does not makes adjustments), monthly tests for product knowledge, and jointly negotiates with almost all new and many regular customers. This “management” was in fact more like training the leader himself. And, of course, this manager gained some experience, in particular, he acquired an understanding of what staff resistance is. However, such experiments usually do not work for the purposes of the department.

Let's take a closer look at the most important management tools that any sales manager should have, which in practice are either not used at all or are used incorrectly. This includes planning and reporting, meetings and individual conversations with subordinates.

Planning and reporting

Introduction to planning and reporting management practices ensures real department management. If the head of the sales department does not draw up plans and reports himself and does not require them from his subordinates, then we can safely say that he does not manage the department. In this case, the department works as it wants or as it can. Subordinates usually perceive the need to draw up plans and reports negatively, calling them a waste of time. In fact, it often happens that employees avoid this work because having a plan forces them to work harder, the manager can see their results more clearly, and it is impossible to simply refer to the general workload. It also happens that the reluctance to make plans is caused by a simple inability to do so.

For the sales department, it makes sense to conduct planning and reporting in two directions:

1. Sales plan and report
2. Plan and report on the work of the department

These are two separate processes and, accordingly, two groups of documents. The sales plan contains all the necessary targets, specific sales figures, profits, etc. The department's work plan is more general character, contains all the activities that need to be carried out to achieve target indicators, including the sales plan.

Sales plan

Creating a good sales plan is a long and labor-intensive process. First, a general sales plan for the year is drawn up, broken down by months or quarters depending on the specifics of the company. Data for the base year must be indicated so that it is clear what sales dynamics are planned.

If production is fairly homogeneous, then the sales plan is planned both in physical terms, in units (pieces, meters, kg), and in value terms - in money. In this case, it is advisable to indicate the planned average price units of production. This is important so that it is clear from the plan how revenue growth is planned: due to rising prices or due to increased sales. If the assortment is heterogeneous, then planning is carried out only in cost terms.

It must be remembered that for management purposes monthly planning is more effective than quarterly planning. A quarter is too long, and when using quarterly planning, uneven loading inevitably occurs, both in production and in sales. At the beginning of the quarter there is a relaxation - after all, there is still so much time ahead, but at the end of the quarter there will definitely be a rush. Therefore, if general sales planning is carried out quarterly, then every quarter it is necessary to draw up a sales plan for the quarter, broken down by month (and in some cases, by week).

Each enterprise and each manager independently chooses the most convenient and informative format for a sales plan. The main thing is that the sales plan contains specific numbers, and it is clear what the planned sales dynamics are. If necessary, the sales plan is supplemented with 2-3 indicators that are most significant for the company in a specific period, for example, data on the average markup, overdue accounts receivable and warehouse volume.

If the company’s sales are not seasonal and uniform throughout the year, then the average monthly sales value for the previous year is used as the base. If there is seasonality in demand, then the base is indicated for each planned period (month, quarter).

If the company uses commodity lending to customers, that is, products are first shipped under a contract, and payment is made later (deferred payment), then in the general sales plan it is necessary to separately indicate revenue from shipments and revenue from receipts, as well as planned receivables (customer debts) . In this case, it will be possible to plan the movement of cash flows in advance and avoid cash gaps (for example, when the plan has been fulfilled under contracts or shipments, but the company does not have money even for the most necessary expenses).

Here is an example of a sales plan format.

Period	Revenue (by shipments), thousand rubles.	Revenue (by receipts), thousand rubles.	Accounts receivable, thousand rubles.
January 2008, plan
January 2007, fact
February 2008, plan
February 2007, fact
March 2008, plan
March 2007, fact
Total for the 1st quarter of 2008, plan
Total for the 1st quarter of 2007, fact
% increase
Average for the quarter, 2008, plan
Average for the quarter, 2007, fact
% reduction

The most common reasons for detailing the sales plan are:

• Detailing by assortment (product groups, less often names)
• Regional detailing
• Detailing by clients (by segments)
• Details of payment terms (prepayment, deferred payment)

Typically, detailed sales plans reflect the company's targets that it has set for itself and wants to constantly monitor.

So, if a company’s priority is a certain brand, then it is necessary to plan the share of this brand in total sales and separately monitor the dynamics of sales for this brand.

The form of a detailed sales plan may be different, but it is more convenient if it is identical to the general sales plan.

As an example, we will give the following format of a sales plan detailed by brand.

Product type	Specific gravity products sold, 2007, %	Share of products quarterly, 2008, plan, %
	quarterly average	1st quarter	2nd quarter	3rd quarter	4th quarter
Brand "Comfort"
Brand "Optima"
Brand "Ecoplus"
Other brands
TOTAL

This table shows that the growth of the share of the Comfort brand is planned mainly by reducing the share of the Optima brand. Once such a conceptual table is created, the shares of the various brands are converted into value terms.

Detailed sales plans are closely related to marketing strategy companies. So, if a company decides to adjust distribution channels, then a detailed sales plan should be broken down specifically into distribution channels. For example, the company decided to reduce direct deliveries to stores and refocus on dealer companies; accordingly, the share of retail sales should decrease, and the share of sales to dealers should increase. Or the company has decided to expand into the regions; accordingly, the detailed sales plan should show how the share of regional sales is growing.

In parallel with the development of a general and detailed sales plan for the company, sales plans for each manager are also developed. First, it is necessary for managers to draw up their own sales plan in the same form as the company's sales plans. Next, the head of the sales department draws up a consolidated sales plan for all managers and compares it with general plan sales After which he makes adjustments to both managers’ plans and, possibly, general sales plans.

Sales department work plans

It makes sense to draw up department work plans both for the long term and operational ones. Long-term plans include plans for the year, quarter and month. The longer the planning period, the less detail is needed and vice versa. Operational plans include weekly and daily plans. We gave an example of weekly planning in the section “Sales processes and their documentation.” In terms of format, it is better to make operational plans as convenient as possible, down to a simple to-do list.

Annual plans must be clearly tied to the company's goals and take into account all existing priorities. It is best to draw up all long-term plans according to a single standard, which must indicate deadlines and those responsible. The annual plan is the basis of planning; quarterly and monthly plans are drawn up on its basis.

Example of an annual work plan for a sales department

Sales department work plan for 2008

Submission date: 11/25/2007

Prepared by: Petrov M.I.

№	Goal, task or direction	Event	Term	Responsible	Required Resources
	Fulfillment of the sales plan	Conducting an analysis of the customer base, identifying customers for whom it is possible to expand the order	January February	Head of Department
		Conducting an audit of your client base, identifying clients who have ceased cooperation	January	Sales Managers
		Conducting negotiations on the resumption of cooperation	February March	Sales Managers
		Negotiating the expansion of orders with regular customers	March, April	Sales Managers	Results of customer base analysis
		Attracting new clients at exhibitions, each manager visiting at least 3 exhibitions	May - October	Sales Managers	Opportunity to visit exhibitions
		Assortment analysis	March, April	Head of Sales Department	Information from the financial department about the profitability of each position
		Adjusting the assortment, removing unprofitable items with waning demand	May - July	Head of Sales Department	Information from the marketing department on developing market demand
	Optimizing department work, increasing labor productivity	Changing the format and frequency of planning and reporting in accordance with new tasks	January	Head of Sales Department
		Carrying out certification	March	Head of Sales Department
		Drawing up professional development plans for managers based on the results of certification	April	Head of Sales Department	With the participation of personnel service
		Adjusting the incentive system		Head of Sales Department
		Introduction of mentoring in the department (experienced over newcomers)	June	Head of Sales, Senior Managers
		Conducting training on time management	August	All employees	Organization of training - personnel service
		Taking self-photographs of working hours	September	All department employees
		Preparation of proposals for optimizing the structure and business processes in the department based on the results of self-photography of working hours	October	Head of Sales Department
		Submission of a new structure for approval	november	Head of Sales Department
	Reduced accounts receivable by 50%	Introduction of regular reconciliations with accounting department	January	Head of Sales Department
		Introduction of weekly control of the amount of accounts receivable	January	Head of Sales Department
			Until the 10th of every month	Sales Managers
		Weekly calls to debtor clients	On Wednesdays	Sales Managers
		Introduction of penalties into contracts	Since March	Head of Sales Department
		Introduction of a progressive scale of discounts and allowances for the terms of receivables	From september	Head of Sales Department	Together with the legal department
		Explanatory work with clients on new conditions	October November	Sales Managers
	Expanding sales markets, increasing the company's regional presence	Conducting an analysis of sales for the past year, selecting regions for the pilot launch of the “representative office” project	January March	Head of Sales Department
		Development of a plan for opening a representative office in the selected region	April	Head of Sales Department
		Recruitment of an employee for the direction of “regional development”	April	Head of Sales Department	Together with the personnel service
		Opening a representative office according to plan	October	Head of Regional Development
		Work out the mechanism for transferring clients to the representative office	november	Head of Sales Department, Head of Regional Development
	Improving the quality of customer service, reducing the share of abandoned customers and increasing the share of regular customers	Conduct a customer satisfaction survey	April May	Head of Sales Department, Sales Managers	With the participation of the marketing department
		Create a service quality improvement program	June July	Head of Sales Department	With the participation of the marketing department
		Develop regulations for handling customer complaints	July	Head of Sales Department
		Implement regulations, conduct training	August	Head of Sales Department

The process of planning the work of a department begins with the preparation by the head of a work plan for the department in general form. After this, he introduces managers to the general plan (or at least the main guidelines and priorities), then managers develop their individual work plans. The head of the department collects their individual plans from managers and gives feedback to subordinates on finalizing the plan if necessary. And then, taking into account the personal plans of managers, he finalizes the work plan of the department as a whole.

The reporting process takes place in reverse order. First, reports are compiled by managers, then, based on their reports, the manager draws up a report on the work of the department as a whole. If you have a good plan, drawing up a report is not particularly difficult. It is enough just to note the completed activities and the quality of their implementation, unfulfilled activities and the reasons for their non-fulfillment, as well as planned steps to correct the situation.

Meetings

Meetings are a comprehensive management tool that allows you to quickly exchange information, coordinate the actions of subordinates, exercise control, and also increase team cohesion.

In the sales department, it makes sense to hold 4 types of meetings:

1. Daily five minutes
2. Weekly operational meetings
3. "Debriefings"

Daily five minutes.

At five-minute meetings, the manager informs the staff about urgent issues, and also hears a brief report from each employee on what the main sales indicators were for the past day, and employees can also ask the manager urgent questions. It is better to hold such meetings at the very beginning or at the very end of the working day. On the one hand, this is caused by the very purpose of the five-minute meeting (to check sales for the day), on the other hand, it increases discipline (employees will be forced to come to work on time or not leave early). If an employee cannot attend the five-minute meeting, because... for example, he negotiates with a client, he informs the manager in advance about his performance by phone or e-mail, and at the next meeting he reports two days in advance. Five-minute meetings should not last more than 10-15 minutes. You can even hold such meetings standing up so that there is no temptation to prolong the discussion. Five-minute meetings provide constant attention to the core activity of the department - sales. All other issues are best discussed at weekly meetings.

Weekly operational meetings.

Weekly meetings are best held after meetings have been held for more than high level. For example, if the head of the sales department attends meetings with the CEO on Monday at 10:00, then the meeting of his department can be scheduled for 12:30 on Monday so that there is time to take into account the information received at the meeting with the director to inform his subordinates.

The duration of operational meetings in the department should be 30–45 minutes. In addition to summing up the sales results for the week, at weekly meetings the following takes place:

• informing staff about news
• checking the implementation of instructions from previous meetings
• checking the implementation of long-term employee plans and development activities (for example, preparing proposals for a discount system relates specifically to development activities)
• discussing difficult situations with clients
• discussion of issues requiring the involvement of related departments

It is very important to hold weekly meetings at the same time and on the same day of the week. If carried out from time to time, this leads, first of all, to a decrease in discipline. With this approach, it is very easy for employees to avoid meetings altogether, citing the fact that an important meeting, negotiations, or something else has already been scheduled for that time. A tight schedule makes it impossible to avoid meetings. In addition, holding meetings regularly on the same day of the week disciplines employees, forces them to work, evenly distributing the load, because every week it is necessary to report on these instructions, so there is no opportunity to postpone unpleasant, uninteresting or difficult work until later.

Based on the results of weekly meetings, it is imperative to draw up Minutes indicating those present at the meeting and the given instructions (with deadlines and responsibilities).

Meetings – brainstorming, discussions

Discussion meetings are not regular, but are held as needed. Using brainstorming, it makes sense to discuss issues that do not have a clear solution. For example, it is necessary to decide on what basis it is better to group the company’s clients, and what conditions to offer to these groups of clients. It is advisable to invite employees who have unique expert information to a brainstorming session. Those. The presence of all department employees at such a meeting is not necessary. However, if the meeting also serves the purpose of team building, and the issue being discussed concerns all department personnel (for example, new system motivation), then everyone should participate in the discussion.

Such meetings can last 1 – 1.5 hours and take place in a more informal atmosphere than weekly operational meetings.

Meetings – “debriefings”

“Debriefings” can be either regular or irregular. Some sales leaders hold these meetings weekly, and some only when a significant precedent arises. The manager develops the meeting algorithm taking into account the specifics of the situation. For example, the following option is possible:

• an employee describes a difficult situation he faced
• meeting participants discuss (all together or in small subgroups) what was done correctly and what could have been done better
• participants form common decision situations
• the participant who proposed the situation and the volunteer act out the entire situation again, taking into account the suggestions received
• all participants discuss the results of the simulated situation.

When conducting “debriefing” meetings, the department head speaks out last, so as not to influence the position of the employees with his opinion, to give everyone the opportunity to speak, and at the same time to check the competence of his subordinates. It is necessary to reserve at least 2 hours for debriefing; it is better to do this at the end of the working day, for example, from 17.00 to 19.00

Individual conversations with subordinates

A conversation between a manager and a subordinate is the simplest and most universal management tool, but managers often neglect it, underestimating the importance of personal communication with subordinates.

Conversations with subordinates can pursue a variety of purposes:

• Informing. For example, when hiring, the manager must introduce the new employee to his job responsibilities, with the rules adopted in the organization, with the reporting forms used, etc. In the future, information and instruction may occur regarding work plans, new projects, additional tasks assigned to the employee.
• Control. It makes sense to conduct individual conversations when it is necessary to check the implementation of a plan, a specific task, to monitor the implementation of projects, etc.
• Evaluating an employee and providing him with feedback. During the conversation, the manager can explain to the employee how he evaluates the results of his work, what has been done well and what has not been done well, and express wishes for the future.
• Receiving feedback from an employee. For example, a new motivation system has been developed. The manager can have a conversation with the employee and find out how this system it is clear to him whether he considers it fair, whether he has suggestions for its improvement.
• Consultations with employees. Sometimes a manager may need expert opinion subordinate, his opinion on a certain issue.

The effectiveness of a conversation with a subordinate as a management tool is determined by the following factors:

Clear understanding of the goals of the conversation

Before inviting a subordinate for a conversation, it makes sense to clearly define why you are doing this. Otherwise, situations are possible when a boss, having called a subordinate, for example, in order to bring him up to date on a new project, begins to give him a “whipping” for past projects along the way. Of course, a situation is possible when several goals are set for a planned conversation, but in any case they should not contradict each other and should not confuse the subordinate. Who, having returned from the boss, instead of getting down to business with enthusiasm, begins to rack his brains over the question “what was that and what does it all mean?”

Good preparation, drawing up a conversation plan

If you don’t plan a meeting, then questions will inevitably remain that the manager will simply forget to mention. Then he will have to call the subordinate again (okay, if only once).

Any conversation with a subordinate should consist of three parts:

1. Introductory part - it is necessary to explain the purpose of the meeting, its planned duration, expectations from the subordinate.
2. Main part. Here the actual goals of the meeting are decided. If you intend to provide feedback to a subordinate, then you first need to find out exactly how the employee himself evaluates his work, and only then, taking into account what has been said, give feedback. Moreover, any assessment must begin with positive aspects. This will not only put the employee in a constructive mood, but will also help him to more easily tolerate and accept negative aspects.
3. Final part. At the end of any conversation, it is necessary to check whether the subordinate understood everything correctly and answer all his questions. Next, it is important to take stock and agree on next steps. In some cases (for example, during an assessment conversation), it makes sense to formalize agreements in writing, in the form of a protocol. You should strive to end any conversation on a positive note.
4. Choice right place and conversation time

If a long conversation is expected, for example, a discussion of an employee’s quarterly plan, then it is better to do this in a separate room. If the conversation involves issuing a short task, then this can be done at the employee’s workplace. You should not invite a subordinate into the meeting room only to inform him that the report was not submitted in accordance with the form, and the form needs to be redone. But you shouldn’t hold a “debriefing” on poorly conducted negotiations in the common room.

As for choosing the time for conversations, it is better to conduct them during relatively quiet hours and low productivity, rather than distracting the employee, for example, in the midst of calling clients. Sales managers usually have such less stressful hours at the beginning of the working day, until about 10.30 (only if the manager does not work with remote regions, then for him, on the contrary, the morning hours are the busiest), before and after lunch (from about 12.30 to 15.00) and at the end of the working day (after 17.30).

Compliance with the rules of conversation

Having drawn up a plan and voiced the rules of the conversation, you need to follow it and clearly monitor the time. If you see that some issue clearly does not fit into the planned time, but is very important, it is better to arrange a separate meeting on this issue rather than violate the regulations. Strict adherence to agreements on meeting times not only enhances the image of a manager who is able to manage time and keep his word, but also really saves working time.

Summing up the conversation and, if necessary, recording the results of the meeting in writing.

It is necessary to record agreements in the following cases:

• employee assessment, recommendations for professional development
• comments and suggestions for adjusting documents (plans, reports, concepts, regulations, etc.)
• all new ideas that were voiced during the conversation and can be used in work

We have focused on only the three most important management tools. Only their competent use will allow the head of the sales department to significantly increase management efficiency. Other management tools are also important, but in relation to them we see significantly fewer stereotypes and prejudices, and accordingly their mastery is less difficult, but this is a topic for another discussion.

Compliance of personnel with the requirements arising from their goals and objectives of the department

Last but not least significant group factors influencing effective work sales department, refers to the human factor. Neither competent goals, nor optimal business processes, nor adequate management tools will help if the manager has incompetent employees subordinate to him. Either these employees are not enough. Or they don't want to work efficiently. In other words, it is necessary that the sales department be staffed quantitatively and qualitatively with employees with the necessary competencies, and that these employees are motivated to perform highly productive work.

Work with the personnel of the department is not routine, and quite often the head of the department begins to do something in this direction only if problems begin. To avoid this, it is necessary to carry out regularly, without waiting for critical situations. the following actions:

• track optimality organizational structure department
• clearly formulate requirements for personnel when selecting them, including taking into account negative experience
• regularly check for relevance job descriptions(or job descriptions) of all employees
• check that these instructions are being followed
• develop evaluation criteria for each manager based on department objectives and functional responsibilities employee
• track performance current system motivation and make changes to it in a timely manner (but not more often than once a year)
• conduct employee certification and other assessment procedures
• conduct internal and participate in organizing external employee training
• monitor the job satisfaction of your employees

One of the common mistakes many sales leaders make is that they don't want to acknowledge the fact that not all people can sell effectively. And sometimes they waste effort, time and energy on employees with whom it is easier and more humane to part with right away. Don't torture them and don't torture yourself. But the opposite situation also happens. When a manager adheres to the theory “either he will swim or he will drown,” without even trying to teach his subordinates anything. As usual, the golden mean is optimal. It makes sense to spend time and energy on capable employees who have good potential and a desire to learn how to sell well. The latter in this case is of paramount importance. If a person does not want to be a salesman, despises his work or is ashamed of it, then even if he has the ability, there will be no point. You can, of course, try to overcome this stereotype and captivate the employee. But it’s always worth balancing the effort spent with the expected result. Because the company is not educational institution, and the main task of the department is still to sell, and not to engage in re-education.

We looked at the process of managing a sales department and see how diverse and diverse the functions of a manager are. The head of the sales department manages both people and processes, and in addition, he needs to independently perform some types of work (analysis of sales, processes, customer base, assortment, maintaining key customers, etc.). And it is very important to find the optimal balance between management and executive functions. But success does not come to those leaders who simply do everything the right way. Moreover, it is very difficult to keep all the rules, principles, and tasks in your head. It is important at every moment to clearly understand what you are doing and why. And you also need to feel the situation and be able to break the rules if necessary and can lead to better results. The principles and postulates of management are, first of all, the support, the framework on which a competent leader builds his work. And only their conscious use gives the desired result and gives meaning to management.

5 429

Think back on your life over the past year. Do you feel like you have made significant progress in life? You can say without a shadow of a doubt that you have grown as a person over the years. Last year? Or, have you wasted important time on meaningless activities that lead you nowhere? Do you feel like you have no control over your life, spending your days in a rush? If you finally want to start the mechanism of your development, then write a plan - this is the #1 thing you can do.

You can write a plan personal development any day, but usually on New Year everyone has high hopes and expects change. So why not finally start acting on the plan you made?

The power of having a clear plan is that you can guide all your actions in the right direction. Not only will this give you more control over your life, but it will also help you stop wasting your time.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Think of your personal development plan as a “plan of attack.” This plan is needed on the battlefield called life, where you develop strategies, implement tactics and organize the necessary logistics for a prosperous future.

The importance of creating a personal development plan

Do you know exactly where you want to be in the future? Can you answer in great detail where you see yourself in a year or even five years?

Most people have no idea where they are going. They let coincidence and luck decide their fate. They are all going somewhere, but most often it is a place where they neglect their own development. Don't be one of them! Don't let others decide for your life.

The importance of planning is carried out on several fronts. One advantage is that you will be faced with the rather difficult question of what your path is. This important question, which should not be overlooked. If you don't have a destination, it doesn't matter where you go. And if it doesn't matter which direction you move, you will eventually stop moving because lying down is more comfortable.

But once you start writing down what you want to achieve, you dramatically increase your chances of becoming who you want to be. Whenever you set carefully planned, realistic goals, you will always achieve what you want.

“Those who wrote down their goals achieved significantly more than those who did not write down goals.”

– Dr. Gail Matthews

The importance of planning has been backed by scientific research, which has shown that writing down your goals increases your chances of success.

Why You Should Write a Personal Development Plan

The benefits of having a personal growth plan include:

• Having a Destination – Knowing exactly where you are going
• Path planning – you will develop strategies to reach your destination
• Obstacle Knowledge - You will discover that obstacles can lead to failure.
• Understanding the plan - you'll know exactly why you're doing it, what it requires - even if the movement behaves harshly

How to write a personal development plan?

The personal development planning process revolves around creating an action plan that is based on your ambitions for development in areas such as career and education, as well as self-improvement. In general, the plan makes a statement about your business and how you intend to implement it.

Most people struggle when it comes to figuring out what exactly they should include in their personal development plan. Your plan should contain the following five criteria:

• What do you want (or where do you want to be)
• Why do you want it
• How do you plan to achieve this
• Potential Obstacles, Risks and Hazards
• How do you plan to overcome difficulties?

You can also include alternative plans that you can quickly arrange if things go wrong.

Try to thoroughly answer the following questions before developing your plan:

• What do I really want to make of my life?
• What kind of person is this that I really want to be?
• Do I have a vision of what I want to achieve in this world?
• What are my goals and ambitions?
• What are my dreams?
• Are my current decisions leading me to where I want to be?

Elements of a personal development plan

Planning is not difficult. The challenge, however, is creating a plan that actually reflects where you want to be and who you want to be. This also means that you will have to identify everything that will lead you closer to your goal.

Here's what you need to do to determine your individual development plan:

1. Making a list

Inventory can be the most the hard part creating your personal development plan. It requires you to be honest with yourself and the situation in which you find yourself. Analyzing your current situation will help you identify areas you can work on in the future. This stage will also require you to reconsider your goals and ambitions.

2. Writing a mission statement

A personal statement can be useful for people who want to be able to evaluate the goals of their actions and activities. This statement helps you ask yourself whether what you are doing is contributing to your mission or not.

3. Short and long term planning

When developing a personal development plan, it is very important to divide your plans into short-term, medium-term and long-term parts. If you only plan for the long term, you are likely to ignore the importance of planning for the short term.

4. Re-evaluate your plan

Continuously re-evaluating your plan allows you to develop responses to recent events. This will help you find the best solution on this moment.

5. Taking and taking action

Why do you need a plan if you don't follow it? Make sure you don't forget your plan. Follow your plan and take the actions necessary to implement it.

Plan Details

Your personal development plan should also detail what and how you plan to improve. You may consider the following training opportunities:

Courses
Seminars
Reading/Literature
Mentoring
On-the-job training

There are many ways to gain exciting skills in new knowledge. Find them everywhere: communicate with friends, make new acquaintances, look for information on the Internet.

Personal Development Plan Examples

A personal development plan can be broken down into the following areas:

1. What do I want to achieve in life?

What is the true purpose of my life?
The importance of knowing that you were born to do something should not be underestimated. This gives you the necessary foundation on which to build your plans for the future. However, discovering your life's purpose is a complex process that takes time.

What are my dreams?
We all grew up with the most wild dreams, but as we got older we lost sight of them and then forgot them completely. Don't make the mistake of rationalizing - dreams that inspire and motivate you are very important.

2. What kind of person do I really want to be?

What are my beliefs and values?
Ask yourself what are the beliefs you hold and the values ​​that are important to you.

Who am I now and who do I want to be in the future?
Analyzing who you are now and who you want to become in the future will help you determine the direction of your work.

3. What are my goals?

Don't underestimate the importance of realistic and inspiring goals. It is advisable to divide these goals into short-term, medium-term and long-term. Short-term goals are those that take about six months to complete. Medium term goals are approximately 1 to 3 years and long term goals are 5 years or more.

4. What are the necessary steps?

Many people only focus on setting ambitious goals without realizing the importance of specifying the necessary steps they must complete. Stages allow you to break a goal into several subgoals. This will allow you to maintain the necessary motivation even when you are working on long-term goals.

Track your progress

Once you've written your personal development plan, it's important to regularly track your progress. Having a plan is important, but it is of no use if you don't check whether you are following your plan. Write down your personal achievements and problems that require more attention.

Celebrate your successes

You should celebrate every success you achieve according to your personal development plan. It is very important. The reward for your achievements will further increase your motivation to complete the next milestone you have planned.

Many of us think about self-development at a certain stage of our lives, but at the same time we don’t know at all where is the best way to start our own change. To avoid such confusion, at the very beginning of the path of personal growth, you must first of all create a self-development plan that will help you calculate your own capabilities, as well as think through the necessary strategy for achieving results.

Where to begin? Your first steps

Before you create a plan for self-development, you first need to carefully analyze your life now: all its aspects, from work to personal life. This analysis helps to identify all the “gaps” in your life, and among other things, shows what needs to be changed in the near future. After this " medical examination" - start drawing up your plan.

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There is only one piece of advice here - a self-development plan is a purely individual thing, which the individual must draw up himself without anyone’s help. This does not mean that you cannot use individual fragments, but you should not copy it completely. Don’t forget, you adapt it to yourself, taking into account all the features of your character, as well as other traits of your personality.

When creating a self-development program for yourself, first of all, do not be afraid to experiment - decide on something new. It is not necessary to radically change everything at once, but it is necessary to build a gradual change. When creating a plan for personal self-development for the year, do not forget to also pay great attention to your creative development - this will make the abstinence period much easier for you, which will begin to appear some time after changing your behavior pattern.

Don't focus on one thing - develop comprehensively - let your knowledge deepen in different areas of activity with the same progress - this way you will have a significant advantage over other people.

Ten must-haves

Any individual self-development plan should include the following tasks that will help a person in his quest to become a better person. At first glance, these rules are simple, and their implementation does not carry any semantic meaning, but nevertheless, these ten whales will help deliver your “planet” to the desired destination, making a sphere out of its pie shape.

1. Desperate situation

Remember that the most terrible, deadly enemy for any representative of humanity is himself. Your secrets, past, previously made mistakes - all this will lie on your shoulders, creating a colossal burden on yourself. Let go of everything! Throw away everything that happened before, leaving for yourself only bright memories that will bring you nothing but joy, and then plunge headlong into the abyss of any work that interests you: it doesn’t matter whether it’s a simple hobby or another hobby, the main thing is to occupy yourself with it and soon you will you will see that all the problems that previously caused you trouble are simply forgotten;

2. Always say yes!

Of course, within reason. Remember the funny film where Jim Carrey’s character chose a similar behavior strategy for himself - he only said “yes” to all requests. By pursuing such a life policy, each of us can experience a lot of new and exciting things, because any self-development plan is aimed at this. Go to another city for a picnic - yes! Walking in the rain in rubber boots with funny ducks - yes! You will see, your life will sparkle with new, bright colors that will help you overcome your complexes along with shyness. The only thing is, always stick to what is reasonable, not allowing yourself to be drawn into dangerous games or fraud;

3. There was a minus, but now it’s a plus

The personal self-development plan includes the ability to turn any shortcomings into the most expressive positive traits. Don't be afraid to admit to yourself that you are not perfect or perfect. Ideal people doesn’t exist - it’s a myth, but why doesn’t each of us strive for it?

If you understand that too angry- Welcome to gym, where your anger will serve as an excellent source of additional energy during classes. Love to gossip- write a book in which you can pour out your soul without fear for your reputation. The main thing is to try to direct yourself in the right direction, becoming a self-sufficient person;

4. Pavlov's method

Absolutely any self-development plan is based on developing habits that in the future will help you not even think about this or that action. Develop habits that will help you achieve any goals, while the automaticity of their actions will help you open your mind to everything new, because you no longer have to dwell on the old;

5. Renunciation

Forget about negativity forever. If you have certain situations or actions cause negative emotions, then eradicate them, and if this is not yet within your power, then try to avoid them.

A self-development plan is the necessary therapy that will teach you to see only positive traits. It is important not to confuse this with a worldview with rose-colored glasses - these are completely different things. A person will see the situation as it is, but at the same time, he will strive to look for positive moments or lessons in it that will be useful in his life;

6. Looking in the mirror

Imagine yourself as the person you would like to be. Let it be illusoryly ideal - it all depends on the flight of human imagination. After seeing the picture, try to start behaving like this, at least for several hours a day, gradually increasing the time. You will see how people’s attitude towards you, and your attitude towards yourself, will change. Gradually, a person himself will begin to believe in certain traits of a fictional character, bringing him closer and closer to that ideal of aspiration;

7. Imagination is your greatest weapon.

A self-development plan requires, first of all, the ability to abstract yourself from life, giving free rein to your imagination. Dream of changing yourself, strive for it - dream about how you will change, and then the result will not keep you waiting, because all your thoughts will materialize. Don’t be shy about your flight of fancy - after all, at heart, each of us remains a child who dreams of recognition, success, and praise;

8. Failures

Only a certain stage - any example of a self-development plan requires accepting your own failures as a necessary step to success. Let failures be a life lesson that will help you avoid mistakes in the future. If you are mocked, then let these barbs only strengthen you - use them as your own armor, thus you will become invulnerable to insults, as well as defeats;

9. Catch a wave

Try to tune into their thought waves while talking with other people. During a conversation, put yourself in the shoes of your interlocutor, make his thoughts your own, his beliefs - thus, a person trying on the “suit” of another, you can take a lot of useful things for yourself from the personal qualities of your interlocutor;

10. Calculate your strength

Don't take on too much, don't try to take on the whole load at once. Dose the loads on yourself - increasing them gradually, giving yourself time to rest - leave a few hours for yourself when you are not striving for self-development, but simply relax. If you do not devote enough time to rest, then severe fatigue will appear, which will bring all your efforts to a complete zero.

All these rules, or rather advice, will help any person who wants to change their life to carefully consider a self-development strategy in such a way as to avoid failures or at least minimize their damage. Thus, it will be an excellent tool to achieve your desired goal.

“Make your shortcomings your name, and then no one will ever be able to offend you.”

Tyrion Lannister

What to avoid when drawing up a development plan

When drawing up a plan for personal self-development, first of all, avoid imaginary goals, those that in fact are not specifically your goal, but just a desire to please simply others. Remember, this is just your life, you can’t pause it and then just click continue or rewind. Don’t listen to the advice of others about where you want to go - each of us knows much better what he needs, unlike others.

Listen to those who respect your choices and truly believe in you and your strengths. Surround yourself only with such people, and not with lying masks instead of faces. Give up activities that do not allow you to move forward, but on the contrary, pull you back. It could be a job you don’t like, your social circle - all this will nullify any self-development plan, any of your aspirations for the better. Avoid backbiting criticism from those who sit still all the time, not moving forward. They are extra ballast, which, apart from sadness and anger, will not bring you anything new. The main goal of such individuals is to prevent someone from becoming better than them, because then they will be behind everyone else.

Self-development plan for a year - four seasons to become better

There is no need to write out detailed development plans for each month and day - you must do this yourself, but now you will be offered a layout of a personal growth plan, which is based on the four seasons of the year. Winter, spring, summer and autumn - these are the main blocks into which the individual self-development plan will be divided.

Why this particular choice of timing? Everything is very simple - the rhythm of life of each person is purely individual, which means it may differ from others - simply, he may not have time to do everything in one month, but at the same time he can easily make up for lost time in another. At the same time, you need to realize that everything indicated in this article is just a template. Everyone is free to change it for themselves as it will be convenient for them. There is no need to completely copy the work, you just need to take its idea. Take your idea and apply it to this template, add more detailed steps - perfect plan development is ready, all you need is just to follow it, without giving up under any circumstances.

So, your plan for the coming year, thanks to which change will begin to occur, looks like this:

• Winter– preparing yourself, searching for like-minded people to find your destiny, summing up;
• Spring– changing and organizing personal space, both at work and at home;
• Summer– the goal is to change yourself, to become better;
• Autumn– it’s time to start studying, as well as self-education.

Let's now look at each block separately.

Winter

The first - winter - includes at the same time an analysis of oneself, one’s life (successes or failures), but at the same time also summing up the results in December. Don’t be confused by the fact that this quarter has been divided for a while - your main goal now is to understand yourself: your desires, ideas and fears, so that you can then find like-minded people with whom you will begin to move up the curve. Society is also necessary so that there is no feeling of loneliness, loss, which, when felt, begins to give up and the fire in the eyes goes out.

Spring

Second quarter - spring - changes in the surrounding space. A self-development plan will bring results much faster if your usual environment is changed. Do some minor redecorating or just buy new sofa cushions. It doesn’t matter what or how, but you must change not only your inner, but also the real world around you. Throw away old things (just throw them away, don’t take them to the dacha) - with this method, a person on a subconscious level lets go of all his negativity, anger - remember, everything is in your power, the main thing is just to want it.

Summer

The third period - summer - transformation of oneself. During these three months, do what you have wanted for so long - change your hair color, haircut or clothing style. Don't be afraid of drastic changes - remember that everything can always be returned to the initial stage. Express yourself through your clothes - wear what you want and in the style you like. Become more confident in yourself and your abilities. The only point is that in the desire to surprise everyone, do not turn into a buffoon whose goal is simply to stand out through expressiveness. Just be yourself: do not change your aspirations and desires.

Autumn

The fourth period is autumn - all training begins during this period. The self-development program involves attending various seminars and trainings - where trainers share experiences that can help others overcome difficulties. By attending such training events, each of you can discover something new: different ways and tools for achieving results.

This distribution is very convenient, because as mentioned earlier, it does not contain specific instructions - just the direction in which direction is best to move now. In this case, you choose the sequence of actions yourself, the main condition is not to go beyond the time frame of this stage. Everyone independently chooses how to achieve the result and in what way, without wasting extra time on allocating the main time throughout the year.

Conclusion

In conclusion of the article, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that specific and effective methods building a personal development plan - there are only tips for drawing it up. You should also not be afraid that you will have failures - this is normal. It will also be normal that at first you will not cope on time. Realize that such a self-development program is not a one-time stage, but a cyclical training that must be repeated regularly if you do not want to stop developing.

Don’t expect instant results - learn to enjoy even minor successes, because if not you, then who will believe in you? Free yourself from the oppression of minor problems, various mediocrities - they are not worth your attention, as well as your nerves. No technique will bring the desired success if a person constantly loses his fortitude from failures and criticism. Think about yourself, about why you started all this. . Strive for something new, study yourself, and ultimately accept yourself for who you are - all this is the key to a successful, self-confident person who has overcome internal fears and complexes.

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

Today you will learn:

• Why is a sales plan needed?
• How to calculate and formalize it;
• How to get employees to fulfill the plan.

Why do you need a sales plan?

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

1. For labor organization. The enterprise must function as an established mechanism, when each employee has a goal for his work and knows what he must do to achieve it. Employees must have clear ideas about what awaits them after the sales plan is met or not met.
2. To increase profits. Try transferring the seller from fixed line wages at a minimum rate and a bonus for fulfilling the plan, and you will see how the employee’s motivation will affect the company’s income.
3. For development. fades if it stands in one place. Setting a goal and achieving it is the task for a successful entrepreneur. Otherwise, he will be overtaken and crushed by more ambitious businessmen.

Types of planning

The basis of any sales plan is an understanding of the minimum and maximum quantities of goods the company must sell in order to exist.

The most important thing for beginning entrepreneurs is the minimum acceptable value; it marks the “bottom” below which it is no longer possible to function. For companies that have embarked on the path of growth and development, achieving maximum plans is more important.

There are several types of planning:

• Promising – long-term strategy for 5-10 years;
• Current – ​​developed for the year, clarifies and adjusts long-term planning indicators;
• Operational and production – tasks are divided into shorter periods (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 to your area.

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;
• Changes in assortment and prices;
• Sales channels and potential buyers;
• Employees;
• Advertising.

Procedure for developing a sales plan

A complete annual plan, based on in-depth analysis, takes several months to create.

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

1. Analyze trends in politics and macroeconomics. How does the country's GDP change? What is happening to oil and gas prices and exchange rates? It would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the opinions of experts and 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 decline and growth. This could be seasonality, changes in company policy, new assortment, personnel changes. When making a plan for the next year, be sure to rely on significant points.
5. Compile sales statistics separately for sellers and departments. It will be too optimistic to focus on the leaders, but try to bring the average value a little closer to them.
6. Form a base of regular customers. How much profit do they bring, how often and what goods do they come for? Of course, this stage does not apply to companies focused on one-time sales.
7. Set a goal. Based on the analysis done 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. Make a budget. Having a clear sales plan makes it easier to calculate how much you will have to spend on purchases, advertising, and employee bonuses.

Methods for calculating the sales plan

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 early periods, demand statistics.

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

There are many methods, but you don't have to know them all. It is enough to select several that are suitable for a specific business and use them together.

Let's take a closer look at several basic methods used in calculating the sales plan.

Method	Advantages	Flaws	Short description
Analysis of customer expectations	Evaluation and detailed information information about the product comes from potential consumers. Effective for new products	There may be errors when determining the buyer group. Dependence on the accuracy of estimates	Surveys of potential buyers are used to evaluate the product
Staff opinion	Accuracy	Low objectivity	The plan is drawn up based on the opinion of the sellers
Collective opinion of managers	Simple and fast	Collective responsibility	The assessment of managers is averaged, and if strong disagreements arise, a discussion is held
Delphi method	The most objective of subjective methods, the influence of group opinion is minimized	Long and relatively expensive	Company managers (or other employees) make each of their forecasts regarding sales volume (by product and period) and pass it on to the expert. He generates an anonymous summary and distributes it again to study participants, who study it and propose a new prediction. This continues until all disagreements are smoothed out.
Market test	Full check of consumer reaction to the product and evaluation	Openness to competitors, long and expensive	Test sales of the product are being conducted in various regions
Time series analysis	Objective and cheap	The method is difficult to implement, does not take into account the influence of marketing campaigns, and is not suitable for new products	Divided into three types: moving average, exponential smoothing, decomposition
Statistical demand analysis	An objective and understandable result allows you to identify hidden factors affecting sales	The most complex and time-consuming method	The forecast is made based on 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 the sales volume 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 not effective for young companies.

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

Exponential smoothing

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

The smoothing constant (SC) can be from 0 to 1. At 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 KS is determined empirically - the value with the smallest error over past periods is selected.

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

Example. During the month, the stationery store sold 640 notebooks against the previous forecast of 610, KS - 0.3. Forecast for the next month: 0.3*640 + (1-0.3)*610= 619.

Decomposition and seasonality factor

The decomposition consists of seasonality, trend and cyclicality. In practice, many entrepreneurs stop at using the seasonality coefficient. It is used to create a sales plan based on historical income for a business whose turnover depends on seasonality.

Step 1. Determination of seasonal dynamics. A clear digital indicator here is the seasonality coefficient.

1. Take total amount sales for the past year and divide it by 12. This will give you the monthly average.
2. Divide the sales amount for each month of the accounting year by the average.

Example. Over the past year, the store made sales of 850,000 rubles. Of these, 44,000 in January, 50,000 in February, and so on. Average monthly value 850000/12 = 70,830 rubles. Seasonality coefficient for January: 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 several past years and leaving them for further actions their average value.

Step 2: Define your goal. For example, let's say 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 previous year.

850000+20% = 1,020,000 rub.

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

1. Divide the annual goal by 12 to get an average plan for the month.
2. Multiply the average plan by the seasonality 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, the overall goal of increasing sales for the year will be achieved. It is much easier to monitor the implementation of the plan over short periods of time and take prompt measures than to try to catch up with the goal in recent months of the year.

Preparation of a sales plan

The sales plan as a document consists of several points.

Let's list all the main ones in order:

1. A header consisting of a title (“Department Sales Plan...”) and an indication of the author (“Compiled 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 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 past period. For clarity, you can include in the document a graph of sales growth and decline, provide total values ​​not only for the department as a whole, but also for each employee in particular, and indicate in percentage terms how much the previous plan was overfulfilled or underfulfilled.
4. The third point is a plan for the future period. The plan amount is indicated, the main planned transactions are listed, clients who are ready to enter into a contract and other points that ensure a guarantee of profit in the new period.
5. The fourth point is necessary measures. Further, we are talking about the actions that have yet to be performed to achieve the goal. These may be changes in pricing policy, promotions, updates technical base companies 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 the “compass” along 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, things run 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:

• Regional and macro market share;
• Overall sales volume;
• Financial profit.

If possible, break down each large plan into more specific ones. For each direction, product, number of clients, and so on, depending on your business.

The larger the company, the more plans you will have to make. In addition to the general sales plan common to all employees, each branch, division, department, manager and ordinary seller should have their own goals.

Such detailed planning is necessary for every enterprise.

Structuring the plan should ideally occur across all available sections:

• Regions (where and how much will be sold);
• Sellers (who will sell and how much);
• Products (how much of what 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 only planned).

Common Mistakes

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

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

Mistake 2. The plan is based only on last year's achievements. Sales plan analysis must take into account everything 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.

Error 3.Uniting all customers into one whole. Even the smallest retail businesses have certain groups of customers. They can be united by various signs: those who buy one product category, regular customers or new customers who make random purchases at a retail outlet or find 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 deadlines and responsible persons. In the sales plan, everything should be clear: what is the goal, when it should be accomplished, by whom and using what tools.

Mistake 5. The plan is not structured enough. Each department and seller in particular should have its own individual plan. Agree that when you don’t have your own plan, the temptation to place all the responsibility on your colleagues is too great.

Mistake 6: The plan was not discussed with the sales people. The plan will never be fully developed if it was drawn up by one manager, guided only by reports and graphs. Frontline salespeople should at a minimum have the opportunity to discuss the plan with management, and better yet, be directly involved in creating the sales plan.

Be sure that you made the plan correctly if, at the end of the period, it turned out to be 85-105% completed.

How to achieve the plan

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 is completely different with plans for subordinates. You should not severely punish for every failure to fulfill the sales plan and keep employees under a tight rein - this is ineffective.

It’s better to listen to the advice of experienced entrepreneurs:

1. Briefly, but as completely as possible, formulate what you want from your employees. It is better to convey this to them in writing.
2. Incentivize financially. The best employees deserve a bonus.
3. Set bonuses not only for 100% completion, but also for each passing of a certain minimum threshold (for example, 60%). The employee may not have fulfilled the plan, but it is clear that he tried.
4. Fine for systematic violations.
5. The entire vertical of employees (from an ordinary salesperson to a top manager) must 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 power of a clear plan is that it helps focus all your efforts in the right direction. A personal development plan is the missing link for those who understand the value of self-development, but feel that at some point they took a wrong turn.

Think about the past year of your life. Are you completely satisfied with this period? What achievements in which areas can you be proud of and what not? Can you say with certainty that you have grown as a person during this time?

The importance of creating a personal development plan

Do you know exactly what you want from the future and what kind of person you want to become? Most people don't know. They were lazy, they just didn't think about it, they didn't meet people who could make an impact. So what kind of person do you want to be in 5 years?

Simply taking a piece of paper and writing down your plans for the future increases your chances of becoming significantly better.

Why do you need to create a personal development plan?

There are several advantages. For example:

• Have a destination. Know exactly where to go.
• Planning the path. Develop strategies that will help you achieve your goal.
• Obstacle Awareness. Understanding that there will definitely be obstacles. And also figuring out exactly how to deal with them.
• Awareness of a more global plan. It's not just about becoming a better person, it's about finding your purpose. It can only be found if we work long and hard on ourselves.

How to write a plan?

Your plan must meet at least five criteria:

• What do you want (or where do you want to be).
• Why do you want this?
• How to plan your life to achieve all this.
• Clarification of all possible obstacles, problems, risks and dangers.
• How to create a plan to overcome obstacles.

You can also create a plan B in case of failure. This is a smart strategy.

When creating a personal development plan, the following questions can help:

• What do I really want to understand about my life?
• What kind of person do I want to become?
• Do I see how my dreams will be realized?
• What are my goals and ambitions?
• What are my dreams?
• Are my current decisions going where I want them to go?

Also, do not forget that goals should be set according to the method.

Elements

Planning is easy enough. The hardest thing is to plan effectively. Here's what you'll need.

Analysis of the current situation

This step should be taken very seriously. Most often, people overestimate their current situation, not noticing how many areas of life have gotten out of control.

So, what position are you in now? How intellectually developed are you? Do you have problems with thinking? Are there people who can help and support? But first of all - in yourself.

Creating a Mission

This is a one or two sentence statement about what your life is about and what you want to achieve. Something like a commitment to yourself.

Short and long term planning

Goals and plans must be separated. Some goals can only be achieved after several years, because you need to move towards them gradually. Find out what you can do best for your development today, what - on next week, and what - in a year and five years.

Re-evaluation of the plan

It is worth constantly re-evaluating the plan, because during the journey new data, facts and experiences will appear.

Commitment and Action

You need to act on the same day when the plan is ready. Outline next steps and start immediately.

Plan Details

To begin to develop as a person, you need to learn. Here are examples of where to get information:

• Courses
• Articles
• Reading literature
• Finding a Mentor
• Meet people who will help
• Journaling (self-reflection)
• Brain exercises

We wish you good luck!