Playbooks Aren’t Just for Football
How a Sales Playbook Can Bring Your Team to Victory
Why do sports teams have playbooks? It’s simple, really – everyone on the team knows the goal is to win the game, but the playbook shows everyone how that’s going to happen. The same goes for your sales team. A Sales Playbook provides the resources, framework, and processes that everyone on your team – from the most seasoned player to the newest rookie – should follow for making a sale. Here’s how you can build a Playbook that will bring victory for your sales team.
Determine your sales methodology
A sales methodology explains the process your team goes through to:
- gather the right information about your prospect (note – gathering information is easy; gathering information that will drive decision-making is a different story!),
- find the right decision makers within the prospect’s company
- guide a prospect along the decision making journey to (hopefully) signing on the dotted line.
There are dozens of methodologies out there, and you should choose one that addresses what you’ve observed to be the most significant aspects of a prospect’s decision-making journey. Check out a few examples of common sales methodologies here.
Determine your workflow
The workflow is your sales team’s map through the playbook. At a minimum, it should outline the following:
- Each touchpoint a sales team member should use to engage with the prospect
- The timeframe between each touchpoint
- The subject matter of each touchpoint
- The goal for each touchpoint (what information you’re hoping to gather, or what you’re hoping the prospect will know or do after receiving that touchpoint)
Provide enough structure to ensure a consistent engagement process from team member to team member, but allow enough flexibility for your sales team to customize the customer journey based on their experience or unique information they gather about the prospect.
