5 More Rules for the Best 2016 Sales Planning Meetings

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Oct 28, 2015

Thanks very much for the comments and ideas from last week's blog post on "The (first) Five Rules".  As promised, here are the remaining five.  It may well be that you have your own, so let me and our readers know about your ideas by commenting below...

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Tags: sales coaching, sales coach, sales tools, sales plans, business planning, business plans, sales planning meetings

5 Rules to Run the Best 2016 Business Planning Sessions

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Fri, Oct 16, 2015

'Tis the Season...

Well, not really THE season, but it is...

The Business Planning Season for working on, discussing, talking through, arguing about and spreadsheeting over and over again various strategic business plans, tactical department plans and the ever-important sales and marketing activity plans.  

Ultimately, every sales account plan, every marketing strategy and activity plan, every hiring plan, financial plan and product development plan will roll up to be your company's 2016 business plan.  Perfect in its creation and, somewhat by definition of what it is-a plan after all-flawed in its forecasted end points.  My own rule of thumb is that if the plan was met perfectly an entire 12-14 months later from its creation, then the management team probably didn't stretch themselves far enough.

Another good concept to carry into this business and sales planning season are the quotes from Eisenhower and Patton who both noted that the planning process itself is much more important than the actual plan that results

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Tags: business planning

How to Write a Winning Business Plan

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Oct 07, 2015

Superb weekend last weekend and clearly fall is in the air!  

The Corvette took me out for a drive to Vermont the weekend before, and the back roads were already packed with buses from Indiana and Ohio filled with Leaf-Peepers.  This is the season when The Boys on the Bench down at the Winhall General Store in the town where I live (population 647) are thinking long and hard about how to squeeze in their deer hunting trips before the first sightings of the New York City and Jersey skiers appear with their long lists of well-paying jobs that need to be done the hill opens at Thanksgiving.  

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Tags: sales planning, business planning, strategic planning