Writing a Winning Sales Plan in 2021

Prior to the pandemic, in reviewing sales plans from average companies...with average results...we discovered that 90% did not have real sales plans. Simply did not exist. What did exist were…

  • Quarterly action plans
  • Monthly and quarterly activity plans
  • Playbooks for each game, but not for the season
  • Waterfall math which was built out into your financial plans

We strongly believe that given where we are today in the reality of 2021 which will continue deep into 2022, there has never been a more important time to have tightly integrated and excellent communicated quarter-by-quarter sales plans.  


"Back-in-the-old-days" of 2019, even then the art and science of creating sales plans that created value for the company and, most importantly, for the customer was "just average" at best. 

We believe that in normal times, companies need overarching, foundation-setting annual sales plans with integrated quarterly tactical plans. Annual sales plans that are begun to be thought through strategically in November and December for the upcoming year, and then backfilled with details once the results are known and the annual January sales meeting is ready to be kicked off. These are plans that would have included longer term strategies and detailed tactics that had been directly integrated into those strategies, forecasts, metrics, KPIs and budgets.

All of that planning changed in 2020 and is still evolving in 2021

  • Today, our planning horizons for Sales and Marketing are six months .
  • Today, we are expect to see detailed game plans and playbooks at the street level
  • Today, we care mostly about winning quarterly victories piece by piece

Learn what should be in a real Sales Plan by using our Writing a Winning Sales Plan. Download your FREE copy TODAY by filling out the form to the right.

If the download does not work, simply email Jack at jack@derbymanagement.com to send you a copy by email...and let us know what you think about the content and if you would like to add content of your own in the next edition in September, 2021.