Sales Reinvented

The top-performing salespeople understand the importance of territory sales planning. They know that if they create a plan and work the plan they’ll outperform their peers. But John Smibert believes that a strategic plan applying the 80/20 rule is. He fleshes out what that could look like in this episode of the Sales Reinvented podcast! 

Outline of This Episode

• [1:05] Why planning is an underrated activity
• [2:25] Stop being reactive and create a plan
• [3:55] John’s ideal territory sales plan
• [6:50] The right mindset is key to success
• [7:53] Tools, tactics, or strategies to improve
• [9:40] John’s territory sales planning dos and don’ts
• [12:42] Match your domain expertise with your ideal customer 

The ideal territory sales plan

It’s no secret that the top salespeople are great planners. They routinely run a SWOT analysis and look at their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s a key strategic planning tool. You also need to identify your target and objective. Your company may give you an objective but you’re the boss of your own business. You certainly need to plan for what your company expects from you but why not shoot for more? 

Put the quota aside. What do you need to do to achieve your objective? Then look at your territory—identify where opportunities are likely to be. What 20% of accounts will get you 80% of the value? Secondly, look at your ICP. Who are they? Do some research, identify them, and focus activity on them alone. If you don’t have a plan you grab onto the first opportunities that come your way. You’ll find that you’ve filled your pipeline with average opportunities at best. 

John’s territory sales planning dos and don’ts

John hears a lot of sales managers complain that they don’t see the right level of activity from their salespeople. But if their salespeople have a plan in place that has been thought through strategically, less activity is sometimes good. But John nails down some dos and don'ts that can help you focus in the right place. 

• Set aside the time to create a detailed territory plan once a year. The annual plan needs to be broken down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals. You need to wake up every day and say, “What do I need to do to progress my plan?” 
• Know where you’ll get the best results and focus on them. Focusing on the right 20% will get you 80% of the results. 
• Review, review, review. How do you stay on plan? What do you need to do?
• Don’t create a plan and forget about it. You’ve created it to help you stay on track to reach your goals. 
• Don’t assume every customer is the same. Market segmentation and account targeting around your expertise is important. Everyone has domain expertise, so focus on customers who value what you have to bring to the table.

Learn how to say no. You don’t want to chase every opportunity that comes through the door. The top salespeople say no far more than yes because they know where the value is. 

Match your domain expertise with your ideal customer 

John recently co-authored a book called “The Wentworth Prospect” about a young lady who progressed well in her sales career with the help of a coach. It’s based on a true story about a woman John actually coached. This woman—named Sue—was selling cybersecurity solutions. She had learned the product well and had studied cybersecurity in university, so she had developed some domain expertise. 

John asked her where she wanted to focus her territory. She stated her goal was to approach mid-level organizations but that she didn’t have an industry chosen. So they did some research and landed on a focus in the banking and finance industry. Why? She had a background in banking. She knew she had a unique perspective to bring to the table, her product fit well, and they were an ideal customer. 

In that year, because she eliminated 80% of her territory and focused on the 20%, she blew her quota out of the water. All because she created a plan that she followed diligently. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sales Navigator

Connect with John Smibert

• John’s Book, “The Wentworth Prospect”
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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Carrie Millen jokes that sales territory planning is underrated because it’s spelled “W-O-R-K.” It is “something my boss told me I have to do.” It feels like any time invested in territory sales planning cuts into sales time. Why would they bother doing the work? It seems like busywork over an investment. But that’s exactly what it is—an investment. But the right data-driven sales plan is an investment that will pay off. Carrie explains why in this episode of Sales Reinvented! Outline of This Episode

• [0:44] Why is sales territory planning underrated? 
• [1:38] How to stop being a solely reactive salesperson
• [2:30] Carrie’s data-driven sales territory plan
• [4:31] The attributes that make a salesperson great at sales planning
• [5:41] The tool, tactics, and strategies Carrie implements to stay on course
• [8:10] Carrie’s top 3 territory sales planning dos and don’ts
• [11:45] Where sales territory planning can lead

Carrie’s data-driven sales territory plan

Territory sales planning not only provides a guideline but it helps take the thinking out of sales. How? If you have a plan, know it, and work it, you’ll be able to execute sales efficiently. If you spend 59 minutes planning and one minute executing your plan, you’ll likely have more success (Carrie’s nod to Albert Einstein). 

While your plan does depend on what you’re selling and where you’re selling it, data is key. What is the size of your territory? Size of an average sale? Size of the clients you’re selling to? 

Creating profitability and long-term value with a client is a major factor. If you are investing your time and effort, you want to build a long-term relationship with that client to continue hitting your numbers. You can’t just focus on whales but must balance with some smaller fish. 

The tool, tactics, and strategies Carrie implements to stay on course

Carrie notes that there’s a balance between quick fixes and overall planning. Sales is like being on a dodgeball court—balls are being thrown at you from all angles. You don’t always have time to think and simply have to react. But to react with the proper response, you have to be well-prepared. You need to be intentional about what your day-to-day activity is.

Carrie posts the key things she wants to focus on throughout a quarter as the screensaver of her computer monitor. It makes it easy to quickly refocus her activities and stay on track. She owns the plan that she’s made whenever she veers off track. However you prefer to do it, book intentional time in your day to focus on the plan that you've built. 

Secondly, if you’ve built a plan for the next 12 months, how do you know you’re on track? You need data. You need to test and measure that data. If you estimate that you’ll have a certain number in your pipeline by a certain date, measure it. Where are you at? What activities are driving the people in your pipeline?

Carrie loves the Eisenhower Matrix. What is important? What is urgent? What isn’t important or urgent? A territory plan will allow you to navigate what’s urgent and what isn’t. Your wins need to be meaningful and help you achieve the goals of your plan. 

Carrie’s territory sales planning dos and don’ts

Carrie shares a set of dos and don’ts that she uses to stay on course and organized. 

• Start small and pick a segment and a plan and consistently evaluate it. Then hone in on one small bite of your plan at a time. 
• Make friends with someone who is financially minded or analytical and have them in your back pocket. Humans are not meant to do everything by themselves.
• Use blinders. Stay focused on the territory plan in front of you. Work the plan.
• To do this, create a simple criteria framework that proves you’re on the plan. When do you know if someone is part of the overall plan? You don’t want to accept a client unless they fit in your plan. 
• Don’t borrow someone else's plan or use last year’s. You couldn’t cheat in school, why do it now? 
• Don’t work in a vacuum. Get some feedback. Ask your clients why they chose your product or service. 
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Go after multiple industries and types of clients that fit your product/service. If the travel industry was your only focus, you’d likely have been out of a job in 2020/2021.

Where sales territory planning can lead

Carrie was coaching someone to help her develop her sales skills and territory planning. This person works at a fast-growing SaaS company that was looking to branch into different niches. She wanted to build a plan for herself to grow the new segment. She approached her leadership with the idea to use new assets. She saw a challenge that could be fixed that could lead to exponential growth. 

Her plan caught the eye of the VP. He asked her to implement her plan for every team. Soon after, she was promoted to a role as a Sales Manager. It was all because she applied the skills she’d learned. She looked at the problems in front of her and took ownership. It had a cascading impact on her business.

Connect with Carrie Millen

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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The most successful salespeople have the discipline to do what will deliver success. And territory sales planning is a critical component of that success. Most salespeople don’t see the benefits of sales planning, so they don’t do it. Salespeople underrate territory planning because they’re focused on short-term calendar-focused targets. They’re highly reactive. 

Today’s guest, Wayne Moloney, shares that the average tenure of a B2B salesperson is only 16 months and it’s steadily decreasing. He believes that having the right territory sales plan in place can lead to long-term success, growth, and longevity in the profession. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Wayne shares how salespeople can transform their plans with some simple questions. 

Outline of This Episode

• [1:01] The largest reasons salespeople discount sales planning
• [3:20] How to overcome reactivity with territory sales planning
• [5:17] The ingredients for the perfect territory sales plan
• [7:53] Attributes or characteristics that make a salesperson great 
• [10:48] A simple territory sales plan is the key to success
• [14:10] Top 3 territory sales planning dos and don’ts
• [16:17] How a simple plan led to global sales success

How to overcome reactivity with territory sales planning

If you’re planning a territory, you’re clarifying and articulating where you want to go and what roads will lead to them. If you’re reactive, you’re reacting to suspects, not the right type of customers. Territory planning helps you target the right customers, establish goals for income, and ensures sales growth over time. It also helps you engage with customers early enough in the sales process to have an impact. 

A good sales plan defines the specific industries and sectors that will offer the most opportunity to you—and why. That’s the foundation of any plan. Then you must look at the characteristics of your high-value clients. That helps you identify your ICP. Focus on the organizations you can best help versus those looking for a white paper offered by your marketing teams. A good salesperson also completes a comprehensive competitive analysis (i.e. what your competitors are doing and why they’re doing it). 

Attributes or characteristics that make a salesperson great 

Accountability is critical. After 40+ in sales and business management, Wayne still has a mentor that he shares his goals with who helps hold him accountable. It’s critical to Wayne’s success and will be to yours, too. Accountability means taking responsibility for your plan and the actions you take. Another critical component? Set goals and write them down. Wayne emphasizes that “A plan that’s not written down is just a thought.” You must define and implement actions to make things happen. 

Great salespeople don’t operate as islands. Wayne worked with someone who got a group of people together and asked them to pull apart and critique his plan to strengthen his approach. One of the biggest opportunities for salespeople is achieving domain expertise. Developing this starts by knowing what businesses to focus on. You can’t be all things to all people. You need to understand and know your addressable market. 

A simple territory sales plan is the key to success

Wayne shares some simple yet strategic questions you can ask yourself to build a successful territory sales plan: 

• Where are you now? Why are you where you are? Walk back through what’s happened with your territory, your best and worst clients, and even those you’ve lost.
• Where do you want to be and when do you want to be there? This gives you a starting line and a finish line. The middle is the gap that will grow your territory.
• What resources will you need? What tools do you have available to aid your planning?
• How will you measure performance? When and how will you review your progress? When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? Who will you involve in the process? 

Walking through these questions is the easiest way to build a plan that’s simple, easy to understand, and helps drive you to success. 

What are Wayne’s top three territory sales planning dos and don’ts? Listen to find out!

How a simple plan led to global sales success

A man Wayne calls “Jim” used to work for him. Jim was very successful in his sales position but didn’t know why. He was always reluctant to make a plan. Because he was so successful, it was hard for Wayne to argue why he should build a plan. He still taught him the proper framework but never truly enforced it. 

Jim moved on and took a role with a major credit card company. One day, Jim called Wayne and thanked him. Why? Because Jim struggled in the credit card industry. So he sat back and went through Wayne’s planning process. He became the top salesperson in his organization. He closed the two biggest global opportunities because he knew where to focus his territory plan. 

As a sales manager, whatever you teach your team is not wasted if you coach them properly. Wayne’s message to salespeople? Don’t dismiss what you’re taught—it will become useful at some point in your career. 

Connect with Wayne Moloney

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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We live in a noisy world where it’s hard to focus. But you can manage your territories better with great territory planning. If you’re a salesperson in the field every day, proper route planning can be a gamechanger. The right tool not only helps you plan the most efficient route but also helps you prioritize your sales calls in any way you see fit—annual spend, important relationships, and more. Steve Benson joins Paul in this episode to talk about his revolutionary route planning too, Badger Maps.  Outline of This Episode

• [0:46] Territory sales planning: underrated by salespeople?
• [1:27] Sales territory planning can reduce reactive sales activities
• [2:28] The ingredients of the ideal territory sales plan
• [3:54] Attributes and characteristics of a great salesperson
• [5:57] Tools + tactics + strategies to improve sales planning skills
• [8:20] What Badger mapping offers field-based people
• [11:32] Top 3 territory sales planning dos and don’ts 
• [14:42] The right tool boosts effectiveness enormously

The ingredients of the ideal territory sales plan

It’s important to take your actual territory into account when you make a plan for your territory. You want to figure out how to plan your day in a way that hits the most important customers efficiently. You need to be organized and gather data so you can prioritize in the first place. 

Some people are more organized by nature. Likewise, some people—and cultures—have a better grasp of geography than others. Some people can visualize things and use mapping or routing tools. Those that struggle with geography—and even those that are skilled—can benefit from tools like Badger Maps.

Paul covered the NE part of England when he first started in sales. His trunk was full of maps and he’d use 4–5 every single day. At the time, you had to master driving with one hand and navigating with a map in the other. He wished he had access to a tool like Bader Maps. So what can it do for you?

What Badger mapping offers field-based people

Steve was a geography major in college. He, too, used paper maps. But as mapping tools came out, he realized that sales territory planning was a problem that could be solved with technology and mobile devices. Bader Maps combines the ability to connect their customer’s data (i.e. in their CRM) into a mapping environment. It helps them see their field and determine who to prioritize as a customer (spending can be color-coded, as one example). 

It shows them where appointments are already set and helps them optimize a route based on priority. The app allows you to map out your sales territory in minutes—not hours. The algorithm behind building a route is heavy math that can't be done in your head. Badger takes mapping a territory, prioritization, and route-planning to a whole new level. It also allows you to change your route on the fly and adjust your day to prioritize high-value customers when necessary. 

Top 3 territory sales planning dos and don’ts 

Steve follows these simple—yet effective—when route planning for a sales territory.

• Take the time to get organized. 
• Leverage tools to be efficient; don’t design sales territories by hand.
• Enjoy the strategizing. If you’re in the right headspace it can be fun! 
• Don’t do it by hand (using google maps, a calendar, and CRM). 
• Don’t blow things off.
• Don’t strategize alone, keep your team (including management) in the loop. They can help you brainstorm and improve. 

Listen to the whole episode for more of Steve’s tricks of the trade. 

The right tool boosts effectiveness

Steve works with a company with 300 sales reps. Each one of them manages 10 partner relationships with dentists. But many of them were competing for the same dentists. Their data was a mess. So Steve helped them connect Badger with their CRM. They organized their customers, guided them in the right direction, and their sales jumped 15%. They calculated their miles and meetings throughout the process. Their miles decreased 20% and weekly meetings increased 25%. When the whole company uses the product, the results can be astounding. 

It’s worth spending your time on route planning for your territory using the right tools. You’ll drive fewer miles and bump your sales in a meaningful way. Learn more about Badger Maps in this episode of Sales Reinvented!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Badger Mapping

Connect with Steve Benson

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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The best way to stop being reactive is to ask how you can make your targets while doing as little work as possible. What activities are important? What things can you do to make every minute as useful as possible? It starts by knowing your territory and your plan for your territory. Then you must employ some creative laziness. Learn more about Steve's unique strategy in this episode of Sales Reinvented.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:47] Why is territory planning an underrated activity?
• [2:38] How territory planning can help you be more organized
• [3:33] Steve’s ideal territory sales plan
• [4:47] Great salespeople need to be creatively lazy 
• [7:35] Tools, strategies, and tactics to improve sales planning 
• [8:30] Top three territory sales planning dos and don’ts 
• [10:07] Focus on your niche in your geographical area

Steve’s ideal territory sales plan

A territory can mean many things to many people. Usually, it’s a geographic territory. Most salespeople believe the bigger the territory the better. Steve says that’s a lie. A focused territory where you know the customers well is better than a large territory where you’re stretched thin. A broader region leads to more challenges. Why? You may agree to take on a new client without making certain they fit in your plan. 

What do you sell? What problems do you solve? Start there. If you don’t know this, you won’t know the types of companies/people you should have in your territory. Once you define your ICP, which specific companies have problems you can solve? Are your company’s customers in a particular industry or sector? Look for people similar to your existing customers. Then you can categorize companies and plan your approach. 

Great salespeople need to be creatively lazy

Steves’s answer probably isn’t one you’d commonly hear. Great salespeople are lazy. If you want a life outside of work you have to plan and strategize. You need the ability to strategize and learn quickly. You need to be creatively lazy. 

If you get inbound leads, you can't just jump on them. Look at your territory. If the company isn’t part of your ICP, don’t waste your time on them. Refer them to someone else that is a better fit for them. 

Steve worked with a lazy account manager who took long lunch breaks and went to football games during the workday. But he was a planner. He looked at opportunities, how to get them, and who he needed to talk to to get them. Once he had a strategy in place, he followed it. He didn’t have to work that hard because he strategized well. If you’re lazy, you don’t do things because you’re “supposed to.” You only do activities that help you reach your goals. 

What are you trying to achieve? What are your end goals? What’s the best way to achieve your goals? Do nothing that doesn’t fit in your plan. Avoid distractions. You can outsource those things. Ruthlessly focus on what gets you where you want to be. 

Focus on your niche in your geographical area

For one of Steve’s first sales jobs in Australia, he was told to cold-call people and sell his software to expand their clients. He called food distributors, manufacturers, etc. He learned his company’s software wasn’t suitable for them. They could modify it but didn't have the manpower to do so. 

So Steve went back to his manager and asked him to allow them to focus on who they served best. So the two salespeople doubled down on their niche and his company became the top-selling publishing software in the world. You need to have the right piece to the puzzle. Match what you have to offer to the people that need it in your geographical territory. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Selling to Zebras by Jeff Koser

Connect with Steve Hall

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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It’s not often that we have the honor of hosting a productivity and systems expert on the podcast, but on this episode we have just that. Liz Heiman is a national sales expert and the Founder and CEO of “Regarding Sales, LLC.” The firm she’s created focuses on building B2B sales operating systems that drive extraordinary growth. Liz and Paul continue the series on the topic of territorial sales planning by focusing on the nuts and bolts of what it takes to build a successful plan for your territorial sales efforts.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:57] Why Liz believes territorial sales planning to be underrated in general
• [1:38] The challenge of “reactive selling”
• [2:35] Ingredients of the perfect territorial sales plan
• [5:08] What makes for a great territorial salesperson
• [6:03] Characteristics of a great territorial salesperson
• [9:50] Liz’s top three territorial sales planning DOs and DON’Ts
• [11:50] A territorial sales story (that happens over and over)

Why is territorial sales planning underestimated (and underutilized)?

It’s clear from a brief look across the sales landscape that the importance of territorial sales planning is not understood. Liz believes that it’s a huge mistake to think sellers can simply begin calling leads and make sales. A plan is needed to be most effective. But why don’t sellers and sales leaders build plans?

1. They think that a number (sales goal) is a strategy, but it’s not
2. They don’t know how to structure an effective plan, try it, and it doesn’t work. So they never do it again because it didn’t work
3. Management pushes them to sell but doesn’t help them accomplish that goal

Reactive selling: an Achilles heel when it comes to territorial sales planning

Liz explains that one of the worst habits a salesperson can fall into is what she refers to as “reactive selling.” What is it? What is urgent, what comes across their desk or email each morning is what absorbs their attention. This sort of focus on what’s coming to them is misleading because what’s coming to them doesn’t necessarily get them where they want to go. To avoid reactive selling, a plan is in order. It’s vital to have an endpoint in mind and therefore be clear about the activities that will get them there. Planning is the only way to prioritize those specific activities, which is what makes the achievement of sales goals a reality.

What goes into the perfect territorial sales plan?

Before moving into the elements of a territorial sales plan, Liz reiterates a foundational principle: You must have a funnel/pipeline and understand what is in it. Understand your sales cycle and its velocity. Understand your qualifying process. Understand how many leads need to go into the top of the pipeline to generate the number of sales you need. Your pipeline is the main tool you use to execute your plan. When you understand it, you can create your plan by doing the following…

1. Assess what you sold last year, who you sold to, how it happened
2. Break up your territory into different segments (top clients, undersold clients, referral partners)
3. Leverage existing relationships for referrals
4. Uncover the sales activities that fill in the gaps and generate more qualified leads

A successful territorial salesperson looks like this…

A person who is successful at territorial sales is a person who can and does learn from their mistakes. Instead of beating themselves up over their missteps, they learn the lesson it has to teach them so that they never make that mistake again. It’s learning the skill of leveraging the mistake to serve you instead of holding you back. You use it to reach where you want to go.

Liz also points out that consistency is a multiplier. When you have a well-considered plan for your sales territory and implement it every day, regardless of what comes to you, success is going to come. The right behaviors done repeatedly build success.

This episode is full of actionable tips and powerful insights to help you build a territorial sales plan that will win. Listen to get all the details from Liz Heiman.

Resources & People Mentioned

• BOOK: Strategic Selling

Connect with Liz Heiman

• The company Liz leads: https://www.regardingsales.com/ 
• Follow Liz on LinkedIn 
• Follow Liz on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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Sales superstars who work a territory — be that a geographic area or a particular industry segment — are hard to come by. But great salespeople with no experience in territorial sales can be trained, nurtured, and taught how to create an effective sales plan for their territory that leverages their natural ability into great growth and profitability. This episode features sales coach and trainer, Michael Griego who shares some of the characteristics of sales territory superstars, what goes into a great territorial sales planning process, and more.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:19] Michael Griego:Sales leader, author, speaker
• [1:02] Why territorial sales planning is overlooked so much
• [1:50] The fundamental part territorial sales planning plays
• [2:53] The ingredients of a perfect sales territory plan
• [6:48] What are the attributes of a territorial salesperson?
• [10:54] Michael’s tips for building your own territorial sales plan
• [12:35] Michal's top 3 Sales Territory planning DOs and DON’Ts

Why is territorial sales planning so neglected?

Micheal is quick to agree that territory planning is often overlooked. He says the simple reason for that is that reps are too busy running deals, chasing situations, trying to get deals done, doing the admin side of things, etc. He explains that when there is no clear planning process that guides daily activity those other things take the stage and planning gets pushed to the side. A salesperson without a plan can even be very successful but not necessarily in a strategic or orchestrated manner.

That’s on an individual level, but Michael says the problem exists on an organizational level as well. Often, when he goes in to consult with a company they have some type of planning process in place but it’s many times a legacy process that needs to be revamped. It may also be a sloppy attempt at planning that needs to be tightened up. Michael insists that planning at a hierarchical level (from the territory level down to the daily activity level) is critical.

The components of an ideal territorial sales plan

The good news from Micheal’s perspective is that many things that need to be done to plan effectively are intuitive. Most sales professionals who begin a planning process start with assessment of the current state of the territory — which IS the place to start. Michael explains that a good structure is needed to put a stake in the ground and say “This is what the territory is and this is what I see, currently.“ Next, Michael suggests working out a “Top 10 opportunities” list and a “Top 10 prospects” list. Doing this forces sales reps to clarify what they are really dealing with and helps make the distinction between targeted prospects and active deals.

Beyond this is the need for a development plan. The question to be answered is “What are you doing to develop the pipeline?” Webinars? Mailing campaigns? Launches? Cold calling? Once implemented the development plan needs to be reviewed and updated on a 30-60-90 day basis. Listen to hear the rest of Michael’s recommended territorial sales planning process.

Attributes of a sales superstar that carry over into a territory planning mindset

In his book, “42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness” Micheal outlines the attributes of sales superstars. He says these same 5 characteristics need to exist for those who excel in territorial sales. What are the 5 attributes?

1. Be a driver (Be motivated, on top of things, eager to implement and take action)
2. Be a technician (Become competent with your product/solution/industry through study)
3. Be a facilitator (Learn to be an excellent communicator)
4. Be an empathizer (Develop your people skills and learn to be relational)
5. Be a servant (care for customers)

Michael’s insight into organizing a sales territory is so relevant and applicable you’ll want to listen to this episode a number of times. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Gartner
• BOOK: The Challenger Sale

Connect with Mike Griego

• MXL Partners - MIchael’s sales consultancy
• BOOK: The 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness
• Follow Michael on LinkedIn 
• Follow Michael on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

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Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

To you, is territory sales planning as simple as, “I’ve got a territory, so my main goal is grow the client base within my territory”? If so, this episode’s guest, Paula White, says you could be missing the practical details that will enable you to do just that. Paula is a returning guest on this episode of Sales Reinvented and provides a significant bit of insight into how intentional and detailed planning, broken down into bite-sized pieces can help you grow sales volume within your territory.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:19] Paula White: Champion of stand-alone digital sales channels
• [0:43] The underrated activity of territory sales planning
• [1:18] How planning fits into day to day activity and the benefits of doing so 
• [3:28] Intentionality includes a “leave-behind”
• [5:11] The power of a 30, 60, 90 day plan for every salesperson
• [6:05] A summary of Paula’s quarterly plan, broken down into 30, 60, 90 day intervals
• [6:55] Paula’s top 3 territorial planning DOs and DON’Ts
• [9:22] Lesson-Learned: A favorite territory planning story from Paula 

Paula’s number one ingredient for sales territory planning: Quarterly snapshots

When Paula thinks about her sales territory, she doesn’t allow herself to view it as a huge, nebulous whole that has to be grown over the course of a fiscal year. She breaks it down into possibilities, by quarter. This enables her to work with manageable groupings of existing clients and potential clients without being overwhelmed… and she does this on a quarterly basis. 

When asked what that quarterly plan consists of, Paula says that in her approach she’s identifying who she’s going to target each month within the quarter. The rhythm that works for her is to focus on target customers or prospects during month one, what she calls “bottom customers” during month two (those who perhaps do a lower volume of business or have made minor purchases to date) and then her “middle customers” during month three. One of the things Paula likes about this approach is that it allows her to fit seasonal targets into her planning in a practical manner.

Great territory sales professionals are intentional

As you hear Paula speak about her approach to planning for her sales territory, one thing becomes evident: she’s intentional. She sets goals and integrates the steps she’ll have to take in order to reach those goals into her day to day planning. This plan guides her preparation for appointments and calls and even helps her stay on track during those calls. It also enables her to create what she refers to as a “leave-behind” for each appointment — a review of everything discussed during the call for the prospect or customer to review once the call is over. This kind of intentionality increases your confidence as a seller but more importantly, enables you to serve prospects and customers in a professional manner. 

30, 60, 90-day planning is essential for territorial sales

Paula integrates intentionality with her quarterly planning by breaking each quarter down into further blocks. She creates 30, 60, and 90 day plans for herself, much like a new salesperson may be required to do as they onboard with a sales organization. She says it’s a discipline that serves veteran sellers as well as newcomers. In these smaller plans, Paula writes down who she wants to meet with, what she hopes to accomplish, how she wants to get those things done, in detail, and more. At the end of these 30, 60, 90 day blocks, she evaluates by asking a number of questions...

• How did she do at hitting her goals?
• What prevented success?
• What didn’t go according to plan?
• How can she optimize her opportunities during the next 30 days?

Paula’s top 3 dos and don’ts for territorial sales planning

To sum up Paula’s perspective on planning for success in territorial sales, she offers three “DOs” and three “DON’Ts”:

DOs

• Be intentional and specific
• Create a 30, 60, 90 day plan
• Keep a smile on your face (positivity empowers your planning and production)

DON’Ts 

• Waste your time by creating a plan but not following it
• Assume everything will be fantastic. You have to course-correct as you go
• Get down on yourself. Sales is tough and requires perseverance and confidence

Connect with Paula White

• Paula on LinkedIn
• Paula on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

If you are a sales leader, how do you go about planning your organization’s sales territory approach? Whether you’re dealing with geographic territories or industry niches and companies within those niches, you need to use every resource available within your team to establish your territories wisely. Brynne Tillman has a wealth of insight into this sort of planning and specializes in using LinkedIn to find the best territorial fit between the target territory and the sales professionals on your team. Listen to this episode to get all the details from Brynne’s experience.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:18] Brynne Tillman: The LinkedIn Whisperer
• [1:16] Territories help with organization and sales networking
• [3:44] Brynne’s ingredients for the perfect sales plan
• [5:36] A bonus for those establishing sales territories
• [6:33] What makes a great territorial salesperson?
• [9:43] Brynne’s DO’s and DON’Ts for sales territory planning
• [13:57] A favorite territory sales planning story from Brynne (and the lesson learned)

Territorial sales planning can make a bottom-line difference

Strategically approaching your sales territory planning will yield tremendous results if you take the time to do it. And those in leadership within sales organizations especially need to learn how to establish and assign territories for maximum impact. Brynne says that when doing so, every element that goes into creating a lead list should be very focused. When you can define not just what to do but with whom to do it, you can be much more productive and focused. This is where Brynne’s expertise with LinkedIn shines.

She suggests that sales professionals search their ideal buyers (titles, positions, companies) and their geography using LinkedIn. Even the free version can perform searches like this on a granular level. You’ll be able to build a sizeable list of leads to qualify and approach using the advanced search functionality offered on the platform. When you do this, you don’t waste time cold-calling people who aren’t a good fit for your offering. That results in more targeted conversations, which will impact bottom-line sales. 

What is the most effective way to sell what you sell?

Many sales leaders grab a map and set of pins to begin their sales territory planning, but Brynne says that’s one of the least effective ways of going about it. She suggests that you examine your existing book of business to first, understand who your target market is and what they typically buy from you. Using that data, look at the territory in question and find the companies and organizations that possess what you might call a “look-alike” profile. In the end, you want to ensure that the filters you’re using to create your territorial sales plan produces a list of prospects that are achievable for the sales rep, both in terms of profile and geography. Brynne calls this “the planning before the planning” and says it’s a huge step toward empowering sales reps for success.

The ingredients of an effective territorial sales plan

Too often, sales leaders don’t consider their sales team’s existing relationships when assigning territories. Brynne says this is a huge mistake. As a sales leader, you can do your own research to ensure you are assigning the right sales rep to the right industry niche or geographic territory using Linked In. First, ensure you have connected with the sales rep yourself. Next, use LinkedIn’s search functionality to research your sales rep’s connections by industry and geography. You may find that a rep you intended to assign to a specific city has very few existing relationships there while another on your team has many. A successful sales rep rises and falls on relationships so don’t leave out existing connections when devising your territory strategy.

Brynne’s DOs and DON’Ts for territorial sales planning

DOs

• Ensure that your LinkedIn profile clearly speaks to your target buyers
• Sales leaders: Search your rep’s contacts to ensure they fit the territory
• Talk to your reps to ensure they fit the territory you’re assigning them to

DON’Ts

• Don’t use a map and pins to assign territories
• Take an account-centric approach, not just account-based
• Allow for flexibility when assigning territories because of relationship opportunities

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sales Navigator
• Zoominfo
• Dun & Bradstreet

Connect with Brynne Tillman

• Connect with Brynne on LinkedIn
• Connect with Brynne on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

When salespeople were forced to switch from face-to-face selling to virtual selling, they were forced to learn a different medium of communication. What you used to be able to communicate with your face, body language, energy, etc. has to be squeezed into a small square on a computer screen. Your customer doesn’t have the context of face-to-face. It requires learning new skills. In this episode of Sales Reinvented, Julie Hansen shares how acting skills can benefit a salesperson and help them succeed in this virtual reality we now live in. 

Outline of This Episode

• [0:43] The difference between selling face-to-face and selling virtually
• [2:38] How businesses can improve virtual selling
• [4:47] Julie’s virtual selling blueprint
• [6:54] Attributes + characteristics that make a great virtual seller
• [9:34] Tools, techniques, and strategies to improve virtual sales 
• [11:55] Julie’s virtual selling dos and virtual selling don’ts
• [16:07] Get the virtual training you need to succeed in your role

The difference between selling face-to-face and selling virtually

Julie has a background in acting. Most actors/actresses start their careers doing live theatre. You can see your audience and what lands—or doesn’t—and adjust accordingly. Virtual selling is similar to moving to on-camera work. 

When Julie moved from live audiences to camera, she did what she did for theatre. But the director pointed out she wasn’t looking in the right place, she was out of frame, and was distracting. She learned she had to get new training to communicate in the new medium. Salespeople need to acknowledge that and learn new skills so they can communicate in a virtual environment. 

How businesses can improve virtual selling

Organizations learned that they can be more cost-effective doing sales calls virtually. Plus, McKinsey found in their research that more than three-quarters of B2B buyers prefer remote interaction versus face-to-face. You need to adapt to the new reality.

Most organizations throw tools and technology at their salesforce but haven’t realized that communication differences need to be addressed. How does the camera read behavior? What about your eye contact and facial expressions? Are you communicating what you need to? 

You have to learn to connect one-on-one on camera because sales are all about building relationships. People buy from people they like and they feel confident with. So you have to learn to establish those relationships through a camera. That’s where the growth needs to be. If you can do that, you’ll rise to the top and stand out. 

Attributes + characteristics that make a great virtual seller

Julie believes that the qualities needed to succeed are the same, whether in person or virtually. You need to be credible, keep your word, be authentic, show empathy, be an active listener, etc. But those qualities are often lost in a virtual exchange, so you have to adjust the way you communicate them.

In a face-to-face conversation, if someone stared at your shoes the whole time, you’d feel like they weren’t interested. But it happens on video all the time. You may be looking at the customer’s image, screen, tools, etc. You need to understand that the quality of active listening requires you to behave differently. You have to know when to look at the camera directly. Your fave must communicate the emotions you think it is.

What tools, techniques, and strategies does Julie recommend to improve how you portray yourself on video? Listen to learn more! 

Julie’s virtual selling dos and virtual selling don’ts

Julie shared some amazing tips to help you improve your skills:

• You have to record yourself and you have to review it so you know how your customer sees you.
• You have to bring more energy to a virtual call because the camera takes some away. You can be natural and comfortable but you can’t come across as laid back and low energy. Get yourself in a good high-energy state before jumping into a conversation.
• Make sure that you are managing your tools and technology and engaging your customer. Salespeople tend to go into monologues because customers aren’t responding. Recognize that people are more passive on video and engage far less. You have to work harder to foster engagement. 
• Don’t stare at your customers' image when they’re talking—look at the camera. But if you’re looking at the camera, how do you read body language? There are different techniques, one of which is using peripheral vision to glance at their image. 
• Don’t assume that your customer will answer you right away. Give them a second to respond. If you ask and answer your own questions, you’ve trained them that they don’t have to respond. Silence is uncomfortable, but you have to allow them time to process and answer. 

Get the virtual training you need to succeed 

Julie got a call from an experienced enterprise sales rep who was a top biller before things moved virtually. He felt like he wasn’t connecting with his customers and that he had lost his superpower. When Julie worked with him on camera, it was obvious his personality wasn't coming across. He felt scripted and his discomfort was obvious.

She worked with him on improving his eye contact, body language, energy, and what his face was portraying. After working together, he went back to a customer where he had been shut out of a big deal. He put together a compelling and engaging personalized video that got him back in the running. 

You have to admit that you don’t know what you don’t know and get the help you need to adapt to this new environment. Don’t sit and suffer in silence. Stand up for yourself and get the training that you need to succeed. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• These eight charts show how COVID-19 has changed B2B sales forever

Connect with Julie Hansen

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on Twitter

Connect With Paul Watts 

• LinkedIn
• Twitter 

Subscribe to SALES REINVENTED

Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com