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BSBSLS501 – Develop a Sales Plan
Questions:
1. Look for an organisation or any company and then read
through a variety of their workplace documentation, which
contains information related to sales requirements or sales
document or their sales plan. Interpret this information and
create summaries for employees which outline their
organisational requirements during the sales process?
2. Conduct a research or market analysis actions in order to
highlight a new or innovative sales approach that can be used
for an upcoming sales plan. Summarize the actions taken with a
new or innovative ideas.
3. Write a draft sales plan in no less than 100 words. This
should outline the product unique selling point, sales targets,
risks, and sales approach. Ensure that the write up:
· Uses appropriate structure and language
· Enables questions to be asked to clarify understanding?
4. Locate a sales figure for a product or service from a previous
sales campaign.
Use this data and organisational goals to develop targets for a
current product or service to be released. This should involve
the use of mathematical calculations and your targets should be
put into a workplace system or spreadsheet?
5. Organise and document training requirements for at least
three people within the sales team. This should involve holding
a conversation with the individuals to discuss their role and the
training they require in order to conduct their role effectively.

6. Following the implementation of the sales plan within the
workplace, monitor the sales performance and on at least two
occasions and report your findings to relevant personnel. Where
necessary, make amendments to the sales plan where
performance is different to expectations?
7. Outline at least two principles and techniques for selling.
8. Provide 3 examples of methods for monitoring sales
outcomes.
9. Outline the statistical techniques that are used in your place
of work to analyse sales and market trends.
10. Outline two internal and external sources of information
that are relevant to identifying organisational strategic direction
and developing a product sales plan.
11. Analyse information from a variety of internal and external
sources and develop a sales plan for a product and sales
territory that meets the organisational strategic direction.
The plan should incorporate the following:
· Resources requirements and budget
· Achievable sales targets
· Performance measures
· Approaches to be used to meet objectives
· Risk Management
· Advertising and promotional strategy
· Product distribution channels
This should be structured in line with organisational
expectations.
12. For the sales plan that you have developed, describe how
would you:
· Acquire staff
· Develop a selling approach among the sales team
· Provide training and support to the sales team on product
knowledge and the sales approach.
13. Following the implementation of the plan, monitor and
evaluate performance over at least two designated time lines,
such as weekly or monthly. Adjust the plan as appropriate in
response to performance levels.

14. Provide 3 examples of adjustments that could be made to a
sales plan to ensure required results are obtained.
15. Describe how confirming and corrective feedback could be
provided to staff members to ensure required results are
obtained.
Learner Guide
BSBSLS501
Develop a Sales Plan
This leader guide is a copyright of RTO Materials.

Table of Contents
Unit of Competency
...............................................................................................
.......................... 5
Application
...............................................................................................
............................................ 5
Performance Criteria
...............................................................................................
.............................. 6
Foundation Skills
...............................................................................................
................................... 7
Assessment Requirements
......................................................................................... ......
...................... 8
1. Identify organisational strategic direction
..................................................................................... 9
1.1 – Obtain and analyse assessment of market needs and
strategic planning documents ......................... 10
Strategic direction of the organisation
...............................................................................................
.. 10

Business
plan........................................................................................
............................................... 10
Marketing plan
...............................................................................................
..................................... 11
Gathering information about the market
.............................................................................................
12
1.2 – Review previous sales performance and successful
approaches to identify factors affecting
performance
...............................................................................................
............................................. 14
Previous sales performance
...............................................................................................
.................. 14
Factors affecting performance
...............................................................................................
.............. 15
1.3 – Analyse information on market needs, new opportunities,
customer profiles and requirements as a
basis for decision making
...............................................................................................
......................... 17
Market segmentation

...............................................................................................
............................ 17
New opportunities
...............................................................................................
............................... 18
Identifying consumer attributes
...............................................................................................
............ 18
How to gather data
...............................................................................................
............................... 18
Examples of
attributes.................................................................................
........................................ 19
2. Establish performance targets
...............................................................................................
..... 21
2.1 – Determine practical and achievable sales
targets.............................................................................. 22
Determining sales targets
............................................................................................ ...
...................... 22
Estimating potential revenue
...............................................................................................
................ 22
2.2 – Establish realistic time lines for achieving targets
............................................................................ 24

Time lines for achieving targets
...............................................................................................
............ 24
Multiple time lines
...............................................................................................
................................ 24
Considering times of year
...............................................................................................
..................... 25
2.3 – Determine measures to allow for monitoring of
performance ......................................................... 26
Measures for monitoring performance
...............................................................................................
. 26
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Customer/client based feedback
...............................................................................................
.......... 26
2.4 – Ensure objectives of the sales plan and style of the
campaign are consistent with organisational
strategic objectives and corporate image
...............................................................................................
... 28

Planning sales
operations....................................................................... ........
...................................... 28
Establishing business objectives
...............................................................................................
........... 28
Ensuring style is in line with corporate image
...................................................................................... 29
3. Develop a sales plan for a product
..............................................................................................
30
3.1 – Determine approaches to be used to meet sales objectives
.............................................................. 31
Sales approaches to meet objectives
...............................................................................................
..... 31
Client centred approach
...............................................................................................
....................... 31
Increasing average spend
...............................................................................................
...................... 32
Attracting new customers
...............................................................................................
..................... 33
3.2 – Identify additional expertise requirements and allocate
budgetary resources accordingly ................. 34

Expertise requirements
...............................................................................................
......................... 34
Budgetary resources
...............................................................................................
............................. 34
3.3 – Identify risks and develop risk controls
...........................................................................................
35
Identifying risks
...............................................................................................
.................................... 35
Developing a contingency plan/risk controls
...................................................................................... 35
3.4 – Develop advertising and promotional strategy for product
............................................................. 37
Developing advertising and promotional strategy
................................................................................ 37
Types of promotions
...............................................................................................
............................ 38
Using displays and stands
................................................................................ ...............
..................... 38
3.5 – Identify appropriate distribution channels for product
.................................................................... 40

Product distribution channels
...............................................................................................
............... 40
Types of channels
...............................................................................................
................................ 41
3.6 – Prepare a budget for the sales plan
...............................................................................................
... 42
Preparing a budget
...............................................................................................
............................... 42
Previous budgets
...............................................................................................
.................................. 43
3.7 – Present documented sales plan to appropriate personnel
for approval ............................................ 44
Proposals for resource requirements
...............................................................................................
.... 44
Approval for plan
...............................................................................................
................................. 45
4. Identify support requirements
...............................................................................................
..... 46

4.1 – Identify and acquire staff resources to implement sales
plan ........................................................... 47
Identifying staff resources
...............................................................................................
.................... 47
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Size of the sales
team........................................................................................
................................... 47
Acquiring staff
...............................................................................................
..................................... 48
4.2 – Develop an appropriate selling approach
........................................................................................ 50
Developing a selling approach
...............................................................................................
.............. 50
4.3 – Train staff in the selling approach selected
...................................................................................... 51
Training staff
...............................................................................................
........................................ 51
4.4 – Develop and assess staff knowledge of product to be sold
.............................................................. 52

Knowledge of product details
...............................................................................................
............... 52
Sources of information
...............................................................................................
......................... 52
Assessing knowledge
...............................................................................................
............................ 53
5. Monitor and review sales plan
...............................................................................................
...... 54
5.1 – Monitor implementation of the sales plan
....................................................................................... 55
Monitoring implementation
...............................................................................................
.................. 55
Observing response to products
...............................................................................................
........... 55
5.2 – Record data measuring performance versus sales targets
................................................................. 57
Recording data
...............................................................................................
..................................... 57
5.3 – Make adjustments to sales plan as required to ensure

required results are obtained ......................... 58
Adjusting the sales plan
...............................................................................................
........................ 58
Providing feedback to employees
...............................................................................................
......... 58
Summative Assessments
................................................................................ ...............
........................... 60
References..............................................................................
................................................................. 61
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Unit of Competency
Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to develop
a sales plan for a product or service for a
team covering a specified sales territory based on strategic
objectives and in accordance with established
performance targets.

It applies to individuals working in a supervisory or managerial
sales role who develop a sales plan for a
product or service.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to
this unit at the time of publication
Unit Mapping Information
BSBSLS501A Develop a sales plan – equivalent unit
Unit Sector
Business Development – Sales
P a g e | 6
Element
Elements describe the essential
outcomes.
Performance criteria describe the performance needed to
demonstrate achievement
of the element.
1. Identify

organisational
strategic direction
1.1 Obtain and analyse assessment of market needs and strategic
planning documents
1.2 Review previous sales performance and successful
approaches
to identify factors affecting performance
1.3 Analyse information on market needs, new opportunities,
customer profiles and requirements as a basis for decision
making
2. Establish
performance targets
2.1 Determine practical and achievable sales targets
2.2 Establish realistic time lines for achieving targets
2.3 Determine measures to allow for monitoring of performance
2.4 Ensure objectives of the sales plan and style of the
campaign
are consistent with organisational strategic objectives and
corporate image
3. Develop a sales plan
for a product
3.1 Determine approaches to be used to meet sales objectives
3.2 Identify additional expertise requirements and allocate
budgetary resources accordingly

3.3 Identify risks and develop risk controls
3.4 Develop advertising and promotional strategy for product
3.5 Identify appropriate distribution channels for product
3.6 Prepare a budget for the sales plan
3.7 Present documented sales plan to appropriate personnel for
approval
4. Identify support
requirements
4.1 Identify and acquire staff resources to implement sales plan
4.2 Develop an appropriate selling approach
4.3 Train staff in the selling approach selected
4.4 Develop and assess staff knowledge of product to be sold
5. Monitor and review
sales plan
5.1 Monitor implementation of the sales plan
5.2 Record data measuring performance versus sales targets
5.3 Make adjustments to sales plan as required to ensure
required
results are obtained
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Foundation Skills
This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and
employment skills incorporated in the performance criteria that
are
required for competent performance.
Reading
on
processes related to sales requirements.
Writing
requirements
and structure for audience and purpose.
Oral Communication
appropriate structure and language
to clarify or confirm understanding.
Numeracy
analyse information related to sales plans,
targets and performance.

Navigate the world of work
developing sales plans and strategies.
Interact with others
when communicating with a range of
personnel
written formats, drawing on a range of
communication practices to achieve training goals.
Get the work done
implementation and manages relevant
communication
-routine
situations, setting goals, designing
strategies, gathering relevant information and evaluating
options
implementation of solutions and reflect on outcomes
analysis and critical thinking.

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Assessment Requirements
Performance Evidence
Evidence of the ability to:
sales plan for a product and sales territory
that meets organisational strategic direction including:
o resource requirements and budget
o achievable sales targets
o performance measures
o approaches to be used to meet objectives
o risk management
o advertising and promotional strategy
o product distribution channels
support on product knowledge and sales
approach
appropriate.
Note: If a specific volume or frequency is not stated, then
evidence must be provided at least once.
Knowledge Evidence
To complete the unit requirements safely and effectively, the

individual must:
statistical techniques for analysing sales and
market trends
relevant to identifying organisational
strategic direction and developing a product sales plan.
Assessment Conditions
Assessment must be conducted in a safe environment where
evidence gathered demonstrates consistent
performance of typical activities experienced in the business
development – sales field of work and include
access to:
nd resources
Assessors must satisfy NVR/AQTF assessor requirements.
Links
Companion Volume implementation guides are found in
VETNet -
https://vetnet.education.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=11e
f6853-ceed-4ba7-9d87-4da407e23c10

https://vetnet.education.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=11e
f6853-ceed-4ba7-9d87-4da407e23c10
P a g e | 9
1. Identify organisational strategic direction
1.1. Obtain and analyse assessment of market needs and
strategic planning documents
1.2. Review previous sales performance and successful
approaches to identify factors affecting
performance
1.3. Analyse information on market needs, new opportunities,
customer profiles and requirements as a
basis for decision making
P a g e | 10
1.1 – Obtain and analyse assessment of market needs and
strategic planning
documents
By the end of this chapter, the learner should be able to:
hat should be obtained from
strategic planning documents

to help inform their sales approach
to research in order to establish
market needs.
Strategic direction of the organisation
When developing a sales plan for a product or service, it is vital
to consider the wider strategic direction of
the organisation. The marketing and sales approach used should
be in line with the wider goals and objectives
of the organisation, while taking finances and resources into
account.
Prior to developing a sales plan for a particular product or
service, it is good practice to carefully read
through your business plan and wider marketing plan. The
business plan should outline the business mission,
vision, values and objectives, while the marketing plan should
include a range of information in regards to
how products are and services are brought to market and the
sales forecast and budget.
Business plan
Mission and vision
The mission statement briefly defines the purpose of the

organisation and the reason for its existence. It provides the
framework to help guide the company’s strategies. The vision
statement dictates the direction you want the company to move
in.
The vision and mission statements ought to guide the everyday
activities of each person involved in the business. To be
effective,
your statements need to be short and simple, capturing the
essence of what you want to accomplish.
Goals
Goals are general statements of what you want to achieve. This
means they need to be combined with your
vision. They also need to be integrated with your mission of
how you are going to achieve your vision.
Examples of company goals are:
se efficiency

Goals should meet the following criteria:
– does it fit with the company vision and mission?
P a g e | 11
– does it correspond with the values of the
company and employees?
– is it stated in a simple manner?
– can it be altered if needed?
Source: Creating A Mission Statement, Setting Goals And
Developing Strategies,
http://rvcog.org/Creating%20a%20Mission%20Statement.pdf
(access date: 20/07/2017).
Business objectives
In comparison to goals, objectives are precise, quantifiable,
time-sensitive statements of what is going to be
achieved and when it will be achieved. They are signposts along
the path of achieving your goals.
Examples of company objectives are:
-tax rate of return

on our net investment during the next fiscal year
market share by 10 percent over the next
two years
next three years by improving the efficiency of the
manufacturing process
-back time of customer inquiries and
questions to no more than three
hours.
Marketing plan
A marketing plan is a document that most organisations should
create which outlines the advertising and
marketing plans for the coming year. The marketing plan will
usually be generated in accordance with or as
part of the overall business plan. While a business plan will
state the overall direction and goals of the
business, the marketing plan often sets out how the goals of the
organisation can be reached, such as
increasing market share and increasing customer loyalty.
Sections that may be contained within your marketing plan
could include:

– the methods required to gather
information about the market
– the customers that are targeted by the
organisation, including their
wants and needs
– establishing what sets apart your
products and services to those that
are offered by other organisations
– the current prices for various items and
offers or special deals
– the means of promoting your business
or products and services, such
as a website, catalogue, billboard, etc.
– methods of converting potential
customers into paying customers.
You will need to consider all of the above when planning your
sales activities e.g. it is no good trying to sell
something using an expensive method if it won’t fit with your
budget requirements.
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Gathering information about the market
Once you have a clear picture of the direction of the business
and the current approaches used for bringing
products or services to market, it will be important to view the
wider industry and establish current trends
and customer preferences.
Marketing responsibilities
The responsibility of recognising and satisfying the needs of
customers while
meeting the objectives set out by the organisation is a crucial
aspect of
marketing. Entire teams are often given the duty of conducting
market analysis
so that a greater understanding can be built regarding the types
of products or
services that should be brought to market and the quantity
required.
Recognising the market that a company exists in is not always
straightforward.
The place of sale has altered substantially for many businesses
with the increase
in online purchasing, which creates additional marketing
requirements.

Additionally, many businesses attempt to diversify their product
range and philosophy in order to reach a
wider target market. This has implications in terms of how
promotional activities will take place.
When a new product or service is being launched, or a new or
updated version of an existing item is being
introduced, a detailed picture should be built regarding the
market that it will exist in. This should be
conducted in accordance with the organisational marketing plan.
P a g e | 13
Types of information you might be required to research may
include:
o volume – this states the total number of goods or services sold
within a certain area
over a given period. it can be easier to comprehend for some
people in comparison
to dealing with large amounts of revenue
o value – the total revenue of goods sold

– percentage change in sales volume or
value over a given period of
time
– the percentage of total sales in the market
belonging to the business
Further information on how to obtain this information will be
looked at in the upcoming chapters.
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1.2 – Review previous sales performance and successful
approaches to identify
factors affecting performance
to gain access to in order to
review previous sales performance
performance of previous sales
events to help prepare them for future levels of demand

the successfulness of previous
sales approaches.
Previous sales performance
One of the first steps that should be taken when considering
sales approaches for new products or services is
looking back at previous marketing and sales campaigns to
establish what worked well and what hindered
performance. Aspects that worked well can be adapted to the
new product or service launches while aspects
that were deemed unsuccessful could be avoided or altered.
Reviewing your past sales performance will usually involve
looking at financial results over a given period of
time. Monitoring performance, especially in terms of financial
matters, is an extremely important aspect of
any business, no matter how large the company.
It is crucial to measure the following in relation to a particular
product or service:
– the total income received by the business
for the product or service. Be careful to look out for
whether this is displayed as ‘net revenue’ i.e. excluding
things such as discounts or refunds, or ‘gross revenue’,

which can be described as the total value of goods or
services sold
– the finances that had to be spent by the
organisation in order to operate and maximise income
- this is the income that is counted as ‘profit,’
after costs and other
expenditures have been deducted from overall revenue.
Accessing financial documents
The processes involved in accessing existing financial
information are likely to be impacted by the role of the
employee and the location where such information is stored.
Someone within the organisation may regularly
distribute operational and financial documents to all senior
management figures or to the wider workforce,
for example through email or physical reports. Alternatively,
this information could be stored in a central
location such as within a storage room or on the company’s
computer system. When access to important
financial information is restricted, you should communicate the
reasons why you require the documents to
the appropriate personnel.
You may need to access the following financial information:

mmaries and balances
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Reviewing sales events
If an organisation sell its product or services at events, it should
be possible to review sales figures from
previous events. This will involve accessing a report or sales
summary that should have been completed at
the conclusion of the event.
Establishing the following could help prepare you for future
levels of demand:
ods or services were sold?
excess?

meet consumer demands?
y people are expected at future events?
If you can answer these questions, then a much clearer picture
can be built regarding what the needs of
people at future events.
Factors affecting performance
Once you have a range of figures in relation to how a product or
service performed on the market, it will
then be necessary to establish why this was the case. Simply
recognising that a product performed well
previously is not enough to conclude that a similar product
would also be profitable; various factors could be
pertinent as to why a product or service performed well in the
market at a given period in time.
Gaining performance information on particular product or
service launches will involve analysing the above
financial sources and also reviewing any explanatory
documents, such as sales reports and communications
between marketing personnel.

Factors affecting performance to analyse may include:
o advertising
o direct marketing
o distribution
o e-marketing
P a g e | 16
o loyalty programs
o market research
o marketing communications
o pricing
o product development, including pre- and post-launch
o salesforce
o finding out the number of people who turned up to an event
that was promoted
o establishing the quantity or value of goods or services sold
following a promotion

o assessing the number of people who have entered a
competition
o analysing previous customer feedback
o viewing the source of pay per click advertising
o reviewing sales data, including;
were part of a
promotional campaign
about the product
or service
met at all times
service:
o the size of the sales team
o the skillset and experience of team members.
When considering the approaches to be taken when selling a
new product or service, incorporating your
findings from a range of the above will increase the likelihood
of the sales process being a success.

P a g e | 17
1.3 – Analyse information on market needs, new opportunities,
customer
profiles and requirements as a basis for decision making
any may conduct market
segmentation
opportunities
an understanding of customer
profiles
e used to guide
their sales plan.
Market segmentation
Businesses must gain as detailed a picture as possible about
their potential customers. This information is
crucial in order to establish an effective pricing strategy and
market items to maximise uptake.

Market segmentation is one method regularly applied by
organisations to establish the types of customers
who will buy particular products and respond to certain
promotions. This involves classifying customers or
potential customers into categories or sub-categories, where
each one shares at least one common
characteristic. Customers placed into a certain market segment
will usually respond to a marketing strategy or
promotion in a known way, different to other market segments.
Segmentation analysis, meanwhile, is where quantitative and
qualitative data analysis is used to try and
establish the characteristics of consumers. This will be looked
at in more detail in the following section.
Reasons for market segmentation may include:
have not been reached by other products or campaigns
roduct or
service to reach the target group.
There are issues with market segmentation though, such as:

not always obvious
segment can be difficult, especially
when customer characteristics vary substantially
they can quickly lose interest
products
potential customers being lost
who also have an interest in your product or service.
Overcoming these problems will need to be discussed between
marketing employees or with senior
managers.
P a g e | 18
New opportunities
Use new technologies and media
Using new technologies and media to create selling
opportunities is valuable in society today. More and more
people are using social media to advertise and sell products and

services. To do this successfully, you will
need to be in the right place at the right time and this will
involve maintaining a regular awareness of
technology and media trends.
Consider the following to identify new opportunities:
searches that pick up key phrases that you could use to
your advantage
qualities/profiles
from your products or services
demonstrate your knowledge and get your
organisation noticed
including product or service choices,
pricing, branding, loyalty schemes, etc.
Identifying consumer attributes

There are a wide range of attributes that might distinguish
consumers and result in them being separated into
separate market segments. Marketing is increasingly driven by
the significant amounts of data that is created
through the internet, social media, and from interactions with
existing clients. Information can be gained
regarding the behaviour of customers, including what they want
and when they want it.
Knowing who your existing customers are and what they want
will not help to improve their satisfaction and
make them more likely to return for further business, but it can
support your marketing to entice new
customers and increase sales. You should try to find out about
their opinions and preferences, as well as their
purchasing habits.
How to gather data
Market research reports
Market reports are often found freely available and can provide
a useful starting point for analysing the types
of consumers in the market. They may offer information from a
large dataset which you would struggle to
gather yourself through primary research. Reports can provide
information about sales figures, customer

demographics, and current trends.
There should be a sense of caution when reading market
research reports and applying the data to your
marketing activities. The data might not be applicable to your
exact target market. For example, a report may
contain details about the sports drinks market, including
customer preferences and their demographics.
However, there are many different types of sports drinks, and
general information in relation to the whole
industry may not be accurate for a product your organisation is
planning to introduce. Additionally, the
research may be out of date or could have been based on a
particular locality.
P a g e | 19
Customer surveys and feedback
Gaining feedback from customers should be something that is
frequently performed in order to support
continuous improvement of all aspects of the business. As well
as discovering opinions regarding your
advertising, products, and customer service, previous surveys
that you have conducted will provide personal

details about your consumers.
Types of feedback may include:
– conducted by an interviewer, who
asks questions and notes down the responses of the
interviewee
– handing customers a list of questions for
them to complete within the store or in their own time
– these are sent to the addresses of known
customers, but rely on a high response rate in order for the
data to be representative
– a higher response rate can be
gained when calling known customers to gain further
information about their needs and preferences, but can lead to
customer resentment due to
the surge in telesales.
Competitions or promotions
Organisations often make the most of competitions in order to
gather information about their customers.
Products might be offered as a prize or customers could be
given a voucher if they are selected as the winner.

Not only can such competitions increase the awareness of the
company, through word of mouth or social
media, but they could be designed so that customers or potential
customers have to share a number of
personal details. These can then be analysed and considered
alongside other sets of data to establish
consumer attributes.
Online users/accounts
Your website can act as a crucial platform for discovering
information about consumers. If you sell goods
and services online, customers can be asked to create an account
or fill in a variety of details before their
transaction is completed. All of this information can then be
held in a centralised database. This provides you
with the opportunity to look at all customers at once and update
their details when necessary.
Examples of attributes
Your organisational database may contain some of the following
attributes regarding customers;
Age
Many organisations will segment customers and potential
customers on the basis of age. Tastes and

preferences differ dramatically between different age groups.
Take the example of clothing; some companies
will exist purely to target children, or people over the age of 60,
while others will attempt to have multiple
campaigns and clothing lines to cater for more than one age
group.
P a g e | 20
Gender
Many products and services will be directed entirely at either
males or females. Cosmetic products are for
example aimed at females, while computer gaming products are
predominantly aimed at males. However, it is
important to recognise the potential in including the other
gender and not overlooking potential customers.
Lifestyle
Data about the lifestyle choices of consumers can be gained
from
their buying history and based on customer feedback. The
pattern

of their spending can be analysed and predictions can be made
about how they will respond to new products or services.
Income
The income of potential customers will have implications on the
amount of money they can spend on your products or services.
High-end items will be aimed at particular people and
advertised
using different methods to low and middle-end items.
Geographic
Tastes and preferences may differ depending on the geographic
location of consumers. The market could be segmented into
cities,
states, regions, or countries if operating on an international
scale. Divisions could also be made between
rural, suburban and urban areas, as the needs, wants, and
cultural characteristics of consumers may be
different.
Generating geographic segments is relatively straightforward
and can provide businesses with an opportunity
to solely target a particular area before launching elsewhere.

Frequency of purchase
Customers could be separated in relation to when they purchase
items and how frequently they do so. For
example, some customers might like to purchase new products
as soon as they are released, while others tend
to buy them later on. Consumers could also be segmented based
on how often they visit the business
premises or use the website, as frequent purchasers could be
targeted in different ways to occasional ones.
P a g e | 21
2. Establish performance targets
2.1. Determine practical and achievable sales targets
2.2. Establish realistic time lines for achieving targets
2.3. Determine measures to allow for monitoring of performance
2.4. Ensure objectives of the sales plan and style of the
campaign are consistent with organisational
strategic objectives and corporate image
P a g e | 22

2.1 – Determine practical and achievable sales targets
practical and achievable sales targets
ucial pieces of information required to estimate
revenue when observing past
sales figures.
Determining sales targets
During the process of developing a sales plan for products or
services, it is crucial to establish a range of
targets and performance measures. This will not only influence
the budget for the product or service, but will
also give the sales team something to strive for and compare
performance with throughout the process.
Setting sales targets which are practical and achievable will
require you to:
product

nt rates, such as response
rates to social media followers.
Creating sales targets ought to take place in consultation with
others in the organisation. Meetings could take
place where all of the above factors are taken into account and
various different managers or sales personnel
can put their views across on targets and objectives. Allowing a
number of people to contribute to the target
setting process should limit the chances of mistakes being made
such as greatly over or under projecting sales
figures.
Targets might be set in a variety of formats, and this will
depend on the type of products or services being
offered by the organisation.
For example, you might decide to set the following targets:
– the total incoming revenue from the product
or service
– the total revenue minus total cost of goods sold
– the gross profit as a percentage of the

gross revenue
– the total number of products or services sold
uantity – the number of customers to purchase
goods or use a service.
Estimating potential revenue
Estimations are not exact and are based on assumptions and
projections, but can be useful to understand the
sort of potential revenue you could be looking at.
P a g e | 23
To estimate revenue, you will have to find out:
single transaction)
ear.
You may need to consult with colleagues such as colleagues in
different departments, other sales colleagues
and managers. You will also need to discuss what your
estimated expenses are. You will need to total up the
expenses involved and take it away from the revenue to get a
more accurate picture of the potential profit.

To help you plan for all situations, you should work out:
Considering both of these will help you to plan for how to
respond to
actual sales rates. For examples, estimating your best possible
revenue
outcome could then enable you to plan possible actions such as
how
the money will be reinvested, e.g. into further stock,
advertising,
product development, etc.
P a g e | 24
2.2 – Establish realistic time lines for achieving targets
for achieving sales targets within

their workplace
Time lines for achieving targets
When developing sales targets, there will need to be a focus on
how long it will take for these targets to be
achieved. Setting realistic time lines can help businesses to plan
resource requirements over the given period
of time and will also provide a greater insight into when
revenue will be coming into the company.
The time line for achieving your targets will depend on a
number of factors.
For example:
service
brought to market
cular
times of year
objectives.
Multiple time lines
More often than not when developing a sales plan, it may be

necessary to create a variety of timelines for a product or
service.
Rather than aiming to reach a certain level of revenue after one
period in time, targets could be set at multiple different times.
For
example, you may seek to reach $10,000 gross revenue within
the
first month of sales, $25,000 after two months, and $100,000
after
six months. Figures should not just be created in the hope of
achieving them; they ought to be realistic and based on past
sales
figures and trends in the market.
In addition, time lines could be created for each of the types of
targets set out in the previous chapter, e.g.
gross revenue, gross profit, gross profit margin, volume, and
customer quantity.
Examples of time lines for achieving targets may include:
of the first year

months of operation.
P a g e | 25
Considering times of year
Seasonal demand is another crucial aspect to consider when
developing products and setting sales targets.
There may be certain goods or services within your organisation
that do not have demand all year round and
are only popular at particular times. For example, a travel
agency will experience customers wanting to visit
places based on the climate at certain times of the year, and this
will result in them altering their pricing and
advertising to match consumer needs.
If the organisation does not generally expect high rates of sales
at certain months in the year, then this should
be incorporated into the sales targets. For example, rather than
setting a target revenue figure for each
month, this should be altered based on expected levels of
demand.
Other fluctuations in demand could occur at:

P a g e | 26
2.3 – Determine measures to allow for monitoring of
performance
performance
customers in relation to when
monitoring performance.
Measures for monitoring performance

The measures used to monitor the performance of the products
or services that are being sold will also need
to be clarified during the planning process. This will depend on
what is being sold and the preferences of the
organisation. For example, some companies will purely use
sales figures as a measurement of how well a sales
campaign is going, while other will focus on the quality of what
is being delivered and the feedback received.
Where possible, a range of sales based and quality based
measures should be used to determine the
successfulness of sales.
As outlined in chapter 2.1, the following sales based measures
could be used:
– the total incoming revenue from the
product or service
– the total revenue minus total cost of goods
sold
– the gross profit as a percentage of
the gross revenue
– the total number of products or services sold
stomer quantity – the number of customers to

purchase goods or use a service.
When sales targets have been set, these should be monitored
regularly and can be used as an indication of
whether performance is going better or worse than expected.
There may be a need to revise targets or the
marketing strategy and sales approach being used when they are
not currently being achieved.
Customer/client based feedback
Regardless of whether your organisation primarily sells
products, services, or a combination of both, it is
good practice to plan how customer or client feedback will be
used as a basis for the performance of the
organisation. Even when you have achieved your sales targets,
it is important to still consider feedback as it
will dictate future levels of customer interest and ultimately
sales.
Customer or client feedback could be gained through multiple
avenues, such as through face-to-face
conversations, personal interviews, questionnaires, postal
surveys, telephone calls, online surveys, etc.
You might aim to gain information in relation to a variety of
different factors, such as:

P a g e | 27
vice provision
P a g e | 28
2.4 – Ensure objectives of the sales plan and style of the
campaign are
consistent with organisational strategic objectives and corporate
image
consistent with organisational

objectives
campaign is consistent with
corporate image.
Planning sales operations
Planning sales operations must take account of the overall
business or departmental goals and priorities. As a
sales manager or supervisor, it is almost impossible to plan how
you are going to achieve sales without a full
understanding of the direction the business is taking.
A wide range of factors will affect the business goals. There are
external factors such as the overall market,
the competition, technological advances, social aspects, etc.
Internally, factors such as staffing, products and
services, etc. will affect your sales plans. For example, the
competition may be launching a new product to
rival yours, and so your sales efforts will need to respond
accordingly.
Establishing business objectives
You need to ensure that you are fully briefed about the
priorities and objectives for the forthcoming period.
You can achieve this by asking to see the business plan or
departmental plans, and by having conversations

with your own manager to establish their expectations of your
sales team for the period ahead.
You also need to have a good understanding of the marketing
and
sales strategies for the period and be aware of any trends or
developments that will affect the sales operation. There may be
a
new product launch planned for later in the year, for example,
and
this will impact on your team in terms of their training
requirements and the information that they can give to
customers
before and after the launch.
You can ensure that your objectives are consistent with
organisational objectives by:
sessions
organisational objectives
those responsible for marketing

and sales strategies, etc.
Only when you have this information can you plan the sales
operations for your team. The projections that
are made for product or service sales should be in line with
those of the wider organisation. For example, if
the company is aiming to increase revenue by 15% over the next
two years, the objectives for individual
products or services ought to contribute towards this aim.
P a g e | 29
Ensuring style is in line with corporate image
When developing the overall style of a sales campaign, it is
crucial to consider the wider corporate image. In
general, the style should be in line with the wider corporate
image as a lot of considerations should have gone
into ensuring this image is unique to the company and appealing
to its target market. Although there may be
occasions where the style of a campaign will differ to try and
attract a wider audience, you should usually aim
to incorporate aspects of the organisational image into the
product or service design and marketing.
For example, ensuring the style of the campaign is consistent

with the
corporate image may involve:
n advertisements
By following these recommendations, the brand is also more
likely to develop its
own unique identity and customers will become familiar with its
marketing style
and products or services.
P a g e | 30
3. Develop a sales plan for a product
3.1. Determine approaches to be used to meet sales objectives
3.2. Identify additional expertise requirements and allocate
budgetary resources accordingly
3.3. Identify risks and develop risk controls
3.4. Develop advertising and promotional strategy for product

3.5. Identify appropriate distribution channels for product
3.6. Prepare a budget for the sales plan
3.7. Present documented sales plan to appropriate personnel for
approval
P a g e | 31
3.1 – Determine approaches to be used to meet sales objectives
Describe the sales approach that is or could be used to meet
sales objectives for a product
or service in their organisation
-centred
approach.
Sales approaches to meet objectives
One of the most fundamental tasks that you need to plan is the
sales approach to be used in order to meet
your objectives. As highlighted previously, types of objectives
can be wide ranging, and might include efforts

to maximise revenue, product or service sales, or customer
numbers.
Sales approaches will be dependent on the type of product or
service and the platform that they are being
sold on.
For example, products and service may be sold:
ace
All of the above platforms will require high levels of customer
service in order for sales figures to be
maximised. Even in an online format, where a verbal
conversation may not take place, customers may require
support via live chats, social media, or email. Developing your
customer engagement strategy will therefore
go a long towards maximising sales; after products and services
have been produced and marketed, it is often
the engagement with employees which will determine whether
or not a purchase is made and the quantity of
goods purchased within the transaction.

Client centred approach
Customers are savvier than in the past and they are less
interested in your products and services, and more
interested in how their needs are going to be met. Customers are
nowadays less interested in the traditional
‘Features and Benefits’ approach to selling where simply giving
them information about the product/service
and why it’s worth buying, just isn’t enough.
A client-focused approach is when the sales person:
m.
Focus on the customer's needs
P a g e | 32
Turn the traditional approach to selling on its head and shine
the spotlight on the customer, not your
products and services. You need to find out what the customer
wants, what they care about, and what

objectives they are trying to achieve. For example, instead of
explaining the features and benefits of a new
software package, a client-focused approach would establish
what the customer uses software for, what’s
important to them in terms of reliability, ease of use, etc., and
current problems they have in relation to their
current systems. By taking this approach, you can tailor your
offering to meet the customer’s needs.
Every customer is unique
You need to be totally focused and immersed in helping your
customer. You need to be focusing on how you can deliver as
much benefit as possible toward helping the customer to achieve
their objectives. This may involve exploring a large number of
complex factors that are of concern to the customer. For
example,
when selling to retailers, a traditional approach was to focus on
how well the product will sell, Nowadays though, retailers are
interested in how well the product will complement their
existing
range, how it will affect their budget, how reliable deliveries
will

be, etc. Understanding the customer’s individual concerns will
enable you to tailor your proposition accordingly.
Sell solutions, not products
A client-focused approach concentrates on how your product
and service can solve a customer’s problem or
meet their needs, rather than simply selling the features and
benefits of the product. To do this, you need to
adopt a mindset that you are like an external consultant helping
your customers to achieve their objectives
using the tools (your products and services) that you can
provide them with.
Talk with the customer, rather than present to them
Customers don't want to hear about how great your company is
or how wonderful your products are. They
want to know how you can help them to achieve their
objectives. This means that a standard, generic
presentation is not enough – instead, customers want to see that
you have understood their needs and can
offer a viable solution to help them. This can only be achieved
through dialogue so that clients can have their
concerns answered. A presentation may still be a valuable part
of your selling tactics, but it should be tailored
to the customer and be part of an overall dialogue, not a

substitute for it.
Source: Sales Presentations: Adapt to Your Customers’ Needs,
Business Needs,
https://businesstown.com/articles/sales-presentations-adapt-to-
your-customers-needs/ (access date:
20/07/2017).
Increasing average spend
Two of the most effective methods of encouraging customers to
spend more are up-selling and cross-selling.
Up-selling is where you suggest they buy a higher-quality and
more expensive product or item to the one they
are considering. This may involve telling them of the additional
qualities of the alternative product and
reminding them that their money could go further, i.e. the
product is less likely to break and will last longer.
Be careful not to be critical of the item that the customer is
intending to buy though; they might have a set
amount of money in mind that they are planning to spend, and
could look elsewhere if you make them
believe the lower priced item is of poor quality.
your-customers-needs/

P a g e | 33
Cross-selling involves convincing a customer to buy an
additional product or service in addition to what they
were intending to purchase. For example, when a customer
arrives at the point-of-sale terminal, you might be
able to point their directions towards additional items on sale.
You could also consider ways of combining multiple items so
that customers are more likely to buy them all
together.
Attracting new customers
In order to meet sales objectives in relation to increasing
customer numbers, you will need to consider a
range of approaches to increase the number of customers who
hear about the business and its product
and/or decide to enter the place of sale.
Methods of attracting new customers or clients could include:
Effective advertising – raising awareness of your company
and the products it sells is
highly significant. Think about the method of advertising that
will most likely reach your
target market. Should you conduct extensive online advertising?
Will leaflets and billboard

advertising result in increased traffic? Whatever the choice of
advertising, make sure that
your company seems attractive; highlight offers when
appropriate and use an attractive
display style
– when your
customers are left satisfied with their experience of
visiting your business, they are much more likely to
recommend you to others, therefore increasing the
chances of new clients being drawn to the
company. Common customer needs and
expectations include:
o friendliness – speaking politely to customers
and greeting them upon the start of a
conversation
o empathy – the ability to understand and appreciate the
circumstances of the
customer by placing yourself in their shoes
o fairness – being able to treat all customers with the same level
of respect, regardless

of their circumstances
o clear instructions and information – the ability to provide the
customer with the
information that they are seeking
o options and alternatives – when the needs of the customer
cannot be immediately
met, it is important to provide them with alternatives
– do not underestimate the importance
of having an appealing front
of store. When customers are not necessarily seeking a
particular product, having an
attractive or interesting display at the entrance to your premises
will make people more
likely to enter. This is especially important in an area where
there are a large number of
stores such as on a busy street or in a shopping centre. You
could display some of your
premium products or highlight offers in order to draw in
potential customers.
P a g e | 34

3.2 – Identify additional expertise requirements and allocate
budgetary
resources accordingly
sales planning process in their
organisation
budgetary resources that need to
be allocated for experts.
Expertise requirements
When preparing for a sales campaign, you will need to
incorporate the additional support which will be
required from outside the sales team. Not only will this
information be required to organise when certain
actions and processes need to take place, but will also need to
be incorporated into budgeting considerations.
It may be necessary to draw up a list of all tasks that may be
needed conducted throughout the sales process
and identify the relevant personnel who will be required.
Examples of expertise required may include:

Budgetary resources
You could ask yourself the following:
following:
departments?
ganisation have partnerships with other agencies
or organisations who can
supply specialists?
Answering these questions should give you an idea of where
expertise can be sourced from and costs that
will need to be included in your sales budget.

P a g e | 35
3.3 – Identify risks and develop risk controls
ing a sales plan
for a particular product or
service in their organisation
within a contingency plan.
Identifying risks
Various situations could arise during the sales process which
may result in the sales team needing to revise
their strategy. Failing to react to issues could result in products
or services failing to launch and the
organisation facing large financial difficulties.
Risks could be wide ranging depending on the type of product
or service that the organisation is developing
and selling.
For example:

quality
petitors release similar or improved version of the
product
Developing a contingency plan/risk controls
Contingency plans need to be present in sales plans and budget
forecasts, in the event that things do not go
to plan and the initial plan needs to be altered. Contingency
plans should be flexible enough that last minute
changes can be implemented. They should provide an
opportunity for action to take place so that an
immediate solution can be found and utilised.
When unforeseen changes occur that have a negative on
business finances, it is recommended that you have

a contingency plan and risk controls in place to deal with them.
Examples of actions you could take are
detailed below.
Amending stock allocation
There are various actions you could take to alter stock when
revenue is lower than expected. You might
attempt to manoeuvre items on the shop floor to bring them to
the attention of customers. Alternatively, you
might have to make amendments to ordering procedures so that
fewer items are received in the following
P a g e | 36
stock deliveries. This way, you are less likely to have items
getting backed up in storage, and the money can
be budgeted elsewhere.
Introducing sales promotions
A further contingency plan that could be implemented in
response to lower than expected sales is to place
items on offer. Although this may result in revenue being lower
than originally intended when budgeting, it
can help to prevent items going to waste, particularly when they
have a time-bound shelf life.

Altering recruitment strategies
Management figures should be able to alter recruitment
practices at
short notice in order to respond to financial circumstances. This
may
involve coordinating recruitment themselves or communicating
with
another individual or team who leads the process.
The recruitment strategies used will depend on the type of
financial
circumstances being experienced and the believed causes of
these.
Setting aside a contingency fund
Setting up a contingency fund can prove to be a valuable
decision
within a sales environment. This is a certain amount of money
that is
set aside to cover any unexpected costs or lost income. As
budgets are constructed based on the projected
levels of revenue, some funds should be set aside in case sales
are lower than originally intended or in the
case of damage or theft of products.

Failure to make payments can result in fines or interest building
up, so being able to pay creditors
immediately can help prevent further charges being incurred. A
further benefit of having a contingency fund
set aside to cover costs is that you may build a reputation for
paying on time, which could lead to favourable
deals with suppliers in the future.
Contingency plans may need to include the following
information:
Personnel to be involved
consider
– including how to resolve the issue
Solution
s – these can be as many as necessary for different outcomes

P a g e | 37
3.4 – Develop advertising and promotional strategy for product
meeting to establish the
required advertising strategy
-the-line and below-the-line
promotional strategies.

Developing advertising and promotional strategy
Advertising is a form of marketing communication with the
purpose of trying to persuade an audience to
respond in some way. Commercial organisations use advertising
to associate their brand with quality to
increase public consumption of their product or service. Not-
for-profit organisations, such as political
parties, use advertising to promote other activities that require
public support in some way. Advertising can
also be used as reassurance that a company is reliable or stable.
Holding a meeting to discuss marketing strategy
Many organisations will hold workplace meetings between
employees of varying roles to agree upon overall
marketing approaches. This will not only involve building a
detailed picture of who the target market is,
which has been discussed previously, but should incorporate the

methods that will be adopted to best catch
the attention of these consumers and lure them into purchasing
your products or services.
The following will need to be considered when reviewing or
developing advertising strategies:
inform you about customer
needs?
with consumers?
services?
consumers?

decisions?
P a g e | 38
Types of promotions
Above-the-line promotions involve advertising through media,
and may include:
-based advertising.

Below-the-line promotions include all other promotions, such
as:
-to-door deliveries, such as catalogues
xt messages.
A range of these strategies might be used and this will generally
be decided based on the resources available
and the target market; if you were aiming a product at those
aged between 16-30, then using social media
advertising might be the best option to use.
Using displays and stands
Promotional displays and stands are used in a wide variety of

business and retail contexts to deliver a message
to customers and wider members of the public. Types of display
differ substantially; the size, material, and
content used to convey a message will depend on a number of
factors, such as the intended target audience,
the resources available, and the amount of accessible space.
Stands and displays are commonly used in retail environments,
such as in window displays, on store walls,
and located sporadically on a shop floor. Larger companies also
choose to create displays for use at trade and
consumer shows, or to be placed on billboards across cities.
Stands are used to capture people’s attention and deliver a
particular message or information to them. The
content that ought to be included should be based on what you
are promoting. The major objective that will
form the basis for most displays and stands is to increase sales

and customer numbers. This might be through
convincing existing customers to increase their spending on new
or relaunched products and services, or
enticing new customers to your business.
The following are often promoted through a display or stand:
roducts – particularly if a new product has been introduced
to raise awareness about its
existence and benefits
P a g e | 39
– when a new range of goods have been
collectively created or
rebranded

– such as banking, insurance or energy providers,
with the aim of convincing
customers to use the service being advertised
– to raise awareness of their occurrence and convince
people to attend. Examples
include music, sporting, or cultural events.
P a g e | 40
3.5 – Identify appropriate distribution channels for product
involved in a distribution channel

for a product
Product distribution channels
What is a distribution channel?
A business channel refers to a chain of organisations or
intermediaries through which a product is transferred
until it reaches the end consumer. During business deliberations
on how products should be brought to
market, you will need to consider what will be the most
effective and efficient distribution channel for a
product or range of products that you are introducing.
Businesses or intermediaries that may be involved in a
distribution channel include:

-Added Reseller (VAR)
Distribution channels can vary in length and will depend on a
number of different factors. You will need to
consider the best pathway for your company and the product
type in order to deliver the product to the
highest number of consumers in the most cost effective manner.
In general, channels with greater numbers
of intermediaries requires the organisation to distribute money
to a higher range of places. However, this

does not mean that having short distribution channels is a
recommended cost saving idea; many wholesalers
and retailers can add value to a product and increase the
customer base who are likely to view and purchase a
product.
Choosing an appropriate distribution channel will involve
taking the following into account:
market
P a g e | 41
Types of channels

Although a range of the above organisations and intermediaries
could be involved in distribution channels,
there are three main channel types which you should consider.
They include a combination of producer,
wholesaler, retailer and consumer.
The first channel is the longest and contains two channels
between the producer and the end consumer. A
wholesaler will buy and store a large quantity of goods from the
producer and then supply a number of
smaller retailers. This will often make economic sense for
smaller retailers who can build relationships with
wholesalers.
The second channel does not include a wholesaler and instead
takes the form of retailers acquiring products
directly from producers and then selling them to consumers.
This will often be the method used by large

retailers such as electronics retailers who can purchase large
quantities of goods from major electronics
corporations. Some producers will be selective over the retailers
they will supply as they need to be confident
that high volume orders will be continuously made.
The third example does not include intermediaries, and instead
includes consumers buying directly from the
producer. This might be the case when producers only make a
small quantity of goods and supply the local
area, for example, a local pottery company producing and
selling goods to the local area. Alternatively, large-
scale producers may sell goods directly to their consumers, such
as Amazon creating and selling their own
branded products, such as the Kindle and Fire TV Stick.
Source: Distribution Channel, Investopedia,
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/distribution-channel.asp

(access date: 18/07/17).
P a g e | 42
3.6 – Prepare a budget for the sales plan
themselves with the budgeting process
in their organisation
developing their budget for a sales
plan

budget when developing a
budget for a sales plan.
Preparing a budget
It is likely that you will have a budget process in place which
determines what you have to do and by when. It
would be usual to develop a sales plan and budget after the
sales team’s draft objectives have been approved,
or as part of the overall approval process.
If you are unfamiliar with the budget processes in your
organisation, you can:
or

information and advice
etc.
When planning your budget for the period ahead, it is important
to be realistic. It wouldn’t be appropriate to
ask for 10 more sales staff without a valid and thoroughly-
researched proposal behind it, for example. Having
agreed your sales team’s objectives, the next step is to develop
a sales plan which will enable you to deliver
those objectives and the budget that you think you need to do
this. This isn’t simply a matter of looking at
last year’s budget and increasing it by 10%, which is a
surprisingly common practice.
To develop your budget for a sales plan, ask yourself:

d to deliver the objectives (i.e.
people; money; equipment;
materials; etc.)?
deliver the objectives (e.g. sales
events, customer visits, marketing activities, sales
administration, etc.)?
territories, how is experience within
the team to be used, etc.)?
objectives (e.g. training,
mentoring, compensation, access to people/equipment, etc.)?
P a g e | 43

of expenditure, how can those
be kept to a minimum, where is waste occurring, etc.)?
A useful calculation is to look at the average amount of effort
required to achieve a sale. If it takes on average
five attempts to speak to a customer, and two conversations to
get a meeting with them, four meetings to
achieve a sale, you can calculate the time and other resources
required to achieve one sale.
Having considered the above questions, you should be in a
position to formulate a sales plan with an
associated budget setting out what sales you expect to achieve
and the budget you will require to deliver your
objectives.
Previous budgets

A useful place to look when drawing up a proposed budget
would be last year’s budget.
You may ask:
– or under – spend? If so, why
was this?
nds be avoided in the forthcoming
period?
The budgeting process is important as it’s your opportunity to
ask for the budget that you predict that you’ll need in order to
deliver your sales plan. It’s vital, then, that it is realistic. You
may
find that the budget proposed and the actual budget allocated
are

two very different figures. This is normal practice as the overall
company finances need to take into account all of its activities,
not just sales, and budgets are balanced out accordingly.
In the likely event that the actual budget is different from what
you asked for, then you will need to revisit your sales plan, and
perhaps your objectives and make adjustments accordingly. This
may involve cutting out some activities and
finding lower-cost methods of achieving similar results, for
example. It may be helpful to consult with your
manager when it comes to revising your sales plan and
objectives. You wouldn’t want to commit to
delivering a sales plan which is unrealistic given the budget
allocated, and then you find later that you have to
quickly make significant savings to avoid going over budget.

P a g e | 44
3.7 – Present documented sales plan to appropriate personnel
for approval
advice from when gaining approval
for a sales plan in the workplace
hould consider when
presenting their sales plan to
appropriate personnel.
Proposals for resource requirements
Proposals will likely need to be presented to senior management

or other stakeholders in the organisation.
You will need to show them that the benefits of it outweigh the
costs and that they should invest in it.
In order to succeed, your proposals will need to align with the
overall strategic goals of the organisation. You
may also need to outline what sort of return will be achieved,
such as profits or higher customer retention.
When you present proposals for sales to your organisation, you
will need to be supported by a variety of
information. This will make your claims more credible and more
likely to be accepted by those who allocate
resources.
Information sources could include:

Specialist advice
If you need respected, specialist advice, you may be able to
consult a range of people inside or outside your
organisation. They should be able to give you information that
will support your plan and can be used to
convince stakeholders. Be careful not to twist the meaning of
information or take it out of context, as this
will often weaken your argument when it is discovered.
Specialist advice can come from:

The sales team
P a g e | 45
Approval for plan
Presenting a proposal correctly is essential to obtaining
approval for a plan from the relevant party. This is
often done as a presentation to stakeholders, senior
management, committees and other interested people.
The formality of this will vary on the scope of resources you are
requesting.

Tips to improve presentations are:
read it through as you
continue
show you have considered all
possibilities
facts and information
up
how it will benefit the business.
You will likely need to wait for parties to review the plan in
detail once you have made your proposal. They

may also recommend it to other bodies (e.g. board of directors)
that are responsible for making decisions.
P a g e | 46
4. Identify support requirements
4.1. Identify and acquire staff resources to implement sales
plan
4.2. Develop an appropriate selling approach
4.3. Train staff in the selling approach selected
4.4. Develop and assess staff knowledge of product to be sold

P a g e | 47
4.1 – Identify and acquire staff resources to implement sales
plan
required to implement a sales
plan
to facilitate the sales process
they need to recruit staff
to support the sales plan
implementation.
Identifying staff resources

Once you have a detailed understanding of the direction to be
taken with a sales plan and the performance
targets, it will be necessary to identify the support requirements
needed in order to bring the product or
service to market and for it to be a success in terms of
objectives being met.
The resources you need will be dependent on multiple factors,
such as:
tion
service.

Size of the sales team
If your sales team is too large, it will be more difficult to
manage, there will be insufficient work for them to
do, there may be competition between staff, and they will
become frustrated and some may leave. On the
other hand, if the sales team is too small, people will be
working under pressure, sales might be missed due to
the lack of time to close the deal, and they may also become
frustrated and leave. So, getting the size and
composition of the team right is important.
One method for establishing the size of the sales team is to
divide the expected sales revenue by the average
amount of revenue generated per salesperson. So if your target
is to achieve $500,000 in sales over the year
and the average salesperson generates $100,000 per year, then
you’ll need five salespeople. However, this

calculation does not take account of differences in skills and
expertise, differences in the size of territories,
nature of the customers, etc.
When considering the structure of the sales team, you should
ask yourself the following questions:
P a g e | 48
and senior roles? How would
the different levels of roles relate to each other? What would be
the differences in their
responsibilities, if any?

part-time or temporary roles?
(e.g. home-working; annualised
hours; etc.)?
sibilities of each person (e.g. will
admin duties be performed by a
dedicated Admin Assistant, or will salespeople take care of
their own admin)?
report directly to you or should
there be a layer of supervision within the structure, etc.)?
Acquiring staff
When developing the sales plan for the period ahead, it is often
tempting to just stay with the way things are
currently. However, developing the new sales plan and

objectives provides an ideal opportunity to review
your current staffing arrangements and look at ways of
improving the structure.
For example:
department if you need to temporarily increase the
number in your team?
reduce your headcount?
work-experience or contract basis for a short period
of time?
able people to
work from home either all of the

time or for a few days per week?
them to work flexibly across the
year?
When you feel that employee numbers currently will not meet
the demands of the sales process for a new or
revised product or sales campaign, then it may be necessary to
look at temporary recruits or hiring new full-
time staff. This is particularly true when the company is going
through a growth phase and aims to
continually grow its employee base.
To recruit staff, you will often have to go through the following
process:

P a g e | 50
4.2 – Develop an appropriate selling approach
necessary to outline to the sales
team.
Developing a selling approach
The selling approach that employees need to be made aware of
will be dependent on the types of goods and
services being sold and the platform they are being sold on.
Employees may be given various different roles
and will need to be informed about what these are.
In chapter 3.1 sales approaches referred to how to work with a
client centred approach, how to increase the

average spend by customers, and how to attract new customers.
These ought to be incorporated into the
selling approach that employees are made aware of.
It may be necessary to hold a meeting among all personnel
within the sales team to outline the approach to
be taken and their duties as a salesperson.
Aspects of a selling approach to outline may include:
and benefits
use technology during the sales process

Employees should be fully clear on the sales approach to be
taken, and the actions that may need to be taken
to train employees on how to act on these approaches will be
discussed in the next chapter.
P a g e | 51
4.3 – Train staff in the selling approach selected
necessary selling approach.
Training staff
Staff members involved in the sales process may require
training prior to the product or service being placed

on the market. Even when they have been involved in sales
campaigns in the past and are experienced in
customer engagement, it may still be necessary to conduct
training and coaching in relation to the approach
needed for this current product or service.
There are a wide range of training methods that you could use
in your initial training programme.
Training methods may involve the use of:
-on-one instruction

erencing
It is good practice to provide a mix of different training
methods in a programme. This is because people
have different learning styles and preferences. One person may
be quite happy listening to lectures all day
long, but this might send another off to sleep as their preference
is for more active, hands-on learning. Using
a mix of different methods means that there will be something
to suit everybody.
P a g e | 52
4.4 – Develop and assess staff knowledge of product to be sold

necessary for staff be aware of
be sold
methods that could be used to assess staff knowledge
of the product to be sold.
Knowledge of product details
Any staff member that is part of the sales team and will be
responsible for communicating with customers,
suppliers, the media, retailers, etc. will need to have a detailed
knowledge of any products that are being sold.
Being able to provide key information to others in a prompt
manner demonstrates that employees are
passionate about the product and this could be the difference
between making a sale and not. Although

customers will usually understand if an employee has to go and
clarify something about the product or
service, this could result in a loss of sale if the details cannot be
established quickly.
Product details to confirm may include:

The actions that are required to obtain and study information
regarding
products and services will vary depending on the type of
organisation that you work for.
Service details may include:
s involved.
Sources of information
If you want all employees in the sales team to have a detailed
knowledge of product or service details, then it
is a good idea to inform them of where they can acquire the
knowledge from and the level of detail that is

required.
P a g e | 53
It may be necessary for employees to:
website or intranet
cate and read marketing plan

documents
Assessing knowledge
Before employees are left responsible for conveying product or
service information to others, it may be a
requirement for them to undertake a test. You might decide to
inform them in advance that this will be
taking place or implement it randomly to see whether they have
taken the time to memorise the key
information. The level of formality may dictate the assessment
type that you choose to use. If you inform
employees that it is an informal test they might look upon it in a
more positive manner, as some individuals
might find a formal test pressurising.
Methods of assessing knowledge could include:

You will also need to establish whether there needs to be a pass
rate or certain knowledge level for employees
to reach. If necessary, staff members may have to further revise
the product or service details and repeat the
assessment until their knowledge is deemed acceptable.
P a g e | 54
5. Monitor and review sales plan

5.1. Monitor implementation of the sales plan
5.2. Record data measuring performance versus sales targets
5.3. Make adjustments to sales plan as required to ensure
required results are obtained
P a g e | 55
5.1 – Monitor implementation of the sales plan
monitored
effectiveness.

Monitoring implementation
Once the sales plan has been finalised and everyone is aware of
their responsibilities, it will be necessary to
monitor and review the sales plan. This should take place
throughout the sales process so that any issues or
concerns can be addressed before they escalate.
You could choose to monitor multiple aspects of the sales
process which have been looked at throughout the
unit.
For example:
cquisition

Observing response to products
You will need to try and establish both the interest in the
product or service that you are offering, and
crucially, the sales figures once it has been placed on the
market. The actions to do this will be similar to
those highlighted in relation to reviewing previous sales
figures.
You may have a range of systems for evaluating sales
effectiveness, such as:
-to-one performance reviews

profit, customer numbers
sales presentations
emails
hird party feedback on performance e.g. from
customers; colleagues; senior
managers
P a g e | 56
-assessments against performance standards.

P a g e | 57
5.2 – Record data measuring performance versus sales targets
data measuring performance
versus sales targets.
Recording data
After obtaining information which states how the sales process
is progressing and whether targets are being
met, your organisational requirements may state that data needs
to be recorded. Records can act as a useful

tool to indicate how performance is improving or degrading
over time, and can be implemented into
presentations and reports to provide key personnel with an exact
understanding of how well sales are going.
The requirements within your workplace for recording data may
be contained in handbooks or workplace
guidelines, but could include details being entered into a
spreadsheet or specialist software system. When
time-bound objectives were set at the start of the process, these
could be placed alongside the data to
demonstrate expectations versus reality. For example, a line
graph could be used where the total revenue for
a product is placed alongside the expected revenue. If actual
sales are higher or lower than expected, then
further actions can be taken to rectify the situation or enable
continued success.
You will need to clarify the following in terms of recording

performance data:
weekly, monthly
e method that should be used to record data
expected sales
P a g e | 58
5.3 – Make adjustments to sales plan as required to ensure

required results are
obtained
ensure required results are
obtained
provided to staff members to
ensure required results are obtained.
Adjusting the sales plan
Managers and supervisors may be responsible for altering the
sales plan once they start receiving
performance based evidence on a product or service. This could
happen at various stages, such as in response
to customer feedback during product development, or after sales

have started to take place. Remember that
altering the sales strategy does not necessarily mean that sales
are lower than expected; when sales are higher
than forecasted, you might also need to make adjustments, such
as altering your contract with a supplier in
order to receive a greater quantity of goods, or recruiting new
staff members to handle the demand.
Adjustments could refer to the possible contingency plans as
highlighted in chapter 3.3, as well as others.
For example, you might have to:
strategies

Providing feedback to employees
Where you have come to the conclusion that the sales plan is in
someway not reaching its potential due to
employee performance, it may be useful to provide them with
feedback and suggestions. The use of feedback
is a method of supporting the work team and ensuring that they
can continually improve their performance
in order to increase profits.
Confirming feedback
Conforming feedback is that which merely informs the recipient
that they are doing the correct thing and
that they should continue as they are. This approach should be
utilised instead of simply allowing employees

to carry on without any communication, as it can build
confidence and lets them realise that they are on track
in meeting objectives.
Corrective feedback
Corrective feedback is that which informs the recipient that they
need to correct certain actions in order to
perform as desired. They are usually given specific examples of
the desired behaviour or result they are
P a g e | 59
required to correct to. Where necessary, further training could
be provided to employees who are struggling
to engage with customers and convince them to purchase the
product or service.

P a g e | 60
Summative Assessments
At the end of your Learner Workbook, you will find the
Summative Assessments.
This includes:
This holistically assesses your understanding and application of
the skills, knowledge and performance
requirements for this unit. Once this is completed, you will have
finished this unit and be ready to move onto

the next one – well done!
P a g e | 61
References
These suggested references are for further reading and do not
necessarily represent the contents of
this unit.
Websites
Calculating revenue:
http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/how-companies-
calculate-
revenue.asp

Creating A Mission Statement, Setting Goals And Developing
Strategies:
Distribution Channels:
Increasing transaction value:
http://marketingwizdom.com/strategies/value
Sales Presentations: Adapt to Your Customers’ Needs:
https://businesstown.com/articles/sales-
presentations-adapt-to-your-customers-needs/
All references accessed on and correct as of 20/07/2017, unless
other otherwise stated.
calculate-revenue.asp
calculate-revenue.asp

http://marketingwizdom.com/strategies/value

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