Sales strategy

• Does my sales staff follow a structured sales process?
• Are there parts of our sales process where the sales staff as a whole or particular individuals could be more effective?
• Am I using a field sales team when an inside sales team would be more effective or vice versa?
• Am I using a direct sales force when another distribution strategy would be more effective or vice versa?
• Is the sales force focusing on the right types and sizes of accounts for the products we sell?
• Are my sales territories in need of restructuring?

Management

• Do I hold regular staff meetings?
• Are the meetings interactive and of benefit to all?
• Have I given all the sales representatives quarterly and annual reviews?
• Are they truly impartial and tied to revenue production?
• Am I tolerating mediocre performance?
• Should any of the salespeople be on written warning?
• Do the salespeople have what they need in terms of technology to stay ahead of the competition?
• Do the top performers understand how much I appreciate their efforts?

Accounts

• Do I know who the top 10 accounts are for each representative?
• Is each account up or down compared to the previous year?
• Have I met with or spoken on the phone with these accounts in the last year?
• Holiday greetings aside, have I communicated with these accounts in any way?
• Do I have adequate staff to call on the number of accounts I want to do business with?
• Are accounts getting the attention they should?
• Are any of the salespeople coasting by on the basis of just taking repeat orders from existing customers and not generating new business?

Performance standards

• What productivity requirements have I set?
• Do the sales representatives take them seriously?
• Have I held my salespeople accountable for those productivity goals?
• Are they regularly met or exceeded?
• Do I monitor them?
• Are they realistic for where the company is today?

Sales staff

• Which salespeople earned more this year than last?
• Which salespeople earned less this year than last?
• What are their collective sales challenges?
• What are their collective sales strengths?
• If I don't know, how will I go about finding this out?
• What kind of sales skills training is needed?
• Would assessing the sales group be beneficial?
• Which organization can best provide that training?
• Are there sales staff I should let go due to consistently below par performance?
• If I need to increase my sales staff, how will I go about it?

Compensation

• How old is my current compensation plan?
• Is it driving sales?
• Does it still motivate the sales representatives?
• Is it still aligned with company goals?
• How many salespeople max out on it?
• Should it be changed in any way?
• Did the sales representatives participate in its creation?
• Is it too heavily weighted toward salary and not enough toward performance-related compensation like commission or bonus?

Sales contests

• Do I incent my staff through sales contests?
• Is there an additional incentive offered at least every quarter?
• Do I know what the sales staff would find motivating?
• Have I created a special incentive for my top performers?

Products

• Do the salespeople know our product line inside and out?
• Which products do they know really well?
• Which products are they unfamiliar with?
• Do they need product training?
• When did I last sponsor product training?
• Which product / service do they sell the most of? Why?
• Which product / service do they rarely sell any of? Why?

This list may seem daunting at first glance. If you answer the questions one by one, however, you will begin to see your sales plan come together. Good luck and make it the best year ever!