10 Things You Need in Every Sales Opportunity Plan

Creating Sales Opportunity Plans don’t have to be time consuming or difficult. However, they are critical for winning. Here are the 10 things every plan needs and the questions to ask yourself and your team members. As a best practice, I like to have my plans reviewed by someone not connected with the opportunity. This allows for a very subjective review and great feedback. I didn’t rank them, however Customer Requirements is listed 1 for a reason. In the event, you don’t meet their requirements, focus on an opportunity where you meet and exceed customer requirements.

1. Customer Requirements

Why is the customer even talking to you?
How do your products or solutions match up against the customer requirements?
Do you even know the requirements?
Is this a winnable opportunity?

2. Partner Involvement

Who are the partners and what is the value they bring to the opportunity?
It is professional services, relationships within the opportunity or channel pricing?

3. Your Strategy Win

What is the overall team strategy to win the opportunity?
Does your strategy ensure the customer will be successful?
After all, if they are not successful, you will never win the opportunity.

4. Tactics

Do the tactics support your strategy to win?
Does every team member know, agree and understand the tactics?

5. Value Proposition

What is your value proposition to the customer?
Can every member of your team clearly articulate it?
What sets you apart from your competition?

6. Sales Coaching

Are you leveraging the knowledge of your ‘A-Players’ in every opportunity?
Are you providing ‘Best Practices’ in the opportunity?
Are you providing critical guidance without being present?

7. Customer Selection Process

What is the process the customer will go through to make a decision?
Who at the customer is responsible for each process?
Is your selling stage matching up with the customer selection process, are you in sync?

8. Red Flags

What can go wrong in this opportunity?
Have you mapped out all possible potential issues to winning the opportunity?
Do you have a mitigation plan for each Red Flag?

9. Opportunity Milestones

What are the milestones that must be accomplished and by what date to keep the opportunity on track?
Who on your team is responsible for a particular milestone?
Are there milestones that are more important than others (a Gate)?
What if a gate is not completed, do you continue?

10. Key Players

Who is your Champion?
Who is/are the Buyer(s) and what is each ones Stance?
Who are Decision Makers and what is each ones Stance?
Who are Evaluator(s) and what is each ones Stance?
Do you have any relationships in the customer?
Has anyone on the customer team ever used our products or solutions?

I hope these 10 things and the questions assist you in building and maintaining your sales opportunity plan. Good selling!