Sales Territory / Business Revenue Plan Template – In Your Pocket
Growing up in sales, at least once per year I was either asking someone this question or being asked it:
“Hey, uhhh, do you happen to have a sales territory plan template, or a business revenue template I could take a look at?”
Every single one I’d ever seen looked entirely different. Some read like War and Peace, and were so complex, there’s almost zero chance a leader or rep who filled it out would look at it again before they had to write a new one.
When I moved into sales leadership, not having a process or structure drove me crazy. As a salesperson, I always had a process. As a leader, I was a dog chasing a car bumper down the road every day, never knowing what direction it was headed.
Being the nerd that I am, I created one. It became the Five F’s of Building Revenue Capacity, and the structure of my latest book, The Transparent Sales Leader.
The Five F’s encompassed all of the responsibilities of a revenue leader. Once internalized, I used them for all my planning and strategizing, all of my communications, as a 1-on-1 template, as a territory plan template, as a business review template, as a board meeting agenda, for interviews and interviewing, and even for doing due diligence on potential acquisitions.
So, what are the Five F’s?
- Focus: Your team’s most valuable asset is their time. Are they spending it on the right opportunities & the right individuals within those opportunities?
- Field: Do you have the right people with the right experience in the right places with the right tools and the right resources taking the field every day, as it relates to your Focus?
- Fundamentals: Are we getting the right things right consistently? Everything from our messaging and positioning to discovery, qualification, demonstration, proposals, negotiating, etc.
- Forecast: Are we able to predict the future? Are we measuring the right things?
- Fun: Do we have a culture where our team wants to be here, do their best, stay, and advocate for us and our solutions?
So, how would we use them as a territory planning template or business planning template? With the 5 F’s, you always have one at the ready in your back pocket. At all times I could discuss my plan. I used it almost daily. (and, it was the reason I was called “world-class” during a story I tell called “The Beat Down On Sand Hill Road” when in my first leadership role. A back-pocket plan always will make you look good – and I was NOT world-class!)
Revenue Leaders – The “In Your Back Pocket” Template
Just write out the Five Fs, and answer the questions herein. And you can certainly go deeper in each category, but what’s really memorable and usable? Keep it simple!
- Focus: What are the firmographics and demographics of the companies and individuals we will say ‘yes’ to? Who will we say ‘no’ to? What criteria will we use for the gray areas? How do we prioritize the ‘yes’ targets? What are we going to do to build out muscles there?
- Field: What is the ideal configuration for covering that focus? Who are the people? What experience do they/should they have? Where are they placed? What tools do they need to use? What tools do we need? What are the resources we have? How will we use them? What resources do we need?
- Fundamentals: What are the things we need to get consistently right? What are we good at? What aren’t we? Where do we need the most help?
- Forecast: Predict the future. How are we performing? How do we expect to perform? What are the headwinds and tailwinds? What are the KPIs we’re focused on? What are the KPIs telling us?
- Fun: What is the current state of the culture? What’s the vibe? What things are we doing to mold the culture? What are the values we’re practicing? Where should we focus our efforts to maintain, strengthen and grow the desired culture?
Front-Line Salespeople – The “In Your Back Pocket” Template
Same thing…keep it simple. If a rep can answer these questions, they’re 98% ahead of the rest of the sales world:
- Focus: What’s the makeup of my territory? Where am I focused? Where should I be spending my time? Are there opportunities beyond it that maybe we’re not thinking about? What are the right types of companies? Who are the right roles and levels in those companies? What are the right prerequisites a company must possess?
- Field: Do I have the tools & resources to best attack that Focus? Do I have the right level of support? Where do I need help?
- Fundamentals: What am I good at? Where could I use some help?
- Forecast: Predict the future. What KPIs am I measuring? What are they telling me?
- Fun: How am I feeling when I wake up in the morning about what I do, who I do it with, and who I do it for? Do I feel like my work matters beyond just my numbers?
In my book, The Transparent Sales Leader, I go deep into each category. I’ve optimized every element with science (and a little sales history), and laid it all on a bed of transparency. But you can start here.
Internalize the Five F’s – and use them for the rest of your career. You’ll see the holes before they form, always have a planning template in your back pocket, and you’ll sound really smart, too!
I speak and teach revenue organizations on how to leverage transparency and decision science to maximize their revenue capacity. It’s what I do…teach sellers, their leaders, and really entire revenue organizations the how we as human beings make decisions, then how to use that knowledge for good (not evil) in their messaging (informal and formal), negotiations and revenue leadership. I wrote a 3x award-winning book (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦), and have a newish book out (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳) now that just won its first award!
Reach out if you want to discuss The Transparency Sale sales methodology, or really…anything else (sales kickoffs, workshops, keynotes, the economy, history, etc.)! Email info@toddcaponi.com or call 847-999-0420.
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Artwork: 1927 Sales Management Magazine
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