Explore Our Sales Invoice Sample for Planning Your Business Needs

Sales invoice sample for Planning

so if you started the year and thought i need to get into making better sales numbers this year and i want to build a plan that's going to help me grow my company that's a great start but lots of small business owners say to me james i don't have a sales plan help what do i need to do in order to get started worry not this video is going to share with you the eight key things that you can do and some simple tips you can put in place that can enable your business to build a sales plan that will take you and your company to a different level this year let's have a look at the video my name's james white i'm a small business sales expert i love a plan i love sales and i want to help you get great results let's have a look at the eight points make sure you're applying them to have a brilliant year ahead [Music] so the first thing that's essential when it comes to sales and it's the starting point of things i do with every client i work with is our target we've got to be able to know what our target is in order to know whether our sales plan is successful or not let's say you as a business owner say i want to hit 60 000 pounds of revenue this year the reality is we know we can then start to break down that target into small bits for example every month that means we've got to generate five thousand pounds of income and let's just say your product or service or your typical offering may be costing the reason of say two and a half thousand pounds for each client that means you know you're going to need to get two clients per month 24 over the course of the year by having some simple targets in place we can then start to work out what we need to do to make that target come to life put the target in place know what you want to achieve and from there we can work everything out so the key point is this we've got to know point number two who our best customers are who are the people that we're perfect for and perfect for us what outcome do you achieve for them what do you make happen what problems do you put away for them and what are the characteristics about them is there a certain age group or profile or industry or type know who your best customer is and then start to think right how can i start to look and find other people similar to that person why is that important as a sales plan because they you know that they're happy to pay what you you already charge being you enjoy working with them and you enjoy the company and who they are and you want to deliver your best work for them and see the chances are there's going to be more people like that in a similar position that needs your help so we start our sales plan by knowing our best customer defining that target market and who we want to go after and when we know who that is and how many we need we're in a great position to then go and find them and hopefully do business with them the reality in for point number three is we've got to be able to identify these people and if you sell into a business to business environment it's easy maybe to find that industry out with a google search so maybe let's say like you're one of my customers that you target manufacturing companies you can then look to target by searching on google manufacturing companies in your area that's going to bring up a list of people and then you can maybe use linkedin or other social channels to find out who the owner or the director of that company is if you target individual consumers then we're going to maybe have to look at a slightly different route through using social media profiles maybe their facebook or linkedin profiles or maybe their instagram profiles to know who that person is the reality is we have to be able to identify what we want to do is build a list of maybe 50 to 100 of these people that can absolutely be targets potential prospects for us who are similar to the best customer that we work with and so therefore we know we can solve some of the challenges and problems they're likely to face when we know our customer it's easy to identify the right audience when we know the audience we can start to make plans to engage with them and show them that we're a good company for them to consider so that's fourth point we've got our target we've got our best customer we've identified who they are what we now want to do point number four is create some content that can really show that audience that we're someone that they want to take note of what does that content need to look like it needs to be maybe a guide some blogs maybe something like this when i'm doing a video whatever it is it's content that focuses on the problems and challenges that audience has this video is a perfect example of the content lots of small business owners i speak to say i don't have a sales plan jane's help so i'm creating a video with some resources that can help them in in solving that issue content does so much it positions you it helps educate your market and it helps sell while you're busy doing other things you've got to create it you've got to create guides resources materials that showcase who you are that talk to your target audience and make them think it's relevant for them do that and we're going to be in a far better position to start getting prospects interested in what we do and hopefully moving through our sales pipeline and doing business with us so point number five we know the target we have a clear idea on our best customer and the target market we're aiming for we've then been able to identify these people and we've got some details in a spreadsheet of who they are so we can make contact with them and we've created some great content that solves problems and issues for that target audience the key thing that we've then got to do is point number five we've got to prepare to engage and approach these prospects in the right way the reality is this as a small business owner if you just take this plan and just think i'll do the first four parts and forget these next bits you're gonna fail i don't want you to fail i want you to get great results what do i mean by preparing we should be preparing an introductory email maybe social message and telephone message that we will use to reach out to that person i've created lots of videos on scripts and ways in which to use new messages to engage with your audience i certainly encourage you start thinking about writing a message or communication that focuses on the prospect or not on you so when you talk to someone in a way that resonates with them where you really focus and empathize with the person and can put yourself in their shoes and see the problems they're having most people are sometimes open to a conversation more than you think try it trust me it works that part of the plan is key we know what we got to say prepare for how we say it prepare for the responses we get we're going to be in good shape to hopefully move the prospect through our pipeline and do some business with them point number six is that we've got to be able to engage with that audience the reality is in business they're not just going to know about you without us taking some form of action so whether that's inbound leads with ppc or google ads or people coming to us to to capture information or whether we've got to go out to them the reality is we have to engage in orders to start seeing leads come through i say to the clients i work with if your ship doesn't sell in you swim out to it if the leads aren't coming through we've got to reach out to them and we do it with a prepared structure with great content we know who they are we know their problems and we know why we're doing it with that plan in place and there's again resources that i provide webinars and support to help you know how to approach both inbound and outbound marketing you can get great results but that is the way we start if they're not coming to us we have to go out to them the leads aren't going to magically appear on their own we've got to take the action we've got to engage do that in the right way good results are going to happen so point number seven and this is again an area where so many businesses fail with is we've got to be able to persist and show value in our persistence if i had a pound for how many businesses that have tried to connect once or twice and then given up i'd be a multi-billionaire not just a millionaire the reality is too many business owners give up too quickly eighty percent of sales are done on the fifth to the twelfth interaction and that study was done some years ago so i think that figures even higher now the reality is we've got to continue to persist and engage with the audience if we know we're right for them and we know they've got a problem that we can solve it's our duty to do it we've got to be able to engage but when we engage we have to show value don't just think you can send out a message expect they'll come back straight away they won't people need time to get to know you and what you do they go on a journey we've got to be able to offer persistence and value and do that on a regular basis by focusing dedicated time on sales the results are going to happen and point number eight when it comes to the plan is this [Music] we've got to then build rapport once we do start to have a conversation once we start to be able to get involved with the prospect we've got to make them want to like and work with us again so many business owners when they have that first conversation they've had a lead that come in the prospect said yeah i'm really keen to have a conversation they've then used that first meeting to then say hey here's how great we are and talk talk talk talk about how good they are for a long period of time prospects don't care for that they want you to be interested in them they want you to focus on the challenges and problems you you engaged with them you got their attention by focusing on problems so use the session that you have with them to be interested in them maybe they're not a good fit for you maybe it's not going to work out but the reality is focus on them not you ask great open questions and there's a download to my 42 questions which you can have access to that make the prospect thing you really care about them you build rapport you want to solve their challenges asking those what those how they tell me more show me talk to me through and actively listen helps build rapport so at the end of the meeting when there's hopefully a chance for the business to carry on they're going to think yeah i want to go and see that person again your goal in the first instance is not to sell to them straight away but to make sure you have the chance of a second conversation do that well build the right rapport and you're gonna get through to the second stage and get to know them more see if they're a fit and hopefully work with them so there you have it there's my eight stage plan on what you can do as a small business owner to make this year a great year for you and your business it's all there there's resources there's materials and i'll give you the support by contact me on social media and i'll give you insights in each of these areas and what you can do to start driving sales activity that target we know the customer we're identifying who they are we've got the data we've got great content we're preparing for what they say we're engaging we're being given value of persistence and we're building rapport those are the platforms and the routes to sales success if you want some further help reach out to me put in the comments section below i'd love to talk to you the most important thing is do the work if you haven't got a sales plan put these elements in place it's going to help you and it's going to put you in a far better position to remove those financial anxieties that come from not having business and getting time to spend with loved ones and you're closest to you and achieving the things you want for your company hope you've enjoyed the video please subscribe to the channel like it share it tell other people about it my name is james white i'm a small business sales expert i want to help so many companies all around the world that are great small businesses that have those concerns get better sales results together we can follow the plan you're gonna be in good shape thanks for watching look forward to sharing another video with you next saturday