Drive Revenue and Ensure Long-term Success
Whether it’s due to technological advancements, changes in consumer behaviour or something else entirely, the financial services landscape is constantly shifting – and it can be challenging to keep up. If you’re responsible for sales at your firm, you must have a plan to adapt to these changes. After all, an effective sales plan is the key to driving revenue and ensuring long-term success.
There are many different aspects to the preliminary analysis. The most important tasks are to review the previous year’s business data (client acquisition, fee income, etc.) and evaluate opportunities you haven’t paid attention to (like digital marketing, for example).
Past goals and current situation
Analyse the obstacles that prevented your advisers from reaching past goals and consider your current situation, considering your strengths and weaknesses. Map your competition, how they move in the market, and their fee and pricing policies.
Identify new trends in the sector and your target market and create a sales forecast based on the previous year’s performance and trends. Review relationships with the departments your advisers work with, like marketing and client services. Set sales targets (including micro-goals to achieve along the way) and sketch a timeline for each micro-goal and target.
Once you’ve gathered all that information, it’s time to integrate it into your sales plan.
So, how do you create a sales plan that can weather any storm? Here are a few tips:
1. Define your goals
Before you can assemble your sales plan, you must know what you’re trying to achieve. What are your overall goals for the year? How much fee income and revenue do you need to generate? Once you clearly understand your goals, you can start mapping out a sales plan to reach them.
2. Know your audience
Understanding your target market and what they’re looking for is essential. What are their pain points? What are their needs and wants? The more you know about your audience, the better equipped you’ll be to acquire them effectively.
3. Research your competition
You should always be aware of what your competitors are doing. What strategies are they using? What’s working for them, and what isn’t? By understanding your competition, you can stay one step ahead.
4. Prioritise your efforts
With limited resources, you can’t do everything at once. That’s why it’s crucial to prioritise your sales efforts and focus on the activities that will have the most significant impact.
5. Set realistic targets
It’s essential to set realistic targets for your advisers. If you set goals that are too high, you’ll only end up disappointed; if you set goals that are too low, you won’t challenge your team enough. The key is to find a happy medium.
6. Create a timeline
Your sales plan should have a timeline detailing when specific tasks must be completed. This will help keep everyone on track and ensure that deadlines are met.
7. Allocate resources
Could you ensure you have the resources to support your sales plan? This includes things like budget, marketing, and technology.
8. Measure progress
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. So, as you’re implementing your sales plan, keep track of your progress and identify areas that need improvement.
9. Be flexible
Remember that your sales plan is a living document – it must be updated as the market changes. Be prepared to make adjustments as necessary; otherwise, you’ll risk falling behind the competition.
Creating an effective sales plan is essential for any financial advice – especially in today’s ever-changing marketplace. Following these tips, you can develop a plan to help you reach your goals and ensure long-term success.
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