Planning and strategy templates for high-performing sales teams

Welcome to Freshsales, where your sales strategy and planning evolve from concepts to success stories. Our meticulously designed sales strategy and sales plan templates are your key to unlocking a world of efficiency and growth. These templates are your blueprint for crafting impactful sales approaches and streamlining your sales processes. 

Imagine a world where effective sales planning is not just possible but assured. Discover how you can transform sales strategies into compelling, result-driven successes with these templates.

Sales strategy template

Download our sales strategy template to communicate your sales approach effectively. This ready-to-use template is designed to guide you in presenting a comprehensive and compelling sales strategy.

Mission and background: Begin with your company's mission, vision, and a brief history. This section sets the stage for your sales strategy by providing context about your business.

• Mission Statement: [Enter your company’s mission statement]

• Vision Statement: [Enter your company’s vision statement]

• Company History/Story: [Enter a brief history or story of your company]

Team: Detail the structure of your sales department, highlighting key personnel and their roles.

• Sales Leadership: [List your sales department leaders with titles and brief bios]

• Sales Team Structure: [Describe the organization of your sales department, include an org chart if available]

• New Hires: [Outline plans for team growth and roles to be filled]

Target market: Define who your products or services are aimed towards, focusing on key prospect attributes and target regions. This will also help build your ideal customer profile. 

• Locations Targeting: [Specify target market locations and strategies]

• Buyer Personas: [Outline ideal customer personas based on market research]

• Omissions: [Identify unqualified prospects and reasons for exclusion]

• Customer Experience: [Describe the customer journey and touchpoints]

Tools, software, and resources: Explain the resources your sales team uses to achieve goals.

• Software: [List CRM and other sales software used]

• Tools and Resources: [Detail documentation, sales enablement tools, and other resources]

• Relationship Between Sales and Customer Support: [Explain how sales and support teams collaborate]

• Sales Training: [List sales training and resources provided]

Positioning: Discuss your place in the industry, your strengths, weaknesses, and how you compare to competitors.

• Market Condition: [Discuss current market conditions in your industry]

• Value Proposition: [Outline the benefits your business offers]

• Pricing Strategy: [Detail your pricing strategy and rationale]

• Marketplace Risks: [Identify risks in your industry]

• Competitive Advantages: [Highlight what sets your business apart]

• Competitor Analysis: [List top competitors with strengths, weaknesses, and counterpoints]

Marketing strategy: Provide an overview of your marketing strategy relevant to sales

• Inbound Marketing: [Outline strategies like content marketing, event marketing, etc.]

• Outbound Marketing: [Detail strategies like direct mail, cold calling, etc.]

Prospecting strategy: Describe how your sales team should effectively prospect, qualify and reach out to leads.

• Criteria for Outreach: [Define must-have attributes for prospects]

• Inbound Prospecting Strategy: [Detail tactics for connecting with inbound contacts]

• Outbound Prospecting Strategy: [Outline tactics for cold outreach]

• Referral Strategy: [Discuss plans for generating referrals and word of mouth]

Action Plan: Outline the concrete actions your sales team will take.

• Tactic #1: [Detail the first tactic and repeat as necessary for additional tactics]

Goals: Set clear sales targets.

• Revenue Targets: [Set sales revenue goals for the period]

• Deal Target: [Specify the number of deals to close]

• Units Sold Target: [Outline targets for each product line, if applicable]

• Sales Cycle Target Length: [Define desired sales cycle length]

• Other Key Sales Metrics Target: [List other important sales metrics]

Budget: Provide a budget outline for your sales initiatives.

• [Detail budget allocations for salaries, resources, training, etc.]

4 ways to use sales strategy and sales plan templates

Explore the range of uses for our sales strategy plan template designed to make your sales strategy and planning more effective and structured. Each section focuses on your specific needs, ensuring you have a robust framework to start winning sales.

Marketing and sales strategy business plan

Ideal for aligning your marketing and sales efforts, this smart template is designed to enhance your sales performance and forecasting. It integrates marketing strategies with sales goals, fostering a collaborative environment for both departments.

• Marketing-sales alignment: Clearly define how marketing strategies can bolster sales goals, ensuring alignment in objectives and communication.

• Integrated campaign planning: Craft marketing campaigns that directly support sales efforts, aiding in lead generation and the ability to close deals more effectively.

• Lead generation and management: Detail the process of generating, nurturing, and managing leads from marketing to sales—turning them into a robust customer base.

• Cross-departmental KPIs: Set joint key performance indicators that accurately reflect the achievements in both marketing and sales.

Channel marketing and sales strategy 

This template is designed for businesses using channel sales, focusing on building and managing channel partnerships. It provides a framework for effectively engaging stakeholders through channel sales.

• Partner profiling and selection: Establish criteria for selecting channel partners who can help expand your customer base.

• Channel-specific tactics: Develop unique sales and marketing strategies tailored to each sales channel.

• Partner enablement: Provide partners with the resources and training to deliver your sales pitch effectively.

• Performance tracking with partners: Implement metrics and methods to evaluate and improve channel performance—including benchmarks and milestones—contributing to overall sales growth.

Sales growth strategy

Tailored for businesses focused on expanding their sales, this template emphasizes growth strategies and scaling. It leverages advanced analytics to guide sales expansion and improve forecasting.

• Growth area identification: Conduct an analysis to pinpoint potential sales growth and expansion areas.

• Innovative sales tactics: Introduce creative sales tactics that can effectively attract new customers and increase market share.

• Scaling strategies: Outline how the sales process will adapt to increasing volumes.

• Growth analytics: Focus on specific metrics that measure sales growth and market penetration, vital for informed sales forecasting and strategy adjustments.

Go-to-market sales strategy 

This template is ideal for businesses introducing new products or venturing into new markets. It's tailored to help you identify target customers and align with your business goals.

• Market analysis for new ventures: Conduct thorough market research to understand the needs and preferences of your target customers in new markets or product areas.

• Launch timeline and roadmap: Create a detailed timeline for your product launch or market entry, ensuring alignment with your overall business goals.

• Cross-functional coordination: Clearly define the roles of various departments in executing the go-to-market strategy, ensuring a cohesive approach across sales, marketing, and other functions.

• Success metrics for launch: Establish benchmarks and success metrics to assess the effectiveness of the launch, including impact on the sales funnel and sales activities.

How to choose the best template

Choosing the right template for your sales strategy and plan is crucial for achieving your sales and business objectives.

• Ease of use: Select a user-friendly template that all members involved in the sales process can easily understand and utilize.

• Customization: Opt for a template that can be personalized to reflect your unique sales goals, sales funnel specifics, and sales activities.

• Collaboration: Ensure the template allows for teamwork and shared insights, enabling sales reps to work together effectively.

• Integrations: Look for a template that integrates seamlessly with your sales tools and CRM systems, enhancing the overall sales pipeline or workflow. 

• Artificial intelligence: Consider templates with AI capabilities to streamline planning and improve efficiency, particularly in setting goals and tracking sales activities.

• Platform compatibility: Ensure the template is compatible with your current sales platforms and tools. Factor in the potential costs of new software if necessary.

By focusing on these key aspects, you can select a template that aligns with your business needs and empowers your sales reps to effectively meet and exceed their quotas.

Tips and best practices for using these templates

To maximize the effectiveness of the sales strategy and plan templates provided by Freshsales, consider these tips and best practices:

• Identify your target audience: Start by pinpointing your target audience. Understanding who your new customers are and their pain points is crucial for creating a focused and effective sales plan.

• Set clear objectives and goals: Before you begin, define clear sales objectives and goals. Knowing what you want to achieve with your sales strategy is critical for guiding the use of the template.

• Customize to address specific needs: Ensure the template is tailored to your unique business needs. This means adjusting the messaging, structure, and sections to address your target audience and their pain points directly.

• Update regularly to stay relevant: The sales environment is always changing. Keep your strategy and plan up-to-date with market trends, customer behavior, and business objectives.

• Encourage collaborative input: Utilize insights from various team members, including marketing teams, to enrich your strategy. This collaboration can provide a more comprehensive view of the customer journey and sales process.

• Incorporate AI and automation tools: Use AI tools and automation features in the templates for efficient data analysis and forecasting. These tools can also assist in refining your messaging, follow-up email and strategies.

• Integrate with your existing tools: Make sure the template works seamlessly with your current sales and marketing tools. This integration ensures efficient workflow and data sharing.

• Train your team: Offer training to ensure your team is familiar with the template’s features. This helps everyone use it effectively and contribute to its fullest potential.

• Track actionable metrics: Focus on metrics and KPIs that are actionable. Monitoring these will help measure success and refine the sales process.

• Establish a feedback loop: Create a system for ongoing feedback to continually adapt and improve the template’s effectiveness.

• Review and reflect for improvement: Regularly assess your sales strategy and plan against actual outcomes. Use these reflections to identify what works and where improvements are needed.

• Align with company goals: Make sure your sales strategy syncs with the broader company objectives for a consistent business approach.

• Ensure consistency across teams: Promote the consistent use of the template across all teams and departments to ensure a unified sales approach.

Create a more effective sales strategy with Freshsales

With Freshsales, you’re not just choosing a template but embracing a pathway to enhanced sales effectiveness. Our range of customizable, user-friendly templates are designed to fit your unique business needs, ensuring your sales planning is efficient and impactful.

Whether you’re aiming for growth, entering new markets, aligning sales with marketing, or optimizing channel sales, Freshsales provides the necessary tools and resources.