Planning for Success: Sales Development Part 1 – Lessons in Leadership

As a sales manager developing an elite sales team, you must convert vision to tangible goals, align objectives with longer term corporate strategy, and identify the processes and resources required to accelerate initiatives. One of the most effective tools for accomplishing these actions is the tactical map, which can be used by individuals or for the whole team. A tactical map is also a useful sales training tool.

This Lesson in Leadership discusses one of the benefits of creating a tactical map.

Many people want something. Fewer achieve their desired results. There is a formula for achieving results.

Vision + Planning + Competent Effort = Results

Most people have some idea of what they’d like their future to be. We’ve heard employees say things like, “Someday … I’d like to work on a team where everyone gets along.” Or, “Someday … I’d like to do work which excited me.” We’ve even heard, “Someday … I’d like to be a manager.”

Well, someday could be closer than you think. We’d like to help you bring the distant horizon in your mind into clear focus and closer to you.

We’ve gained some valuable knowledge on our journey from employees and sales professionals to sales managers and we’d like to pass on to you the catalyst that can bring your chosen future closer to you and maybe even into your current reality.

Success doesn’t come to you … you go to it!

The first step in creating your own future is “Vision.” There are many people having some level of difficulty seeing their future inside their current company. There’s nothing wrong with that if it has always been their intention not to stay. Still, if you would like to achieve higher levels of personal opportunity and satisfaction with your current company, we believe we can help. The exercises you’ve already completed will help you to envision more happiness and satisfaction from your relationship with your company.

The next step is to begin to develop a Tactical Map. This map should include a series of steps and tasks you plan to accomplish which will speed you on your way to your desired goals. The Tactical Map has three specific benefits. We will discuss the first benefit in this post.

Benefit #1

A one thousand-mile journey begins with a single step. – Chinese Proverb

Quite often people have a general idea of what they would like the future to look like, but no clarity of steps, procedures, tasks or work which needs to be produced in order to achieve it. A tactical approach needs to be created to achieve the more expansive and possibly longer “Big Picture.” A Tactical Map helps you to understand more clearly what actions should be taken in order to logically realize the larger vision you’ve begun to create for yourself.

In the next post, Planning for Success: Sales Development Part 2 – Lessons in Leadership, we will cover two more benefits gained from creating and using a Tactical Map.