The Six P's Of Planning
Have you heard of the 6 P’s of planning?
Do you require you reps to plan before road trips?
Is your brand associated with professionalism?
The 6 “P’s” of planning have been touted for years as a mantra against the tendency of people and companies to sally forth either with no plan or a vague plan that they “just wing it” through. The ‘politically correct’ version has the 6 “P’s” standing for ‘Poor Prior Planning Produces Poor Performance.” When creating a culture that will drive sales in your organisation, it is vital to ensure you set a standard that honours and respects people’s time and best utilises resources. This sets your team up to succeed and establishes your brand as one that adds value.
We have previously covered the importance of ensuring all customer contact has a clear purpose that adds value to the customer and your company. What does this practically look like for your business? Some thoughts to consider:
When doing a marketing survey, are you clear on what information you want and why? Is it obvious to you, your team and the customer, how gathering information will add value to them?
When your customer service team and sales reps reach out and contact your customers, are they well equipped and prepared? Do they know where the customer is in the customer journey map? What their expectations are for that stage? What questions to ask and what are the ideal next steps?
Before your reps head out on the road, have they set appointments and sent calendar invites with agendas included? Have they filled in a sales meeting plan, outlining clear purpose for the meeting, what questions they will ask, potential objections, clear next steps? Have they gathered all relevant material – samples, notes from the CRM, supporting testimonials and case studies, presentation materials and relevant resources/brochures, information and educational material, promotional products and business cards?
A lot of this might sound obvious. If you already have systems in place to ensure all of this occurs, you might have forgotten what life was like before this. If you do not have a system and process for ensuring all this is prepared before heading out, you will possibly be reading the above either in a state of wishful thinking, disbelief that it is even possible or dismissing it as “stuff bigger companies do.”
This research and preparation pays dividends! It is simple to set up – not necessarily easy but simple. A great starting point is to sit down with relevant team members and discuss what would be ideal for them and equip them to feel confident and be as helpful as possible. Next look at the low hanging fruit – what can you put in place quickly and easily to get some early wins? I often find that some simple templated forms that ensure steps in processes are followed/not forgotten/overlooked can help. The more you can systemitise, the more people are freed up to be fully present for the customer – both internal and external.
Do you need to review your processes today?
Here’s to your success!
