With 2023 coming to a close, the New Year brings new challenges and opportunities for your agency. Have you set your sales goals for 2024 yet? Have you put your agency in the best position to meet and exceed those numbers? Creating a sales plan can be difficult and time consuming, but it’s essential to your agency’s success in the year to come.

Here are 4 steps to help you prepare for 2024:

Review Your Sales Process

When looking back at your 2023 results, it is essential that you review your sales process and ask some important questions. Do you have a uniform process for qualifying leads and guiding prospects through the sales funnel? Is your agency taking full advantage of your CRM system to effectively support your sales efforts? Record any issues or bottlenecks you discover and focus on addressing them as you plan for 2024.

Identify Your Ideal Customers

All good sales people have a short memory and are always looking for their next prospect. All great sales people take the time to evaluate a prospect and prioritize those that fit their ideal customer profile. Review your book of business to pinpoint your most profitable programs, where there is room for growth, and the customer characteristics that present your agency with the best chance to exceed your goals.

Forecast for the Coming Year

Once you’ve streamlined your sales process and identified your opportunities, it’s time to forecast for the year ahead. Take into consideration competition in the marketplace, new product offerings, and company resources to make sure you are setting achievable goals for your agency.

Align Your Marketing Efforts

Your marketing strategy supports your sales plan by focusing on the customers and markets you have identified as the most profitable. If you have forecasted a 20% growth in market A and a 5% growth in market B, your marketing resources should be allocated proportionately to help you achieve these goals. The more detailed and refined your sales plan is, the more focused your marketing efforts can be.

Beginning the year with a sales plan and marketing strategy is essential to leading your agency down the path to success. However, it is important to continually review and revise your tactics to keep your team moving in the right direction.

By: Tim Woitach

For more information on this topic, check out articles from VA Partners and the Whole Brain Group. Check out all of our blogs on the News Feed.