If you’re interviewing for a field sales position you may be asked to provide a 30-60-90 day sales plan. Or, your manager might create one for you. This plan helps a new or potential employer evaluate a candidate or new hire’s ability to prioritize, understand how they define success, and discern whether they fully understand the scope of the job.
So what is a 30-60-90 day sales plan, and what should it include? Read on to learn how to create a three-month sales plan for any outside sales career.
What is a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan?
A 30-60-90 day sales plan explains the measurable goals for a new hire’s first three months on the job and demonstrates their commitment to personal accountability. More importantly, a 30-60-90 day plan shows management that new hires will be focused on results, even during the onboarding process.
Ultimately, the plan helps sales reps and managers agree on what success will look like in the first 30, 60, and 90 days. It leaves very little ambiguity for measuring a successful transition.
Why Do You Need A 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan?
Sales managers and new sales reps both benefit from a 30-60-90 day sales plan, because it documents progress, challenges, and wins.
Sales leadership can use this plan to ensure sales team members are growing in their role, and to identify any need for additional training or guidance. For both managers and employees, documenting goals and accomplishments is helpful for the sales performance review process — both parties can see details that they might’ve otherwise forgotten over time.
What to Include in a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan
Whether you’re creating one for yourself or for a new employee, each phase of your 30-60-90 day plan should detail a specific focus, priorities, sales goals, and a plan for measuring success.
Consider the following when creating your plan:
Align with team goals
To set your own priorities, you must first understand your team’s goals. These are typically defined by management.
During the interview process, ask questions about sales team goals, the strategy for achieving them, and what success looks like for the team.
Measure progress and success
A plan is not a plan without a clear way to measure success. Include a way to measure each objective in your 30-60-90 day sales plan. Depending on the activity, your goals should tie to one of the following:
- What you’ve learned
- How well you’ve adjusted and integrated into your new sales team
- How ready you are to perform your role without extra support
If, like most successful sales professionals, you have at least one mentor you can count on for advice, ask them to share their own 30-60-90 day sales plan example with you for inspiration.
Five Scenarios That Call for a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan
A 30-60-90 day sales plan takes some time to put together, but you won’t have to do it often. Following are four scenarios in which you may need to create such a plan:
During the interview process
Most sales job interviews today involve multiple steps and stakeholders — from the initial screening with an HR generalist, to the final meeting with high-ranking decision-makers. If you clear the first hurdle in the hiring process, you should start working on your sales plan.
A hiring manager may informally ask you how you would approach your first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job. That’s your opportunity to make a great impression — instead of simply answering the question, you can present a copy of your formal plan that shows you’re thinking ahead and serious about the job.
First week on the job
In some cases — especially if you’ve earned an internal promotion — you may not need to present a 30-60-90 day sales plan until your first week on the job. Even if you’re not asked to provide a plan right away, doing so can help you demonstrate your commitment to your new role.
New territory assignments
If your role is expanding to include management of new territories, create a 30-60-90 day plan for new sales territory areas . Your plan should define geographic boundaries for territories, which sales reps are responsible for those territories, and the metrics you’ll use to evaluate territory performance.
Onboarding new sales managers
A 30-60-90 day sales plan is also useful if you’re onboarding a new sales manager. You can show new sales managers what sales processes or systems they’ll be learning about in the first 30 days, define expectations for the first three months, and explain how you assess performance and communicate feedback.
Building Sales Skills
Companies may expect their sales reps to be continuously improving upon their skills — and to identify opportunities for doing so. Once you’ve settled into your new role, you might need a new 30-60-90 day sales plan that defines:
- How you’ll research new technology that improves your efficiency
- Your timeline for implementing new technology
- How you’ll share new knowledge with your team
You might also use a three-month sales plan to outline your goals for improving your sales strategy, and the sales quota you’re aiming for.
Key Steps for Writing an Effective 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan
Ready to get started on your plan? Follow these action steps:
1. Create an outline. Begin by sorting your ideas based on each 30-day increment:
- Onboarding/learning (first 30 days)
- Executing your plan (days 31-60)
- Improving upon your plan (days 61-90)
2. Define your goals. Be ambitious — but realistic — about what you want to achieve personally, and on behalf of your employer, in your first 90 days on the job.
3. Define your metrics. How will you measure your goals? In the first 30 days, your “metrics” may be as simple as “Review employee onboarding videos,” or “Complete CRM platform training.” Metrics will tend to become more granular as you settle into your new role.
The details of your plan will depend upon your role. For example, a 30-60-90 day business plan for sales managers is likely to be more external-facing, with a focus on how to learn about the daily routines of your direct reports. If you’re joining a company as a new territory sales rep, your 30-60-90 day plan should focus more on how you will develop your skills.
Milestones for a 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan
Now that you understand the value of a 30-60-90 day sales plan, let’s talk about the appropriate milestones for each phase.
30-Day Plan
You’re starting from scratch, and should begin by answering, “What does success look like in the first 30 days?”
In many cases, the first 30 days should include completing your company/role training plan, understanding the target market, mastering the company’s products or services, and getting to know your colleagues.
Here’s a sample checklist of points s to consider for the first 30 days:
- Have you completed all required company training?
- Do you understand the high-level priorities for your company and team?
- What are the goals your company plans to achieve in the next year?
- Do you have a complete understanding of the target market?
- Do you understand your company’s key products and/or services?
- Do you understand what makes your company unique?
- Do you understand the competition?
- Have you developed connections within the organization?
- Do you have a clear sales plan?
This part of the plan should be heavy on information gathering.
For each of the items in the plan, and any others you add, schedule weekly checkpoints to track progress. This may be a 1:1 with your manager or mentor. At the end of the first 30 days, be prepared to report back on your completion of the plan.
If you didn’t complete a key commitment, that’s OK. As you become more familiar with the job, items on your list may be deprioritized and rolled into the next phase.
60-Day Plan
During the second month, new sales reps are able to spend more time in the field. During this phase of the plan, the focus should be getting to know the market, nurturing relationships with prospects and clients, and understanding the customer experience, including what’s working well and where the team can better support customers.
During the 31-60 day period, you should ask for feedback from your manager, team, and customers about what you’re doing well and what you can improve.
During this time, you should also be looking for opportunities to learn from your peers and identifying ways to work more efficiently. This shows your sales manager that you are eager to keep up with the team and that you want to help move the company forward.
Here’s a sample checklist of points to consider for your 60-day plan:
- Have you introduced yourself to key clients and prospects?
- Have you completed a customer experience and satisfaction review?
- Have you participated in adequate job shadowing with peers and management?
- Have you completed all formal training requirements?
- Have you started developing new leads?
- Do you have a tool to help you map out sales routes?
By the 60-day checkpoint, you should be able to show that you can handle the workload and that you’re ready to succeed on the team. Between days 31 and 60, you should have enough of an understanding of the business to speak up, ask questions, share ideas, and engage in discussion.
90-Day Plan
Days 61-90 are all about building on what you learned during the first 60 days and making an impact. This may mean you start optimizing your prospect list with larger, more strategic clients. It may also mean revisiting cold leads to see whether you can initiate new conversations.
Your plan for days 61-90 should cover how you’ll establish and build relationships with clients and prospects, as well as how you’ll implement feedback to become better at your job and help support your team.
Here’s a sample checklist of points to consider for your 90-day plan:
- Have you met all key accounts and started developing relationships?
- Have you started prospecting for new leads?
- Have you actively asked for feedback from your peers and management?
- Have you used feedback to adjust your strategy and approach?
- Have you established a schedule that works for you, your clients, and your team?
- Have you established credibility within the team?
- Do you feel successfully “on board”?
At 90 days, you should feel confident in your new role. While nobody will expect you to be a seasoned expert, you should know enough to perform critical sales tasks without a lot of guidance.
4 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Building A 30-60-90 Day Sales Plan
You should be off to a great start in developing your 30-60-90 day sales plan. But, as with anything, things can easily get derailed.
In this section, we’ll cover common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Failing To Include Details
As you’ll recall, the most important function of your plan is to clearly outline your objectives. Make sure that your plan has no room for misinterpretation. Include specifics in your plan such as dates, percentages, and other figures.
2. No plan to measure success
It’s not really a plan if there is no way to measure success. Within each phase of your plan, be specific about what constitutes successful completion of a task.
3. A fixed mindset
When you start a new role, you have a lot to learn. By the time you start executing a plan, you’ll likely find some of your assumptions incorrect, and you’ll need to adjust the plan accordingly.
Don’t let this bog you down, or worse, stop you from following through. Make sure your plan is flexible enough to make adjustments as needed.
4. Not Following Up With Your Manager
A 30-60-90 day sales plan requires ongoing two-way communication between employee and manager. Without ongoing feedback, there’s no way to know if you’re truly meeting expectations.
Ready. Set. Plan.
Your 30-60-90 day sales plan should serve as a tool to establish yourself in a new role and organization, and to promote your growth and development.
Coming to the table with a plan is the best way to hit the ground running, build credibility, and show team members you are eager and prepared.
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