Start-up Funding | |
Start-up Expenses to Fund | $8,000 |
Start-up Assets to Fund | $82,000 |
Total Funding Required | $90,000 |
Assets | |
Non-cash Assets from Start-up | $80,000 |
Cash Requirements from Start-up | $2,000 |
Additional Cash Raised | $0 |
Cash Balance on Starting Date | $2,000 |
Total Assets | $82,000 |
Liabilities and Capital | |
Liabilities | |
Current Borrowing | $0 |
Long-term Liabilities | $50,000 |
Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills) | $0 |
Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) | $0 |
Total Liabilities | $50,000 |
Capital | |
Planned Investment | |
Robert Conway | $40,000 |
Other | $0 |
Additional Investment Requirement | $0 |
Total Planned Investment | $40,000 |
Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) | ($8,000) |
Total Capital | $32,000 |
Total Capital and Liabilities | $82,000 |
Total Funding | $90,000 |
University Telephones is located on 3455 Steward Street.
The following are the products and services offered by University Telephones:
The university community serves 18,000 students. Each year, students spend in excess of $100 million dollars for products and services with businesses in the university community. In a recent campus survey, over 75% of students reported that they own cell phones. Of that number, over 80% reported that they also have a landline phone. This represents a multi-million dollar market in the university community.
University Telephones will focus on students that live on and off campus by offering products and service plans that are tailored to student needs. Approximately, 6,000 students live on campus. An additional 12,000 students live off campus. Currently, there is no telephone equipment outlet operation within five miles of the campus.
University Telephones will focus on two customer groups:
Market Analysis | |||||||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |||
Potential Customers | Growth | CAGR | |||||
Students Living On Campus | 2% | 6,000 | 6,120 | 6,242 | 6,367 | 6,494 | 2.00% |
Students Living Off Campus | 3% | 12,000 | 12,360 | 12,731 | 13,113 | 13,506 | 3.00% |
Non-students | 5% | 7,000 | 7,350 | 7,718 | 8,104 | 8,509 | 5.00% |
Total | 3.34% | 25,000 | 25,830 | 26,691 | 27,584 | 28,509 | 3.34% |
The market for telephone equipment and cell phone plans is very fragmented, crowded and competitive. Among these, there are only a few large local firms that serve the entire city of Richmond. The remainder are small firms that sell from kiosks in the surrounding malls. University Telephones’ current niche is its location on Steward Street. At the beginning of each term, a number of telephone equipment and service providers set up tables and kiosks on Steward Street but after day ten, they have all left the area. University Telephones will have a permanent home on Steward Street and we believe that will be seen as a advantage by our customers.
University Telephones will promote the store opening. We will advertise in the university daily student newspaper as well as the university area advertising flyer. In the advertisements for the store opening, we will have a 20% off coupon for product purchases over twenty dollars. We will continue this discount for the first month of operation.
The University Telephones’ competitive edge is:
The sales strategy of University Telephones is simple. The key to customer satisfaction is having the product and services that meet the customer’s needs. A crucial part of that is to also have knowledgeable employees to help customers find what they want quickly.
The following is University Telephones’ sales forecast for three years.
Sales Forecast | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Sales | |||
Land Line Phones | $35,000 | $37,000 | $44,000 |
Cell Phones | $82,000 | $89,000 | $98,000 |
Cell Phone Accessories | $59,000 | $63,000 | $72,000 |
Cell Service Plans | $164,000 | $170,000 | $190,000 |
Total Sales | $340,000 | $359,000 | $404,000 |
Direct Cost of Sales | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
Land Line Phones | $8,200 | $9,000 | $1,000 |
Cell Phones | $18,800 | $20,000 | $25,000 |
Cell Phone Accessories | $15,300 | $15,000 | $19,000 |
Cell Service Plans | $117,000 | $118,000 | $121,000 |
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales | $159,300 | $162,000 | $166,000 |
Robert Convey will manage the daily operations of University Telephones.
University Telephones will have a staff of five:
Personnel Plan | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Robert Conway | $36,000 | $40,000 | $44,000 |
Store Staff (4) | $96,000 | $106,000 | $114,000 |
Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total People | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Total Payroll | $132,000 | $146,000 | $158,000 |
The following is the financial plan for University Telephones.
The monthly break-even point is approximately $28,300.
Break-even Analysis | |
Monthly Revenue Break-even | $28,318 |
Assumptions: | |
Average Percent Variable Cost | 47% |
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost | $15,050 |
The following table highlights the projected balance sheet for the next three years.
Pro Forma Balance Sheet | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Assets | |||
Current Assets | |||
Cash | $21,509 | $18,733 | $37,092 |
Inventory | $14,960 | $15,214 | $15,589 |
Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Current Assets | $36,469 | $33,946 | $52,682 |
Long-term Assets | |||
Long-term Assets | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
Accumulated Depreciation | $2,400 | $4,800 | $7,200 |
Total Long-term Assets | $47,600 | $45,200 | $42,800 |
Total Assets | $84,069 | $79,146 | $95,482 |
Liabilities and Capital | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
Current Liabilities | |||
Accounts Payable | $17,184 | $16,817 | $17,913 |
Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Other Current Liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Subtotal Current Liabilities | $17,184 | $16,817 | $17,913 |
Long-term Liabilities | $39,200 | $28,400 | $17,600 |
Total Liabilities | $56,384 | $45,217 | $35,513 |
Paid-in Capital | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
Retained Earnings | ($8,000) | ($12,315) | ($6,071) |
Earnings | ($4,315) | $6,244 | $26,040 |
Total Capital | $27,685 | $33,929 | $59,969 |
Total Liabilities and Capital | $84,069 | $79,146 | $95,482 |
Net Worth | $27,685 | $33,929 | $59,969 |
The following table and charts highlight the projected profit and loss for the next three years.
Pro Forma Profit and Loss | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Sales | $340,000 | $359,000 | $404,000 |
Direct Cost of Sales | $159,300 | $162,000 | $166,000 |
Other Production Expenses | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Cost of Sales | $159,300 | $162,000 | $166,000 |
Gross Margin | $180,700 | $197,000 | $238,000 |
Gross Margin % | 53.15% | 54.87% | 58.91% |
Expenses | |||
Payroll | $132,000 | $146,000 | $158,000 |
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Depreciation | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,400 |
Leased Equipment | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Utilities | $2,400 | $2,400 | $2,400 |
Insurance | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Rent | $24,000 | $12,000 | $12,000 |
Payroll Taxes | $19,800 | $21,900 | $23,700 |
Other | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Operating Expenses | $180,600 | $184,700 | $198,500 |
Profit Before Interest and Taxes | $100 | $12,300 | $39,500 |
EBITDA | $2,500 | $14,700 | $41,900 |
Interest Expense | $4,415 | $3,380 | $2,300 |
Taxes Incurred | $0 | $2,676 | $11,160 |
Net Profit | ($4,315) | $6,244 | $26,040 |
Net Profit/Sales | -1.27% | 1.74% | 6.45% |
The following table and chart highlight the projected cash flow for the next three years.
Pro Forma Cash Flow | |||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Cash Received | |||
Cash from Operations | |||
Cash Sales | $340,000 | $359,000 | $404,000 |
Subtotal Cash from Operations | $340,000 | $359,000 | $404,000 |
Additional Cash Received | |||
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Other Liabilities (interest-free) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Long-term Liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Sales of Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Sales of Long-term Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Investment Received | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Subtotal Cash Received | $340,000 | $359,000 | $404,000 |
Expenditures | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
Expenditures from Operations | |||
Cash Spending | $132,000 | $146,000 | $158,000 |
Bill Payments | $177,691 | $204,976 | $216,840 |
Subtotal Spent on Operations | $309,691 | $350,976 | $374,840 |
Additional Cash Spent | |||
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment | $10,800 | $10,800 | $10,800 |
Purchase Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Purchase Long-term Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Dividends | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Subtotal Cash Spent | $320,491 | $361,776 | $385,640 |
Net Cash Flow | $19,509 | ($2,776) | $18,360 |
Cash Balance | $21,509 | $18,733 | $37,092 |
Business ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 3661, Telephone Equipment, are shown for comparison.
Ratio Analysis | ||||
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Industry Profile | |
Sales Growth | 0.00% | 5.59% | 12.53% | 10.50% |
Percent of Total Assets | ||||
Inventory | 17.79% | 19.22% | 16.33% | 26.50% |
Other Current Assets | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 31.10% |
Total Current Assets | 43.38% | 42.89% | 55.17% | 83.50% |
Long-term Assets | 56.62% | 57.11% | 44.83% | 16.50% |
Total Assets | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Current Liabilities | 20.44% | 21.25% | 18.76% | 48.90% |
Long-term Liabilities | 46.63% | 35.88% | 18.43% | 13.30% |
Total Liabilities | 67.07% | 57.13% | 37.19% | 62.20% |
Net Worth | 32.93% | 42.87% | 62.81% | 37.80% |
Percent of Sales | ||||
Sales | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Gross Margin | 53.15% | 54.87% | 58.91% | 41.50% |
Selling, General & Administrative Expenses | 54.42% | 53.14% | 52.47% | 26.80% |
Advertising Expenses | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1.00% |
Profit Before Interest and Taxes | 0.03% | 3.43% | 9.78% | 2.60% |
Main Ratios | ||||
Current | 2.12 | 2.02 | 2.94 | 1.71 |
Quick | 1.25 | 1.11 | 2.07 | 0.97 |
Total Debt to Total Assets | 67.07% | 57.13% | 37.19% | 62.20% |
Pre-tax Return on Net Worth | -15.59% | 26.29% | 62.03% | 3.00% |
Pre-tax Return on Assets | -5.13% | 11.27% | 38.96% | 7.80% |
Additional Ratios | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
Net Profit Margin | -1.27% | 1.74% | 6.45% | n.a |
Return on Equity | -15.59% | 18.40% | 43.42% | n.a |
Activity Ratios | ||||
Inventory Turnover | 10.34 | 10.74 | 10.78 | n.a |
Accounts Payable Turnover | 11.34 | 12.17 | 12.17 | n.a |
Payment Days | 27 | 30 | 29 | n.a |
Total Asset Turnover | 4.04 | 4.54 | 4.23 | n.a |
Debt Ratios | ||||
Debt to Net Worth | 2.04 | 1.33 | 0.59 | n.a |
Current Liab. to Liab. | 0.30 | 0.37 | 0.50 | n.a |
Liquidity Ratios | ||||
Net Working Capital | $19,285 | $17,129 | $34,769 | n.a |
Interest Coverage | 0.02 | 3.64 | 17.17 | n.a |
Additional Ratios | ||||
Assets to Sales | 0.25 | 0.22 | 0.24 | n.a |
Current Debt/Total Assets | 20% | 21% | 19% | n.a |
Acid Test | 1.25 | 1.11 | 2.07 | n.a |
Sales/Net Worth | 12.28 | 10.58 | 6.74 | n.a |
Dividend Payout | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | n.a |
Sales Forecast | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Sales | |||||||||||||
Land Line Phones | 0% | $2,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
Cell Phones | 0% | $5,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 | $7,000 |
Cell Phone Accessories | 0% | $4,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Cell Service Plans | 0% | $10,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 | $14,000 |
Total Sales | $21,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | |
Direct Cost of Sales | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | |
Land Line Phones | $500 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | $700 | |
Cell Phones | $1,200 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,600 | |
Cell Phone Accessories | $1,000 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | $1,300 | |
Cell Service Plans | $7,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | |
Subtotal Direct Cost of Sales | $9,700 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 |
Personnel Plan | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Robert Conway | 0% | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
Store Staff (4) | 0% | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 |
Other | 0% | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total People | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
Total Payroll | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 |
General Assumptions | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Plan Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
Current Interest Rate | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | |
Long-term Interest Rate | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | |
Tax Rate | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | 30.00% | |
Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pro Forma Profit and Loss | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Sales | $21,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | |
Direct Cost of Sales | $9,700 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | |
Other Production Expenses | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Total Cost of Sales | $9,700 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | $13,600 | |
Gross Margin | $11,300 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | $15,400 | |
Gross Margin % | 53.81% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | 53.10% | |
Expenses | |||||||||||||
Payroll | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | |
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Depreciation | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | |
Leased Equipment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Utilities | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 | |
Insurance | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Rent | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | |
Payroll Taxes | 15% | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 |
Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Total Operating Expenses | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | $15,050 | |
Profit Before Interest and Taxes | ($3,750) | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | $350 | |
EBITDA | ($3,550) | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | $550 | |
Interest Expense | $409 | $402 | $394 | $387 | $379 | $372 | $364 | $357 | $349 | $342 | $334 | $327 | |
Taxes Incurred | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Net Profit | ($4,159) | ($52) | ($44) | ($37) | ($29) | ($22) | ($14) | ($7) | $1 | $8 | $16 | $23 | |
Net Profit/Sales | -19.81% | -0.18% | -0.15% | -0.13% | -0.10% | -0.07% | -0.05% | -0.02% | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.05% | 0.08% |
Pro Forma Cash Flow | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Cash Received | |||||||||||||
Cash from Operations | |||||||||||||
Cash Sales | $21,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | |
Subtotal Cash from Operations | $21,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | |
Additional Cash Received | |||||||||||||
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received | 0.00% | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
New Other Liabilities (interest-free) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
New Long-term Liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Sales of Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Sales of Long-term Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
New Investment Received | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Subtotal Cash Received | $21,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $29,000 | |
Expenditures | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | |
Expenditures from Operations | |||||||||||||
Cash Spending | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | $11,000 | |
Bill Payments | $142 | $4,534 | $12,689 | $17,844 | $17,836 | $17,829 | $17,821 | $17,814 | $17,806 | $17,799 | $17,791 | $17,784 | |
Subtotal Spent on Operations | $11,142 | $15,534 | $23,689 | $28,844 | $28,836 | $28,829 | $28,821 | $28,814 | $28,806 | $28,799 | $28,791 | $28,784 | |
Additional Cash Spent | |||||||||||||
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | $900 | |
Purchase Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Purchase Long-term Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Dividends | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Subtotal Cash Spent | $12,042 | $16,434 | $24,589 | $29,744 | $29,736 | $29,729 | $29,721 | $29,714 | $29,706 | $29,699 | $29,691 | $29,684 | |
Net Cash Flow | $8,958 | $12,566 | $4,411 | ($744) | ($736) | ($729) | ($721) | ($714) | ($706) | ($699) | ($691) | ($684) | |
Cash Balance | $10,958 | $23,524 | $27,934 | $27,190 | $26,454 | $25,725 | $25,004 | $24,290 | $23,583 | $22,884 | $22,193 | $21,509 |
Pro Forma Balance Sheet | |||||||||||||
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | ||
Assets | Starting Balances | ||||||||||||
Current Assets | |||||||||||||
Cash | $2,000 | $10,958 | $23,524 | $27,934 | $27,190 | $26,454 | $25,725 | $25,004 | $24,290 | $23,583 | $22,884 | $22,193 | $21,509 |
Inventory | $30,000 | $20,300 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 | $14,960 |
Other Current Assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total Current Assets | $32,000 | $31,258 | $38,484 | $42,894 | $42,150 | $41,414 | $40,685 | $39,964 | $39,250 | $38,543 | $37,844 | $37,153 | $36,469 |
Long-term Assets | |||||||||||||
Long-term Assets | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
Accumulated Depreciation | $0 | $200 | $400 | $600 | $800 | $1,000 | $1,200 | $1,400 | $1,600 | $1,800 | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,400 |
Total Long-term Assets | $50,000 | $49,800 | $49,600 | $49,400 | $49,200 | $49,000 | $48,800 | $48,600 | $48,400 | $48,200 | $48,000 | $47,800 | $47,600 |
Total Assets | $82,000 | $81,058 | $88,084 | $92,294 | $91,350 | $90,414 | $89,485 | $88,564 | $87,650 | $86,743 | $85,844 | $84,953 | $84,069 |
Liabilities and Capital | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | Month 11 | Month 12 | |
Current Liabilities | |||||||||||||
Accounts Payable | $0 | $4,117 | $12,095 | $17,249 | $17,242 | $17,235 | $17,228 | $17,220 | $17,213 | $17,206 | $17,199 | $17,191 | $17,184 |
Current Borrowing | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Other Current Liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Subtotal Current Liabilities | $0 | $4,117 | $12,095 | $17,249 | $17,242 | $17,235 | $17,228 | $17,220 | $17,213 | $17,206 | $17,199 | $17,191 | $17,184 |
Long-term Liabilities | $50,000 | $49,100 | $48,200 | $47,300 | $46,400 | $45,500 | $44,600 | $43,700 | $42,800 | $41,900 | $41,000 | $40,100 | $39,200 |
Total Liabilities | $50,000 | $53,217 | $60,295 | $64,549 | $63,642 | $62,735 | $61,828 | $60,920 | $60,013 | $59,106 | $58,199 | $57,291 | $56,384 |
Paid-in Capital | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
Retained Earnings | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) | ($8,000) |
Earnings | $0 | ($4,159) | ($4,211) | ($4,255) | ($4,292) | ($4,321) | ($4,343) | ($4,357) | ($4,363) | ($4,363) | ($4,354) | ($4,338) | ($4,315) |
Total Capital | $32,000 | $27,841 | $27,789 | $27,745 | $27,708 | $27,679 | $27,658 | $27,643 | $27,637 | $27,637 | $27,646 | $27,662 | $27,685 |
Total Liabilities and Capital | $82,000 | $81,058 | $88,084 | $92,294 | $91,350 | $90,414 | $89,485 | $88,564 | $87,650 | $86,743 | $85,844 | $84,953 | $84,069 |
Net Worth | $32,000 | $27,841 | $27,789 | $27,745 | $27,708 | $27,679 | $27,658 | $27,643 | $27,637 | $27,638 | $27,646 | $27,662 | $27,685 |
Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.
No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.
Discover the world’s #1 plan building software
By Joe Weller | September 9, 2020
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We’ve gathered the most useful collection of business plan PDF templates and samples, including options for organizations of any size and type.
On this page, you’ll find free PDF templates for a simple business plan , small business plan , startup business plan , and more.
These simple business plan PDF templates are ready to use and customizable to fit the needs of any organization.
This template contains a traditional business plan layout to help you map out each aspect, from a company overview to sales projections and a marketing strategy. This template includes a table of contents, as well as space for financing details that startups looking for funding may need to provide.
Download Simple Business Plan Template - PDF
This scannable business plan template allows you to easily identify the most important elements of your plan. Use this template to outline key details pertaining to your business and industry, product or service offerings, target customer segments (and channels to reach them), and to identify sources of revenue. There is also space to include key performance metrics and a timeline of activities.
Download Lean Business Plan Template - PDF
This template is designed to help you develop and implement a 90-day business plan by breaking it down into manageable chunks of time. Use the space provided to detail your main goals and deliverables for each timeframe, and then add the steps necessary to achieve your objectives. Assign task ownership and enter deadlines to ensure your plan stays on track every step of the way.
Download Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template
PDF | Smartsheet
The following single page business plan templates are designed to help you download your key ideas on paper, and can be used to create a pitch document to gain buy-in from partners, investors, and stakeholders.
Use this one-page template to summarize each aspect of your business concept in a clear and concise manner. Define the who, what, why, and how of your idea, and use the space at the bottom to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for your business.
Download One-Page Business Plan Template
If you’re looking for a specific type of analysis, check out our collection of SWOT templates .
This one-page business plan template employs the Lean management concept, and encourages you to focus on the key assumptions of your business idea. A Lean plan is not stagnant, so update it as goals and objectives change — the visual timeline at the bottom is ideal for detailing milestones.
Download One-Page Lean Business Plan Template - PDF
Use this business plan template to identify main goals and outline the necessary activities to achieve those goals in 30, 60, and 90-day increments. Easily customize this template to fit your needs while you track the status of each task and goal to keep your business plan on target.
Download One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template
For additional single page plans, including an example of a one-page business plan , visit " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."
These business plan templates are useful for small businesses that want to map out a way to meet organizational objectives, including how to structure, operate, and expand their business.
A small business can use this template to outline each critical component of a business plan. There is space to provide details about product or service offerings, target audience, customer reach strategy, competitive advantage, and more. Plus, there is space at the bottom of the document to include a SWOT analysis. Once complete, you can use the template as a basis to build out a more elaborate plan.
Download Simple Small Business Plan Template
This fill-in-the-blank template walks you through each section of a business plan. Build upon the fill-in-the-blank content provided in each section to add information about your company, business idea, market analysis, implementation plan, timeline of milestones, and much more.
Download Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template - PDF
Use this one-page template to create a scannable business plan that highlights the most essential parts of your organization’s strategy. Provide your business overview and management team details at the top, and then outline the target market, market size, competitive offerings, key objectives and success metrics, financial plan, and more.
Download One-Page Business Plan for Small Business - PDF
Startups can use these business plan templates to check the feasibility of their idea, and articulate their vision to potential investors.
Use this business plan template to organize and prepare each essential component of your startup plan. Outline key details relevant to your concept and organization, including your mission and vision statement, product or services offered, pricing structure, marketing strategy, financial plan, and more.
Download Startup Business Plan Template
Startups can use this sample 30-60-90 day plan to establish main goals and deliverables spanning a 90-day period. Customize the sample goals, deliverables, and activities provided on this template according to the needs of your business. Then, assign task owners and set due dates to help ensure your 90-day plan stays on track.
Download Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup Template
For additional resources to create your plan, visit “ Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples .”
Use these business plan PDF templates to outline your organization’s mission, your plan to make a positive impact in your community, and the steps you will take to achieve your nonprofit’s goals.
Use this customizable PDF template to develop a plan that details your organization’s purpose, objectives, and strategy. This template features a table of contents, with room to include your nonprofit’s mission and vision, key team and board members, program offerings, a market and industry analysis, promotional plan, financial plan, and more. This template also contains a visual timeline to display historic and future milestones.
Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template - PDF
This one-page plan serves as a good starting point for established and startup nonprofit organizations to jot down their fundamental goals and objectives. This template contains all the essential aspects of a business plan in a concise and scannable format, including the organizational overview, purpose, promotional plan, key objectives and success metrics, fundraising goals, and more.
Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template - PDF
Use these fill-in-the-blank templates as a foundation for creating a comprehensive roadmap that aligns your business strategy with your marketing, sales, and financial goals.
The fill-in-the-blank template contains all the vital parts of a business plan, with sample content that you can customize to fit your needs. There is room to include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, financial statements, and more.
Download Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Template - PDF
This business plan is designed with a Lean approach that encourages you to clarify and communicate your business idea in a clear and concise manner. This single page fill-in-the-blank template includes space to provide details about your management team, the problem you're solving, the solution, target customers, cost structure, and revenue streams. Use the timeline at the bottom to produce a visual illustration of key milestones.
Download Fill-In-the-Blank Lean Business Plan Template - PDF
For additional resources, take a look at " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."
These sample business plan PDF templates can help you to develop an organized, thorough, and professional business plan.
This business plan example demonstrates a plan for a fictional food truck company. The sample includes all of the elements in a traditional business plan, which makes it a useful starting point for developing a plan specific to your business needs.
Download Basic Business Plan Sample - PDF
Use this sample outline as a starting point for your business plan. Shorten or expand the outline depending on your organization’s needs, and use it to develop a table of contents for your finalized plan.
Download Sample Business Plan Outline Template - PDF
Use this sample template to develop the financial portion of your business plan. The template provides space to include a financial overview, key assumptions, financial indicators, and business ratios. Complete the break-even analysis and add your financial statements to help prove the viability of your organization’s business plan.
Download Business Financial Plan Template
PDF | Smartsheet
For more free, downloadable templates for all aspects of your business, check out “ Free Business Templates for Organizations of All Sizes .”
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We asked our panel of experts for their advice on how to make telephone sales people more productive. We came up with a good number of tips for improving the skills of your telesales team.
It may be worth trying some of these in your contact centre.
Along with the obvious stuff around incentives, coaching and motivation, we’ve found that simple changes can have a huge impact on the results of sales campaigns.
1. implement a phone-call blueprint.
A key approach for improving outbound telesales productivity is to implement a blueprint strategy. A call blueprint should not be confused with a script, where a script presents a set of questions and phrases for the agent to use during a call; this can affect conversation flow in the sense that it veers away from the customer’s needs to the agent introducing specific terms and phrases, which may not always be in context.
Julie Kerman
On the other hand, a blueprint provides a call structure with ‘check points’ along the route. As part of this approach a telesales agent should first complete pre-call planning, ensuring that they have clear call objectives, understand what they are selling and why the customer would have a need for the proposition, and helping them to maintain a positive attitude!
Other ‘check points’ forming part of the blueprint approach include:
Thanks to Julie Kerman at Business Systems
When doing some research for a high-street optician, Carolyn Blunt realised that some advisors took 240 seconds to arrange an appointment whilst others took double that time.
Why? Because advisors were using two different communication styles. Some were using a push communication style and launching into descriptions and giving the customer plenty of options, whilst others were using a pull communication style and asking questions to get straight to the answer.
The pull conversation style allows the advisor to lead the conversation, and by asking questions such as “what is the best location for you?” or yes/no-style questions, you are not wasting time gathering unnecessary information.
So, instead of using the push technique to present options to the customer and then having to wait for them to come to a conclusion, sales people can gather information and make decisions based on customer priorities and their experience.
If you pressure staff during wrap time by focusing on time-based metrics, it is likely that these advisors will start making notes from the previous call whilst they are greeting the next caller.
If advisors are doing this, it is likely that they will miss information from the first 20 seconds or so from the beginning of the call, meaning that they may fail to gauge the customers mood, personality or the demographic that the caller falls into.
Worse still, advisors could have missed information that they were not quite ready for. This would result not only in the customer having to repeat themselves, something they will not appreciate doing, but also Average Handling Time would increase.
So, empower advisors with sufficient wrap time to make sure that they are at their most productive on the call.
Carolyn Blunt
Taking the phrase “in a moment” and putting it into the call will give the customer a “heads up” for the next action and may help to save time in your calls and improve productivity.
For example, saying: “In a moment I am going to give you a reference number, you are going to need a pen”, will notify the customer that they will need a pen and paper, stopping them from dragging out the interaction whilst rummaging around their house for writing materials.
Thanks to Carolyn Blunt at Ember Real Results
For more from Carolyn on signposting, read the piece: Signposting – A Technique for Reducing Your AHT by 15 Seconds
A 20% hike in contact centre productivity might be viewed as the stuff of dreams. However, this is a typical average for telemarketing contact centre advisors who are based at home rather than in a centralised contact centre.
Nicola Millard
Traditional psychology says a job with high demand and low control will result in stress. This was one of the primary causes of churn in contact centres – a major issue impacting productivity.
Home-based advisors show what can be achieved if trust and control are placed with the individual – and that’s a lesson that any contact centre can learn.
Thanks to Dr Nicola Millard at BT
If you want your telesales team to be productive, it is important for them to make decisions that represent what the customer wants. This is difficult to do when rigidly following a script, as you can often bring in unnecessary trivia, which prolongs the interaction.
So, trust your team to make calls relevant and useful instead of debating on an issue that bears little significance to the matter at hand.
Whilst this may be difficult at first, advisors will learn from their mistakes if you give them sufficient time. After all, empowerment comes from involvement, and learning from mistakes, through self-learning or 1-2-1 coaching, will help the telesales team to find better solutions and in time boost productivity.
For more on the topic of employee empowerment in the call centre, read our article: What Does Employee Empowerment REALLY Mean?
Having a relationship with customers is proven to be linked with profitability, and we also have some evidence from research that there is direct correlation between empathy and productivity, as well as Average Handling Time (AHT).
The empathetic relationship with the customer enables callers to get to the issue much quicker and deal with it in a much more effective way, because they have built up that trust.
Also, customers are more willing to converse with the salesperson and be able to tell them the full story instead of limited components.
Find examples of showing empathy in our article: 18 Empathy Statements That Help Improve Customer-Agent Rapport
Involving the telesales team in improving productivity can be highly beneficial, as they know better than anybody else because they are doing that job on a day-to-day basis.
Martin Jukes
Salespeople will know where the problems are, where systems perform poorly and where the processes are disjointed. There are not enough instances where the telesales team are involved in realigning processes or mapping out new procedures to improve productivity as well as performance.
Thanks to Martin Jukes at Mpathy Plus
Some great incentives are shift preferences, vacation approvals or parties. Salespeople tend to be more motivated if something is on the line, and healthy competition for reward incentives can boost productivity.
Moreover, having an incentive scheme is a great way to consistently recognise hard work, and spreading that feeling of appreciation can only improve morale and productivity.
For more on running great incentive schemes in the call centre, read our article: How to Make the Most of Your Staff Incentives – With Examples
As mentioned previously, healthy competition can be highly beneficial in the contact centre, so why not pit teams together in a head-to-head contest?
One month it could be handle time, and the next month it could be up-sell opportunities. Encourage them to be proud of their stats and engage the other teams in playful banter.
This can really improve a team’s morale, and the productivity boost you get from the teams striving to attain their goals will never hurt. This works particularly well in outbound telesales.
It is now the case that if you do not have an advisor scorecard system in your contact centre, you are the odd one out. Even if you are only measuring one goal at first, it can be very useful to give advisors something to shoot for. Otherwise, mediocrity may set in.
However, be careful to ensure that your goals aren’t counterproductive. Contact centres that measure “calls handled” tend to suffer because the agents burn through the calls too quickly.
Make sure you are measuring not only straight productivity statistics but also quality scores and customer satisfaction. The scorecard should be balanced. Then you will know who your top agents are, and you can reward them accordingly.
Thanks to Dave Hoekstra at GMT Corporation
Giving your sales team appropriate, motivational targets is an obvious way to boost productivity, but what are the right things?
Remember, the correct metric-based targets are not always the easiest to measure and you should only measure thing that will be reviewed, analysed and acted on.
Also, it is important to measure what is relevant to the need, which will change over time. If you acted on the “productivity blocker” and are confident that you have solved the issue, stop focusing on the metric and instead focus on measuring something else.
Finally, it can be valuable to look for and then act on trends rather than one-offs. There are some examples of companies who get some survey results and just because one customer mentions something, suddenly everyone “jumps up” and searches for an answer. Instead, look for trends, particularly those which can be fixed.
If you just set a target for your telemarketing team, without thinking through the real reasons for why you have implemented it, advisors will see it as important and they will find ways to get around proper procedures, particularly if targets are linked to pay.
These “ways” can be re-termed as “cheats”, as salespeople will start to find shortcuts to greetings, rapport, finding empathy, etc. And whilst this may be beneficial in lowering talk time, it is certainly not in maximising performance and will likely lead to a lower sales per contact ratio.
Thanks to Paul Cooper
Richard Kenny
It is important to sound authoritative and energised about the product or service you are selling.
Wireless headsets provide users with the ability to stand up and move around the office, which in turn helps the telesales or telemarketing agents open up their lungs and project their voices more effectively, as well as getting the blood pumping to keep them feeling more awake when on the call.
Thanks to Richard Kenny at BACK LINK HIDDEN -->Plantronics BACK LINK HIDDEN -->
We have improved the productivity of our workforce by implementing a positive strategy of staff engagement.
Andrew Harvey
This was developed to optimise the amount of time we invest in our employees and, through the use of leading-edge workforce management technology, we have been able to increase significantly the amount of 1-2-1 and team contact that we have with our staff. This has created a very positive environment in which our people understand their vital role in the success of our business.
As a result, we have benefited from enhanced productivity in terms of schedule adherence, conformance and other productivity metrics, as well as improvements in employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
Thanks to Andrew Harvey
Allowing, and in fact encouraging, advisors to establish their preferred work schedule has been shown to improve employee morale, increase employee and customer satisfaction, and improve key operational metrics in the call centre.
Therefore, telesales people should have a way to communicate their preferred work times without prior consent, available times with prior consent, and unavailable times.
One way to easily take these preferences into account when creating agent schedules is to implement a feature-rich (but not necessarily costly) workforce management system.
Thanks to Simon Angove
For more on this topic, read our article: How Do I… Manage and Schedule Multi-Skilled Agents?
Playing to the strengths of each team leader and positioning people according to their skills is a tried and tested way to boost performance.
We used to follow the practice of putting the best team leaders with the worst performers in the hope they would improve. We changed that approach after realising that when we paired the best with the best, productivity was boosted.
When people are good at what they do, they have added enjoyment and tend to be more productive. It’s long been accepted that if you build on your strengths instead of focusing on your weaknesses, you will be more successful.
Thanks to Paul Lane
To maintain momentum, a call centre manager needs to offer long-term prizes of large value such as a holiday or experience. These can be tailored around a theme or season to add extra interest and keep the incentive or reward programme timely.
Andy Philpott
This ongoing approach needs to be interspersed with surprise short-term incentives and rewards taking place daily or weekly. These make an immediate positive impact on morale, as experiences help to create positive memories that are associated with the workplace, and they make a big difference to the level of motivation and energy within a room.
Thanks to Andy Philpott at Edenred
AO use this premise in their contact centre, and you can learn more about how they do so by reading: 17 Things You Can Learn from the AO Contact Centre
In a telesales-based call centre, agents can typically spend 10–40% of their time managing lead data or trying to extract the information they need from various databases or applications all running on their desktop.
Automating sales and telemarketing management and bringing CRM into the contact-handling system as a single agent desktop allows the agent to focus on talking to the customer.
Data from front- and back-office systems can be aggregated in real time and presented to the agent with relevant cross-sell and up-sell data.
Susannah Richardson
By integrating CRM and contact handling, the system can become self-learning and discover which agents are best at closing certain types of lead, and can route future leads, calls or emails accordingly.
This automation in a simple desktop can have a huge impact on the sales-based contact centre, as demonstrated at Babcock International where their success rate has increased by 30–40% as their agents can spend more time with customers.
Thanks to Susannah Richardson at BACK LINK HIDDEN -->mplsystems BACK LINK HIDDEN -->
Understand why you’re calling before you call: to the sales prospect it’s all about resolving their issues and gaining key benefits, NOT about your products and services.
Work out what will provide value and offer them something useful with, if possible, a free sample, a no-strings-attached trial, etc. Put yourself in their shoes: what difference could your product/service make to their lives?
Then put your message across enthusiastically and with energy – assuring the individual that you believe in what you’re selling.
Thanks to Mark King at Aspect
Rapid peaks can also be responsible for low employee morale and, in the case of customer complaints, increase the time to complaint resolution, further damaging brand and reputation.
Paul Elswood
Most customers forced to complain feel vulnerable and agents feel the brunt of this. By having the means to be proactive, the agent can quickly calm the customer and start the resolution process.
By identifying complaint trends by using root-cause analysis, the management team has the knowledge needed to prepare agents and to put resolution strategies in place.
Staffing in line with predicted call peaks reduces call answer time and the ferocity of the caller. It will also help to drive sales!
Thanks to Paul Elswood
Contact centres are all about hitting targets and rankings, and many are now realising the importance of making their advisors feel good.
Competencies and company values should also be measured among staff to help them develop competencies. Competencies and values in a call centre would be good to focus on, as they are great for staff development and for incentivising the staff and company.
Shirley Barnes
With competencies, the telemarketing manager can assess and give an expectation rating as well as a final rating, which will show how the person has developed. The manager can also use the option of staff self-assessment.
You can then differentiate call types to match competencies/skills.
Develop multi-skilling and link it to a competencies and development plan. This will enhance agents’ ability to process different call types and thereby improve output.
Thanks to Shirley Barnes
Neil Picton
Our banked-hours scheme enables staff to enjoy sunny summer afternoons by banking hours. We can utilise these owed hours during our peak winter period. This has led to a saving on recruitment and training and enabled us to retain our experienced workforce.
We understand that call centre work can be challenging. Down time is encouraged following a difficult call, allowing the operator to feel positive and refreshed ahead of their next call, which also reduces days lost to sickness.
Thanks to Neil Picton
Internal communication is key in a productive telesales or telemarketing environment. So, make sure teams and individuals have the latest updates on targets and deadlines, and information about deals, so everyone is focused on the same results.
Also, it could help to run regular debriefs and share information, so employees continue to learn and improve.
Thanks to Mark Brown
For more on this topic, read our article: How to Improve Internal Communication in the Contact Centre
First impressions count and presenting the caller ID as soon as a call comes through can help prepare staff to handle any incoming call effectively.
Jonathan Gale
Simple procedures, including automatic routing of calls to the correct department, can ensure that enquiries are resolved quickly, providing improved service and saving time for both the customer and the salesperson.
By going further and integrating a telephony system with other applications, such as Salesforce CRM, staff can use a single screen to manage all incoming and outgoing calls. This saves time as the sales team can access all customer information from one central source rather than logging onto different systems.
Thanks to Jonathan Gale at NewVoiceMedia
For more on better supporting your telesales team to drive improved results, read our articles:
Originally published on 17th August 2011. Recently updated.
Author: Jo Robinson
Published On: 11th Apr 2017 - Last modified: 25th Apr 2024 Read more about - Skills , Alvaria , Business Systems , Dave Hoekstra , Empathy , IFS , Incentives , Martin Jukes , Morale , Motivation , Nicola Millard , Outbound dialling , Poly , Productivity , Scorecard , Telesales , Vonage
Some great ideas here and will be reviewing most with my team to see which ones we feel we want to implement.
Atmosphere is so important in a sales room. We always make an effort to enjoy ourselves and realise that it’s not all about the money.
Some excellent ideas here. Thank you
Tip 26: pay them fair wages.
All very interesting but the bottom line, missed by almost all call centres, is to pay people properly and have fair incentives. Hand in hand with this goes hiring eager beavers in the first place. Lack of personal experience in selling over the phone for managers is the main drawback in call centres.
It really works
A very insightful blog. All of them excellent solutions to the problem everyone in inside sales might have faced at one point or the other. I’m tempted to list out how my company can help but instead I shall just say.. good job 🙂
High-impact articles. No spam.
A sales call script (also known as a call script or cold calling script) can help telemarketers and sales reps have all the information they might need, handle frequently asked questions, objections, and rejections, and present the offer in a truly attractive light for the ideal customer.
Most sales reps would agree that cold calling is no easy job. To convert strangers into leads and buyers with as few phone interactions as possible, you need to be prepared for many scenarios. This is why we collected 11 high-converting sales cold call script templates, with actionable tips on how you can add your own spin on them! Keep reading.
The value should always be higher than the clients’ investment.
A sales cold call’s goal is to sell. But, if you approach the conversation with a complete stranger with this mentality, you’re almost guaranteed to get hung up on.
Ask yourself: Why would someone answer an unexpected call and spend their precious time listening to a sales pitch? What’s in it for them?
Your prospects don’t owe you anything and likely won’t listen to you if they can feel that your only goal is to get some cash out of them.
In fact, you owe it to them to make their time and money worthwhile.
A good cold call script is always personalized and highlights the value for the prospect. Your job is to make the prospect feel safe (you’re not there to trick them out of their money), empathize with whatever challenging situation they’re in, and prove that the value you offer them is higher than the cost of the products or services you’re selling.
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If possible, do some research about the client beforehand.
If you’re in B2B, study the company’s website to learn about their business model, value, and potential shortcomings; and head to your contact person’s LinkedIn profile to find out about their values, interests, and preferred style of communication.
For example, if you sell digital marketing services and you notice that the prospect is making crucial mistakes on their email opt-in form, that could be a good place to start.
If you’re in B2C, finding information about each person can be harder. If that’s the case, we recommend building an avatar based on the demographics of your contact list.
While every individual is different, you might want to address an older generation with a different tone or assume different challenges from a higher income group.
Please note: while these assumptions certainly help you navigate through the calls, don’t treat them as objective facts. Always ask the client if your assumptions are valid.
When you contact a prospect out of the blue and ask them to pay, expect hesitation. While doing your research, collect the most common challenges and objections your contacts might have.
Common objections include “Why is your service so expensive?”, “Will this work in my particular situation ?” or “How do I know this is not a scam?”
Pro tip: imagine that after every sentence in your pitch, the prospect thinks: “So what’s in it for me?” This helps you stay focused on the client and provide value, rather than focusing on the company.
Remember: customers don’t care about your brand. They care about what your brand does for them.
The easiest way to make sure that you include all essential components of a good sales call script is to follow a formula.
Below you can find our suggested order and elements of such a sales call script.
Looking for a more in-depth guide on how to create the best cold-calling scripts? Check out this blog post.
Now that you know what are the most crucial elements in a sales cold call you need to focus on, let’s look at a few out-of-the-box templates that you can apply in 11 different sales-over-phone situations.
When to use it : At the very first contact with a new prospect.
Sales Script Template :
“Good afternoon Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname]. My name is [agent’s name]. I’m calling from [company’s name] which builds conversion-focused websites for small businesses specifically in [client’s industry]. I took a look at your website [mention their domain name] and noted various points where our service could improve your on-site sales. Do you have 5 minutes to chat about these points?” “First of all, we noticed that [mention a few specific examples your solution could do for your prospect] I understand you need to think about this before you’re ready to commit. I’ll email you everything we just talked about, shortly after the call, so you can see the numbers for yourself and discuss them with the other decision-makers in your company. In the email, you’ll find a button to schedule a demo call where I can demonstrate our service in further detail. Could I ask for your email address? ” “Fantastic, thank you! I will send you your unique offer shortly. I’ll talk to you soon, have a nice day!” |
Why it works : This call is your very first contact with a new prospect, so it’s important to leave a good impression. Unlike those pushy callers who earned cold calls a negative reputation, you show respect to your prospect by being conscious of their time.
With this script, the client knows exactly what you’re selling within seconds, and can decide for themselves whether they want to hear more.
On top of that, you’re not pushing them to make a purchase decision on the first call. While that might work for low-ticket items, in most cases, pushing the prospect might cause stress and potential buyer’s remorse. You want long-term, happy customers, don’t you?
When to use it : A special discount for the ladies on International Women’s day? Hot new deals on BFCM week? Let your existing leads and customers know!
“Good morning Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname]. It’s [agent’s name] speaking from [company name]. We spoke on [date] when you said you might be interested in [product] / when you purchased a [product] from us! I’m calling you today to let you know that we just launched our special Black Friday campaign and we decided to let you know about it before announcing it in our newsletter or website! You can get our products with up to 70% discount if you purchase via the phone before 6 pm on Wednesday this week. Do you have 2 minutes to talk about it?” “Sure thing, let’s schedule a better time then! Please note that our phone-only offer is only valid for another 2 weeks. When would be best for you to talk?”If the prospect says yes, proceed with the details of the promotion and explain how they can purchase via the phone. “Thank you very much for your purchase! Right after you hung up this call, you’ll receive an SMS / email with the confirmation of your order and the tracking number for the shipping. If you have any questions, please contact us anytime at [number] or [ ]. Have a great day! |
Why it works: You get to the point right away by reminding the client that you talked before and announcing the limited-time offer . The time limit urges callers to act faster. Hello FOMO!
With an automation workflow that CloudTalk offers, you can automatically send emails and/or text messages to prospects. You can use placeholders, so you don’t have to write the copy over and over again, and the client will be happy to receive the confirmation and tracking ID so soon after the call.
When to use it : This sales call script can help you confirm appointments with prospects who have previously shown interest in your services. For example, they clicked on a demo request button, or they wanted to learn more about how they can work with you.
If you think that this call doesn’t matter – after all, they just want an appointment! – sorry, you’re wrong. They might already know what your business does, but it’s likely their first time talking to you. Should you come across as unprofessional or inauthentic, the prospect might still change their mind.
“Good morning Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname]. I’m [agent’s name], calling you from [company name]. I noticed that you signed up for a trial version of [name of the software], and I wanted to check in with you about your experience so far. Do you have a moment to share your thoughts with me?” “Fantastic! We have 3 features that I’d absolutely recommend in your case: [mention the features]. If you have some availability this week, I’d love to show you on my screen how you could boost your company’s numbers with these features. When would you have time for a free 30-minute demo call?” |
Why it works : You immediately clarify why you’re calling and remind the client of your services. Instead of jumping straight to the appointment setting, ask the client about their experience and pay full attention to their answer. This proves to them that you care about their thoughts, and also helps you come up with a more personalized and organic call to action at the end.
When to use it : You previously had a qualifying call with the prospect and they expressed their interest. They agreed that you can call them back with an offer. This is that call.
“Good afternoon Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname], my name is [agents’ name] from [company’s name]. We talked on [day] about [product] and as I promised, I prepared a custom package tailored to your specific situation. Is this a good time to go through the details?” “So as we discussed last time, what you need most in your current situation is to solve [repeat the prospect’s biggest challenges]. This is why in this package, I prepared [mention features/tools that the prospect needs]. Before we move on you have any questions about the package?” “Wonderful, so if you’re happy with the content of your custom offer, the price of the package will be [price]. Of course, you also have the option to pay in monthly installments, which makes it [mention monthly price if applicable]. “Thank you for your purchase and I’m excited to welcome you as one of [company name]’s members. I hope that you will be satisfied with our services. Right after we hang up this call, you’ll get a detailed email of your chosen package and the details of your order. You’re welcome to reply to that email or call this number back in case you have any questions or concerns. I wish you a wonderful day! ” |
Why it works : Even though you had a call with the prospect before, they might have changed their mind. If you immediately start with your offer, they might feel put on the spot and hesitate.
Instead, start by reminding them of your previous conversation and remind the client of the challenges they shared with you last time and the solutions your company can provide. That is, start by showing the value before you move on to selling.
When to use it : Sometimes the sales process lasts longer. During this time, several issues may arise that need clarification. So it’s crucial to make a follow-up call and ask for any necessary information.
“ Hello, Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname], this is [agent’s name] from [company’s name]. I’m calling you today because we are in the middle of completing our contract but we need some more details from you to be able to finalize it. Is this a good time to ask you some questions? It will only take a few minutes.” “Great, it won’t take long. I need to ask you about [required information].” “That’s fine, I completely understand. Just let me know when you have some spare time to go through it,” “Thanks for your time. I will keep you informed about the progress of the contract. Have a wonderful day!” |
Why it works : Mistakes happen, but your prospect will forgive you for forgetting information if you handle the situation professionally and with respect to their time.
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When to use it :
“Good morning Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname]. It’s [agent’s name] calling from [company’s name]. I am reaching out to you because our contract with us is about to end. Do you have a moment to go through your options?” . If the answer is yes, proceed. “Fantastic. So let me first ask you, how satisfied do you feel with our services at this point?” “Great, I’m happy to hear you’ve been satisfied. If you extend your contract now, you can continue using our services at the same price. As we already have your information, there’s no need for another back-and-forth, we can continue our partnership seamlessly” “Thank you for sharing! Could you please share with me how we could improve our partnership?” “Right, I see your point. I have noted all your comments, and we would like to propose a new plan, taking into account all the aspects we’ve just discussed. I’ll send you the new proposal by the end of the week via email together with the contract, so you can read them in your own time. We can make an appointment now for next week to discuss all the details and answer any questions that may arise. What day would be best for you? “Monday at 1 p.m. sounds great. I will call you then. The contract will be sent to you before our meeting so you’ll have plenty of time to read it and consider the contents. If you don’t have any questions, I’d like to wish you a great day. Goodbye!” |
Why it works : Acquiring new customers is important, but retaining the existing ones is even more crucial. The client will appreciate that you’re letting them know about their expiring contract in time and the fact that you care about their honest feedback and potentially changing needs.
When to use it : A few days or weeks after the client made a purchase
Good morning Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname], it’s [agent’s name] from [company’s name] speaking. I’m calling to check how satisfied you are with your recent purchase. Have you had a chance to try [product]? If you have a few minutes, do you mind sharing your experience so far?” “Wonderful! How would you rate your experience so far from 1 to 10? 1 being terrible and 10 being outstanding.” “May I ask what the reason is for the lower rating? How could we improve this number?”After the client replies, say“Thank you for sharing with us. In case you have any issues or questions about [product], please feel free to call or email us at any time! Have a wonderful day!” |
Why it works : Customer satisfaction is a crucial element of client retention and a good brand image. By personally calling the client to ask about their experience, without selling intent, you improve the image they have of your company. On top of that, getting honest feedback from a new customer provides great insights into what you should change and what you need to do more of. It’s a great opportunity to learn.
When to use it : If you need to call the prospect back because they couldn’t reach you, this script will be useful.
“Good morning/afternoon Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname], it’s [agent’s name] from [company’s name] here. I’m sorry you couldn’t reach me last time you called. I’m phoning you back as you requested. Is now a good time to talk?” “These are great questions. Let me take them one by one. [answers to the client’s questions]. Is there anything else I can help you with today?” “We hope that everything sounds clear to you now. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I wish you a wonderful day!” |
Why it works : You remind the client that they called before and respect their time by apologizing for the delay. When you call the client back at the time they requested, you also show that you take them seriously.
When to use it: When you’re calling a prospect but they’re unavailable, the call might take you to their answering machine. Don’t hang up – leave a voicemail.
“Hi, Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname]. My name is [agent’s name], and I am calling from [company’s name]. I am reaching out to you because I might have a great solution to your current business needs and I’d love to talk through it with you. Please call me back when it’s a good time for you. Once again, it’s [agent’s name] from [company’s name]. You can reach me on the following number, [business agent’s number]. It’s a toll-free number. Talk to you soon and have a great day!” |
Why it works : Nobody likes to listen to overly long voice messages. Keep the message concise, to the point, and under one minute, so the prospect doesn’t feel like it’s a waste of time. Also, always leave your contact information, so it’s easy to call you back.
When to use it : “You Shall Not Pass!!!” – says the Gatekeeper. Just maybe not with these words. Doesn’t make a salesperson’s job any easier!
In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, a gatekeeper is hired to protect a decision-maker’s time and priorities. Their job is basically to say no to you unless your offer is truly worth it.
“Good morning, this is [agent’s name] from [company] speaking. I’d like to talk to [prospect’s name]” “What’s it in regards to?” “We help enterprises improve their website conversion rate by up to 20% with innovative automation solutions. We’re confident that we can reduce at least one hour per day spent on marketing efforts and achieve double-digit revenue growth within a quarter. After analyzing your website, we have a number of ideas on how we can achieve such growth with your business.” |
Why it works : When you reach a gatekeeper, your number one goal is to prove the value. You’re not here to waste the decision-maker’s time and resources: you’re calling with something that can truly change the game for the company.
Discover the Future of Conversations
When to use it : The best salesmen are your happy customers, telling their friends, coworkers, and family about your service. When you have a truly satisfied customer, don’t miss the opportunity: ask for a referral.
“Good morning Mr./Mrs./Miss [client’s surname], it’s [agent’s name] from [company’s name] speaking. I’m calling to check in with you! Are you still satisfied with your purchase/membership?” “We’re so happy to hear that! And from 1 to 10 how likely are you to recommend us to a friend? 10 being the best score.” “Wonderful! Of course, we don’t just expect our customers to spread the word about us with nothing in return! So we’d like to put you in our referral program. Any new person who contacts us and says your full name will get 10% off the initial price, and after 3 referred customers, you get a month, on us! Once again, thank you for using our services and we’re hoping we can continue providing a great experience. Please feel free to reach out to us in case you have questions or feedback. Have a great day!” |
Why it works : Instead of asking for a favor or sounding too salesy, you start by checking how satisfied your client is, which in turn often makes them feel even more satisfied. Happy clients are more likely to refer their acquaintances even if they don’t get anything out of the deal. Once you ask them whether they would do that, you can up the offer by offering them something in exchange for their referral.
The above sales scrips will help you sound professional, friendly, approachable and authentic.
But, it’s very easy to go the opposite way without noticing. So here are a few points to keep in mind:
Now that we walked you through what to say and what to avoid, take a few tips from us on how to nail your cold calls:
It may seem simple, but getting the cold-calling sales process right is no cakewalk. To make agents’ work a little easier, you can provide them with our templates.
Remember to adapt these scripts to your industry and customers. While we don’t recommend following any template word by word, they are excellent guides to help during conversations with clients, especially when an agent loses the thread and doesn’t know what to say. Customers value authenticity.
And how do you make sales calls even more effective for your company and pleasant for your agents? By replacing manual, repetitive tasks with automation, of course.
How to make a sales call script.
Creating a winning call script before you call your prospect is crucial. Here are 5 steps that will help you succeed:
▪️ define what is the objective of your call, ▪️ make it personal, ▪️ keep it short and clear, ▪️ define what benefits are there for your prospects, ▪️ be prepared for questions.
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Published: December 06, 2023
Sales planning is a fundamental component of sound selling. After all, you can‘t structure an effective sales effort if you don’t have, well, structure . Everyone — from the top to the bottom of a sales org — benefits from having solid, actionable, thoughtfully organized sales plans in place.
This kind of planning offers clarity and direction for your sales team — covering everything from the prospects you‘re trying to reach to the goals you’re trying to hit to the insight you're trying to deliver on.
But putting together one of these plans isn‘t always straightforward, so to help you out, I’ve compiled this detailed guide to sales planning — including expert-backed insight and examples — that will ensure your next sales plan is fundamentally sound and effective.
In this post, we'll cover:
Sales planning process.
Tips for creating an effective sales plan, sales plan examples, strategic sales plan examples.
A sales plan lays out your objectives, high-level tactics, target audience, and potential obstacles. It's like a traditional business plan but focuses specifically on your sales strategy. A business plan lays out your goals — a sales plan describes exactly how you'll make those happen.
Sales plans often include information about the business's target customers, revenue goals, team structure, and the strategies and resources necessary for achieving its targets.
Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent sales plan.
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And if (or more likely when ) those goals change over time, you need to regularly communicate those shifts and the strategic adjustments that come with them to your team.
Your sales strategy keeps your sales process productive — it offers the actionable steps your reps can take to deliver on your vision and realize the goals you set. So naturally, you need to communicate it effectively. A sales plan offers a solid resource for that.
For instance, your sales org might notice that your SDRs are posting lackluster cold call conversion rates. In turn, you might want to have them focus primarily on email outreach, or you could experiment with new sales messaging on calls.
Regardless of how you want to approach the situation, a thoughtfully structured sales plan will give both you and your reps a high-level perspective that would inform more cohesive, effective efforts across the team.
An effective sales org is a machine — one where each part has a specific function that serves a specific purpose that needs to be executed in a specific fashion. That's why everyone who comprises that org needs to have a clear understanding of how they specifically play into the company's broader sales strategy.
Outlining roles and responsibilities while sales planning lends itself to more efficient task delegation, improved collaboration, overlap reduction, and increased accountability. All of which amount to more streamlined, smooth, successful sales efforts.
Sales planning can set the framework for gauging how well your team is delivering on your sales strategy. It can inform the benchmarks and milestones reps can use to see how their performance stacks up against your goals and expectations.
It also gives sales leadership a holistic view of how well a sales org is functioning as a whole — giving them the necessary perspective to understand whether they have the right people and tools in place to be as successful as possible.
Sales planning isn‘t (and shouldn’t) be limited to the actual sales plan document it produces. If that document is going to have any substance or practical value, it needs to be the byproduct of a thorough, well-informed, high-level strategy.
When sales planning, you have some key steps you need to cover — including:
When putting this list together, I consulted Zach Drollinger — Senior Director of Sales at edtech provider Coursedog — to ensure the examples detailed below are sound and accurate.
To plan for the present and future, your company needs to look to the past. What did sales look like during the previous year? What about the last five years? Using this information can help you identify trends in your industry. While it's not foolproof, it helps establish a foundation for your sales planning process.
For the sake of example, let‘s say that I’m a new sales director for an edtech company that sells curriculum planning software to higher education institutions. My vertical is community colleges, and my territory is the East Coast.
Once I assume this new role, I‘m going to want to gather as much context as possible about my vertical and how my company has approached it historically. I would pull information about how we’ve sold to this vertical.
How much new business have we closed within it in the past five years? How does that compare to how we perform with other kinds of institutions? Are we seeing significant churn from these customers?
I would also want to get context about the general needs, interests, and pain points of the kinds of institutions I‘m selling to. I’d look for insight into figures like degree velocity, staff retention, and enrollment.
Ultimately, I would get a comprehensive perspective on my sales process — a thorough understanding of where I stand and what my prospects are dealing with. That will ensure that I can deliver on the next step as effectively as possible.
How do you know your business is doing well if you have no goals? As you can tell from its placement on this list, defining your goals and objectives is one of the first steps you should take in your sales planning process. Once you have them defined, you can move forward with executing them.
To extend the example from the previous step, I would leverage the context I gathered through the research I conducted about both my and my prospect's circumstances. I would start setting both broader goals and more granular operational objectives .
For instance, I might want to set a goal of increasing sales revenue from my vertical. From there, I would start putting together the kind of specific objectives that will facilitate that process — like connecting with administrators from at least 30 community colleges, booking demos with at least 10 schools, and successfully closing at least five institutions.
Obviously, those steps represent a streamlined (and unrealistically straightforward) sales process, but you get the idea — I would set a concrete goal, supplemented by SMART objectives , that will serve as a solid reference point for my org's efforts as the sales process progresses.
Every business is different. One thing we can all agree on is that you need metrics for success. These metrics are key performance indicators (KPIs). What are you going to use to determine if your business is successful? KPIs differ based on your medium, but standard metrics are gross profit margins, return on investment (ROI), daily web traffic users, conversion rate, and more.
I kind of covered this step in the previous example, but it still warrants a bit more elaboration. The “M” in SMART goals (“measurable”) is there for a reason. You can‘t tell if your efforts were successful if you don’t know what “successful” actually means.
The edtech sales example I‘ve been running with revolves mostly around me assuming ownership of an existing vertical and getting more out of it. So it’s fair to assume that sales growth rate — the increase or decrease of sales revenue in a given period, typically expressed as a percentage — would be an effective way to gauge success.
I might want to structure my goals and objectives around a sales growth rate of 20% Y/Y within my vertical. I would make sure my org was familiar with that figure and offer some context about what it would take to reach it — namely, how many institutions we would need to close and retain.
How is your business fairing right now? This information is relevant to determining how your current situation holds up to the goals and objectives you set during step two. What are your roadblocks? What are your strengths? Create a list of the obstacles hindering your success. Identify the assets you can use as an advantage. These factors will guide you as you build your sales plan.
Continuing the edtech example, I would use the historical context I gathered and the objectives I set to frame how I look at my current circumstances. I might start by considering my goal of increasing revenue by 20% Y/Y. In that case, I would look at the company's retention figures — ideally, that would give me a sense of whether that needs to be a major area of focus.
I would also try to pin down trends in the colleges that we've already closed — are there any pain points we consistently sell on? I might take a closer look at how we demo to see if we might be glossing over key elements of our value proposition. Maybe, I would use conversation intelligence to get a better sense of how reps are handling their calls.
Ultimately, I would try to identify why we're performing the way we are, the inefficiencies that might be resulting from our current strategy, and how we can best set ourselves up to sell as effectively as possible.
Sales forecasting is an in-depth report that predicts what a salesperson, team, or company will sell weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. While it is finicky, it can help your company make better decisions when hiring, budgeting, prospecting, and setting goals.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, economics has become less predictable. Claire Fenton , the owner of StrActGro — a professional training and coaching company — states, “Many economic forecasters won't predict beyond three months at a time.” This makes sales forecasting difficult. However, there are tools at your disposal to create accurate sales forecasts .
In our edtech example, I would approach this step by trying to estimate how my sales org is going to fare with the specific vertical we‘re pursuing in the time window we’ve allotted.
The method I decide to go with will depend on factors like how many concrete opportunities we have lined up — in addition to elements like the kind of historical data we have handy, how the reps working these deals tend to perform, and the degree of insight we have about our potential customers.
Let's say I consider those factors and decide to run something called a multivariable analysis. In that case, I could start by taking stock of the opportunities my reps have lined up. Then, I could look at the reps working those deals, their typical win rates, and the time they have to close — among other factors.
For instance, I might calculate that a rep working with a particularly large institution has a 50% chance of closing within the window we‘ve allotted. Using that insight, we could attribute 50% of the potential deal size to our forecast — we’d repeat that process with all of the opportunities in question and ideally get a solid sense of the revenue we can expect to generate in this window.
When identifying gaps in your business, consider what your company needs now and what you might need in the future. First, identify the skills you feel your employees need to reach your goal. Second, evaluate the skills of your current employees. Once you have this information, you can train employees or hire new ones to fill the gaps.
Continuing the edtech example, let‘s say my forecast turned up results that weren’t in keeping with what we need to reach our goals. If that were the case, I would take a holistic look at our process, operations, and resources to pin down inefficiencies or areas for improvement.
In my search, I find that our sales content and marketing collateral are dated — with case studies that don‘t cover our product’s newest and most relevant features. I also might see that our reps don‘t seem to have too much trouble booking demos, but the demos themselves aren’t converting due to a lack of training and inconsistent messaging.
And finally, I find that a lack of alignment with marketing has prospects focusing on unrealistic outcomes our sales team can‘t deliver on. Once I’ve identified those gaps, I would start to hone in on ways to remedy those issues and improve those elements.
Many industry trends are cyclical. They phase in and out of “style.” As you build your sales plan, ideate new initiatives based on opportunities you may have passed on in previous years.
If your business exclusively focused on word-of-mouth and social media marketing in the past, consider adding webinars or special promotions to your plan.
In the edtech example we've been running with, I would likely ideate initiatives based on the gaps I identified in the previous step. I would start a push to ensure that our sales content and marketing collateral are up-to-date and impressive.
I would also consider new training programs to ensure that our coaching infrastructure is prioritizing how to conduct effective demos. Finally, I would start to work on a plan with marketing to ensure our messaging is aligned with theirs — so we can make sure prospects' expectations are realistic and effective.
One way or another, I would take the gaps I found and find concrete, actionable ways to fill them. I would make sure that these initiatives aren't abstract. Just saying, " We're going to be better at demos," isn‘t a plan — it’s a sentiment, and sentiments don't translate to hard sales.
Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations with a vested interest in your company. They are typically investors, employees, or customers and often have deciding power in your business. Towards the end of your sales planning process, involve stakeholders from departments that affect your outcomes, such as marketing and product. It leads to an efficient and actionable sales planning process.
This step is sort of an extension of the previous two — once I‘ve identified the key issues and roadblocks obstructing my edtech startup’s sales org, I would start identifying the right people to fulfill the necessary initiatives I've put together.
In this example, I would tap some stakeholders in charge of our sales content and marketing collateral to produce newer, more relevant case studies and whitepapers we can pass along to the institutions we're working with.
I would also go to middle management and either offer more direction for coaching on demos or bring in a third-party training service to offer more focused, professional insight on the issue.
Finally, I would connect with marketing leadership to align on the benefits and outcomes we generally stress when pitching the schools we sell to. That way, we can ensure that the institutions we're connecting with have realistic expectations of our product or service that we can speak to more clearly and effectively.
Once you have implemented this strategy to create your sales planning process, the final step is outlining your action items. Using your company's capacity and quota numbers, build a list of steps that take you through the sales process. Examples of action items are writing a sales call script, identifying industry competitors, or strategizing new incentives or perks.
In our edtech example, some key action items might be:
Obviously, that list isn‘t exhaustive — but those are still the kinds of steps we would need to clarify and take to structure a more effective high-level strategy to produce different (ideally much better) results than we’ve been seeing.
One thing to keep in mind is that sales planning shouldn't end with creating the document.
You‘ll want to reiterate this process every year to maintain your organization's sales excellence.
Now that you‘re committed to the sales planning process, let's dive into the written execution component of sales planning.
Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent plan.
Powerful and easy-to-use sales software that drives productivity, enables customer connection, and supports growing sales orgs
32 sales plan & sales strategy templates.
People involved in sales usually depend on a specific plan. One which would set their sales goals and establish the strategies they need. With the help of a sales strategy, they can also establish the budgets they need.
They can identify sale market prospects; plan the requirements of their staff and adapt a timeline in reaching their goals. But the sales plan is just one aspect of business management and planning.
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The design of a good sales tracking spreadsheet could be costly in terms of time, money, and effort. To facilitate this requirement, you can just download a template here. This can provide efficiency and easy organization.
Then you can use the resources meant for the design in achieving your business goals . Sales and marketing personnel can use the template as a tool to communicate their ideas. A sales plan template can be part of your business.
But it would depend upon the nature of scope of your business.
A sales strategy will be helpful for any organization. This is especially true when planning their activities in a structured manner. This will ensure that they achieve all their objectives and goals.
It’s paramount that you design the plan with meticulous care. Make sure to include all the necessary parts. To have an inkling of what and how a sales template looks like, you can go online. To help you out, here are some main parts of such a plan:
There are good reasons why businesses invest a lot of money and effort in formulating a sales plan. Fortunately, you can simply download a template to make things easier for you. Such plan will serve varied purposes which we shall briefly enumerate:
It’s important to have an efficient and effective sales plan. Then you’re expected to meet all your company’s predefined objectives and goals.
More importantly, it will enhance the organization’s profits. If you prefer to create your own templates, consider the following tips. These will prove beneficial to your endeavor:
Sales plan templates are periodically made by businesses. They can have them monthly or even seasonal. In the case of small businesses , a two-week period is best to provide a better insight into market trends.
Have you ever tried to plan an event without a plan? It certainly is a winning formula for chaos and disorganization. Some people take for granted the use of a plan. They may find it difficult or expensive and would rather not part with their money.
This situation can be bad because they are missing the advantages of good planning. Consider these benefits:
Sales tracking spreadsheets and plans aren’t only for giant corporations. They can apply to small enterprises as well. No need to delve into complicated matters regarding your business. It’s a fairly straightforward document but it’s powerful enough to do a big job.
In a business, a sales strategy is also important as this serves as a guide to the sales team of the company. A sales plan is specifically for sales personnel. It will guide them in attaining their objectives and goals.
The plan can be long-term which could last for years or short-term, such as an annual plan. In either case, the common ground is that the plan steers the members to their goals through sales.
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Business continuity planning software can help organizations create a plan that automates time-consuming processes and accounts for critical aspects such as regulatory compliance..
Developing a business continuity plan can be an overwhelming task, particularly for larger organizations. Business continuity plan software can help ease the process.
Business continuity encompasses the processes that get an organization back to normal operations after a disruption. Depending on the industry, the amount of downtime a business experiences can result in loss of reputation or even legal action from customers. Organizations can manually create business continuity plans , but might not want to risk the possibility of human error in a critical process.
Business continuity software does more than just outline the details that need to be included in an organization's planning effort. It can help identify key risks and existing single points of failure within the organization's operations. A good business continuity plan software package can help the organization maintain regulatory compliance as well as automate some of the more time-consuming tasks associated with the planning process, such as gathering data with a business impact analysis .
The sections below outline some of the more prominent software options for risk management. While some of these options might best be described as full-blown business continuity plan software suites, others focus on specific aspects of the business continuity planning process.
The following list is based on the writer's research and professional insights into the business continuity and disaster recovery market. In choosing featured vendors, the author focused on ease of use and range of features.
This list is unranked and published in alphabetical order.
Agility Recovery specializes in helping businesses acquire the resources they need in times of crisis. This might include replacement IT hardware or fuel for generators. In addition to business continuity testing and tabletop exercises, the company also offers Agility Planner.
Agility Planner is designed to be easy to use and helps organizations create a business continuity plan. Where possible, these plans are prepopulated, using the organization's own data, all with an eye toward maintaining compliance. A built-in reporting engine makes it easy to generate reports on the organization's emergency preparedness.
Agility Recovery does not publicly disclose pricing information.
Archer Engage might best be described as a collaborative platform that is geared toward risk management. The idea is that to be effective, risk management practices must be adopted throughout the organization, and Archer Engage provides a way for stakeholders to participate in the risk management process.
Risk management is all about balancing the potential financial impact of risks against the cost of mitigating those risks . Archer Engage provides decision-makers with information about the potential economic impact of various risks as well as an analysis of risk prevention options.
Archer does not publicly disclose pricing information.
Everbridge provides business continuity planning software, but also focuses on workforce safety, IT-related disruptions, physical security and public safety.
Everbridge provides options for developing business continuity plans, particularly for retail and manufacturing. Everbridge has designed its software so that business continuity plans become part of an end-to-end protective tool revolving around an interactive dashboard that provides risk intelligence. The company also offers a mass messaging feature designed to deliver notifications to employees who are affected by an incident.
Everbridge does not publicly disclose pricing information.
Fusion Risk Management provides risk management software options, but also focuses on operational resilience, third-party risk management, IT and security risks, crisis and incident management, and business continuity management.
The company's business continuity management software, Fusion Framework System, works by charting all of a business's processes. This helps the software map dependencies and identify business impact tolerances . The software also enables organizations to perform what-if analysis and various exercises as a way of improving operational resiliency . Recently, Fusion Risk Management also integrated generative AI-powered assistants as an additional tool that customers can use in the resilience planning process.
Fusion Risk Management does not publicly disclose pricing information.
LogicManager is designed to act as a comprehensive enterprise risk management suite. Business continuity is only one of the software's core functions. The software also helps with IT governance and cybersecurity, third-party risk management, compliance, internal audit management, financial controls and HR risk management. Users can manage all these areas through a central risk management hub.
Because LogicManager is designed for enterprise use, risks can be defined on a per-location basis; for example, an organization might have one location that is especially prone to flooding. LogicManager also provides native integration with more than 500 business applications, making it easier to work with an organization's existing data.
LogicManager does not publicly disclose pricing information, but the company does offer a 90-day free trial.
Riskonnect Business Continuity Management software is designed to assist organizations with disaster readiness.
Riskonnect's software is based around a series of KPIs and enables businesses to experiment with various what-if models. Perhaps more importantly, Riskonnect detects hidden vulnerabilities that an organization has not addressed. It also automates the review, update and approval cycle. This process is critical, since without regular reviews, business continuity plans quickly become outdated.
Riskonnect does not publicly disclose pricing information.
Brien Posey is a 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his more than 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America.
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If you are planning to start a new call center business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample call center business plan created using Upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.. Before you start writing your business plan for your new call center business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of services ...
1. Set Your Call Center Goals and Write a Business plan. Just like with any other business, building a call center requires careful planning. Before you actually start setting up your own call center, have a clear understanding of wh y you want to start a call center and outline the goals you are looking to achieve.
Call Center Business Plan. Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their call centers. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a call center business plan ...
In short, a well-executed business plan is a roadmap that turns your call center into a success and keeps it at the forefront of excellence in today's competitive market. The best call center business plan templates will be the main topic of this article for you and your company. Best Call center Business Plan Templates . Table Of Contents ...
Explore a real-world call center business plan example and download a free template with this information to start writing your own business plan. Don't bother with copy and paste. Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document. ... a former telemarketing head with Medfone, Inc. Mr. Gibbs has brought together a highly respected ...
Start off your business proposal by highlighting the purpose and objectives of the call centre. Highlight your key arguments, using simple language, which will capture the attention of your investors early. Bullet points that set out your thoughts in a logical manner may be all that you need here.
5. The strategy section. When writing the strategy section of a business plan for your telemarketing agency, it is essential to include information about your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.
It is the mission of Roth & Calder Telemarketing Professionals, Inc. (R&C) to provide comprehensive telemarketing consultation, and creation of telemarketing advertising campaigns for our clients in the Cawleweton region. It is our long-term goal to become THE preferred business-to-business telemarketing agency for the East Coast area.
If you're considering starting a telemarketing business, you're entering a thriving industry that continues to grow. In fact, the telemarketing industry in the US is estimated to be worth $24.5 billion by 2025 according to Statista.With the commission-based model being the most common and attractive option for both companies and salespeople, it's essential to have a well-crafted business plan ...
Get the most out of your business plan example. Follow these tips to quickly develop a working business plan from this sample. 1. Don't worry about finding an exact match. We have over 550 sample business plan templates. So, make sure the plan is a close match, but don't get hung up on the details.
There are 8 telesales tips that are worth knowing: Constant analyzing of data. You need to keep your information about customers up to date. Any type of data becomes obsolete from time to time. You need to constantly reshape your data by adding new accounts, new contacts, product information, etc.
The template is a word document that can be edited to include information about your telesales business. The document contains instructions to complete the business plan and will go over all sections of the plan. Instructions are given in the document in red font and some tips are also included in blue font.
A telesales executive is a professional who is part of the sales team and specializes in making cold calls over the telephone with the goal of selling the organization's products or services. In the present-day globalized and fast-moving business realm, telesales executives play a very crucial role in safeguarding the organization's continued progress.
This Breaking Into Device template above is an example of the 30-60-90 plan in that it focuses on the long-term goal of change at the end of three months. In a typical 30-60-90 sales plan, you would state your goals, the action steps you will use to reach them, your target dates, and your metrics for success. 3.
Here is a sample business plan for starting a telemarketing company. Telemarketing is a process of marketing goods and services through the phone and the use of computer. Any marketing that is done using a phone as a means of communication to both potential and existing customers is called telemarketing. What is Needed to Start a Telemarketing ...
01 | Choose the type of telemarketing business you're going to start. 02 | Consider running a telemarketing company from home. 03 | Research costs and equipment. 04 | Identify potential revenue models. 05 | Find customers. Telemarketing is connecting businesses with potential customers via the phone.
Telesales is an optimal tool to increase one's business… despite its reputation!. We have dealt with the problem of a bad reputation of a brand, especially in delicate times like the one we are now experiencing because of the coronavirus, in another article: The risks in teleselling at the time of the coronavirus If done in the right way, teleselling is still one of the best ways to ...
The university community serves 18,000 students. Each year, students spend in excess of $100 million dollars for products and services with businesses in the university community. In a recent campus survey, over 75% of students reported that they own cell phones. Of that number, over 80% reported that they also have a landline phone.
Lean Business Plan Template PDF. This scannable business plan template allows you to easily identify the most important elements of your plan. Use this template to outline key details pertaining to your business and industry, product or service offerings, target customer segments (and channels to reach them), and to identify sources of revenue.
17. Pair the Best with the Best. Playing to the strengths of each team leader and positioning people according to their skills is a tried and tested way to boost performance. Paul Lane. We used to follow the practice of putting the best team leaders with the worst performers in the hope they would improve.
11 High-Converting Sales Call Script Templates in 2024. CONTACT SALES. TRY FOR FREE. A sales call script (also known as a call script or cold calling script) can help telemarketers and sales reps have all the information they might need, handle frequently asked questions, objections, and rejections, and present the offer in a truly attractive ...
Step 5: Start sales forecasting. Sales forecasting is an in-depth report that predicts what a salesperson, team, or company will sell weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. While it is finicky, it can help your company make better decisions when hiring, budgeting, prospecting, and setting goals.
Sales and marketing personnel can use the template as a tool to communicate their ideas. A sales plan template can be part of your business. But it would depend upon the nature of scope of your business. Sales Plan Templates. Download 17 KB #01. Download 14 KB #02. Download 65 KB #03. Download 107 KB #04. Download 54 KB #05. Download 52 KB #06 ...
The company's business continuity management software, Fusion Framework System, works by charting all of a business's processes. This helps the software map dependencies and identify business impact tolerances. The software also enables organizations to perform what-if analysis and various exercises as a way of improving operational resiliency ...