In a business, it is often the marketing team that lays out a well-thought-out, practical and detailed sales playbook. Then, the sales team executes the playbook in the sales process. For the success of a product, the communication between the marketing team and the sales team should be highly effective.
The importance of a sales playbook are:
- The focus of the team. For a sale to be successful, it is important the team work towards a specific goal. An effective sales playbook lays out the customer’s buying journey.
- The hiring of new sales representatives. When new sales representatives join a team, a sales playbook is used as a reference during training. It shows the new reps an overview of how the existing team works, best practices and the buying cycle and behaviors. It also shortens the time in which a new representative takes to be a product salesperson.
- New products launch. An effective sales playbook also helps when a professional service company launches a new service, it is a reference and guide to help support field representatives market the product.
In conclusion, the sales playbook should ensure that it remains customer-oriented and not service-oriented. The development of the playbook should involve a team, mainly of marketers, sales management and some high performing sales staff.
