1) Analyze Your 2014 Sales & Revenue Trends
Where did your sales and revenue come from in 2014? Is most of your
company revenue from existing customers or new customers? How long was
your average sales cycle? Who were your best (and worst) customers -
why? What are your best lead sources? Are prospects getting stuck
anywhere in the sales cycle? Why did you lose the opportunities you
think you should have won? Could your close rate be improved? Document
your lessons learned, and start thinking about improvements you’d like
to make in 2015.
2) Analyze Your 2014 Marketing Trends
How much traffic did your website get? How many leads did you generate online and offline? How many leads converted into customers? Did certain blog posts perform better than others? Are you happy with the return you’re getting on your investment?
3) Define Your One-year Company Vision
Where do you picture your company by the end of 2015? Write a
one-page description of what things will look like 12 months from now -
be specific, and don’t be afraid to dream big! Don’t forget to include
the ideal picture of what your sales and marketing would look like if
you had a magic wand!
4) Set Your Company Priorities & Goals for 2015
What’s standing in the way of achieving your vision? What projects
need to get done in order to achieve your vision? Make a list, and pick
3-4 things to focus on in the first quarter. How are you going to
measure success? Make sure you have metrics that you can track! We like
to use the Vision Traction Organizer (V/TO) from the Entrepreneurial Operating System for this step.
5) Review & Update Your Ideal Customer Profile and Personas
Look back your best customers and make sure you identify the
characteristics that make them profitable and enjoyable to work with.
Make sure your ideal customer profile and buyer personas are accurate and reflect the kinds of customers who will help you reach your 2015 growth goals.
6) Check Out Your Competitors
You accomplished a lot in 2014 - chances are your competitors have been busy too! Get into intelligence gathering mode and complete an analysis of your top three or four competitors.
Take a look at their websites to see what may have changed, look at
their company profiles on LinkedIn, and spend some time on Google
looking for news and press mentions. Run their websites through the HubSpot marketing grader and see how their online presence compares to yours.
7) Confirm Your Differentiators
Make sure you are clear on what makes you different from your
competitors. Talk to some of your customers and find out why they chose
to buy from you - and what could make them switch teams and buy from
your competitors instead.
8) Review and Organize Your Marketing Collateral
Make sure that your printed and digital marketing materials are
written and designed to attract your ideal customers and communicate
your company’s unique qualities to prospects and customers. Make sure
copyright dates are updated, that your style guidelines are being
followed, and that everyone on your sales team is using the right
version!
9) Review Your Website and Online Marketing
Take a look at your website and social media channels to make sure
that are designed to attract and educate your ideal customer. Is your
branding and messaging consistent? Are you engaging with the right
target audience? Is your content compelling and educational?
TIP: HubSpot’s Marketing Grader can give you a quick snapshot of what you’re doing right, and where you could improve.
10) Review and Document Your Sales Process
Is your sales process set up to close the quality and quantity of
customers you need to reach your company’s growth goals? Does everyone
on your sales team follow the same process for qualifying and nurturing
prospects? Is your process documented? Is your CRM (customer relationship management) system set up to support your process efficiently and effectively? Could you be using any automated tools to make your process more efficient?