Sales Playbook: Designing Xs & Os for Productive Sales Teams

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: February 16, 2022

What is a Sales Playbook?

A sales playbook is a readily accessible resource that captures selling strategies, resources, and best practices.

Think of a sales playbook similar to the kinds of playbooks used in football or baseball by coaches. The best on-field plays result when the coach digs for fresh ideas and strategies in the book.

sales playbook

A playbook is an excellent tool for onboarding new sales professionals or creating consistent sales results for sales professionals, agents, and their teams.

Don’t let the word “book” throw you off.

A sales playbook can come in many forms, including sales playbook pdfs, templates, and even software for the technologically curious.

If you’re considering developing your playbook, let’s talk about the best sales playbook framework for you to use.

Why Smart Sales Managers Create Sales Playbooks

Every great team succeeds when the players know and practice the best plays.

That’s the value of a sales playbook.

Sales leaders and sales managers use a sales playbook to ensure consistent performance.

Providing a company playbook ensures everyone on their sales team has the most current and relevant information in hand to enable their selling.

Think of it as a learning aid and a means of managing performance.

sales team

Robust sales playbooks can provide significant benefits to support effective selling, including:

  • Providing clarity on who the ideal buyer is, avoiding time invested in people who can’t (or won’t) buy
  • Gives examples of messaging that is consistent to ensure successful buyer interactions
  • Suggests questions that will ensure better discovery meetings and, in turn, a more effective solution
  • Provides answers to commonly asked questions, increasing sales professionals’ confidence to move their discussions forward, and
  • Shares examples of proven closing questions and closing sequences to help the sales team maximize their closing ratio.

Consistent with how a football coach would use a playbook, sales managers who seek to build a high-performing sales team use their sales playbooks to capture best practices, selling strategies, and sales plays.

I’ve seen many playbooks used to capture a SAAS sales team structure or include customer success playbook templates.

Essentially, if there is a method or strategy to help you sell more, capturing it in your playbook only makes sense.

Additionally, the best sales leaders often use their playbooks as coaching tools. When debriefing with their sales team, they consistently refer back to examples in their playbooks.

To be able to use your sales playbook as a coaching tool, it’s essential to keep it up to date at all times by practicing the following:

  1. Ensure sales meetings or coaching sessions reference content and resources in the book, suggesting and making updates or additions as feedback necessitates.
  2. Assign responsibility for maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the data to someone with the time and administrative capability for doing so.
  3. Tie individual performance metrics back to resources outlined in the book.

6 Essential Components of Sales Playbooks

We’ve discussed the various ways in which you can use a sales playbook, so let’s dive into the components you’ll want to include. Consider these to be the minimum attributes you’ll capture.

1. Ideal Buyer Persona

According to a study by Hubspot, 40% of all salespeople say prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process.

Prospecting is so tricky because the salesperson doesn’t know who their ideal buyer is. So they waste time chasing people who can’t or won’t buy from them, yielding disappointing results.

To prevent your sales team from falling into this trap, create an ideal buyer persona that guides your sales team in pursuit of those who can buy and are eager to do so.

Criteria that you should include are as follows:

  • Type of company and industry
  • The average size of the company
  • Their position title
  • Typical responsibilities they have, and
  • Those who often influence this buyer (i.e., internal referral sources).

2. Product or Service Details

sales playbook - know your customer and product details
I recall once losing a pickup truck sale early in my career. The buyer repeatedly asked me questions about features that I couldn’t answer.

Next to pursuing the wrong buyer, many sales professionals aren’t clear on the features or benefits of the product or service they sell.

For this reason, you should include product or service details in your sales playbook to equip them with the information they need.

Typical information might include the following:

  • Product specifications or service elements
  • Functionality and features they provide
  • The benefits a buyer would experience if they purchased such, and
  • An FAQ to address typical questions your buyer might ask.

3. Buyer Challenges

If your sales team knows who they should be pursuing and the key features and benefits their product or service offers, the next step is to ensure they are clear on their typical buyer challenges.

This information allows the sales team to frame their presentation to address challenges.

It also takes the guesswork out of understanding challenges when a buyer wishes to hold back on their reasons for engaging in the meeting.

Ensure that your Buyer Challenges address the following questions:

  • What would happen if they didn’t buy?
  • Why would a buyer consider your product or service?
  • What are the annualized impacts if they choose to wait?
  • What are the benefits if they move forward with the buy quickly?

4. Value Statement

Aside from understanding the product or service you sell, many sales professionals struggle to communicate and provide value to their ideal buyer.

A value statement captures the subjective and objective reasons our buyer should purchase our product or service.

In a sales playbook, value statements answer commonly asked buyer questions. Think of it as a FAQ (frequently asked questions).

At a minimum, these value statements should address the following:

  • How is our product or service distinct as compared to our competitors?
  • What makes our product, service, or company unique?
  • What is the return on investment our buyers will achieve when they buy?
  • How can we add value to our buyers during their buying journey?
  • What are examples of value we can provide at each step of the sales pipeline?
  • Why is investing with our company a wise decision?

5. Sales Organizational Structure

If you are in a larger organization, you’ll want to capture your sales organizational structure.sales playbook - org chart

The roles you might include as part of your overall sales organizational structure include the following:

  • Sales team names, titles, and areas of responsibility
  • Sales Manager
  • Director or Vice President of Sales
  • Finance Manager or CFO
  • Director or Manager of Operations or Production
  • Manager of Quality
    Customer Service Manager
  • Customer Service representatives and areas of responsibility, and
  • President, CEO, or Managing Director.

For each role, identify how they support the customer and suggest when sales may wish to reach out and engage them in the sales process.

6. Sales Process

Whether you have a seasoned or relatively new sales team, capturing and explaining the critical steps in your sales process in your playbook is a good idea.

Despite the best intentions, sales professionals often miss vital steps or get distracted and forget to take the following action with a buyer to keep the sale moving forward. Your sales playbook acts as a coaching opportunity when steps are missed or forgotten.sales playbook - sales process
Steps to include are as follows:

  • Lead Generation activities
  • Buyer Qualification steps
  • Sales Discussion and Sales Presentation stages
  • Proposal or Quote process
  • Negotiations and Objection handling best practices
  • Closing strategies, and
  • Post proposal or quote steps and introductions.

Secrets For a Successful Sales Playbook Program

A sales playbook is only practical if the sales team uses it.

For this reason, aside from the key elements mentioned above, there are some secrets to ensuring you have a successful playbook.

These secrets ensure that your sales team adopts and uses the strategies and tactics you’ve taken the time to lay out.

Otherwise, your playbook will be a giant paperweight with little to no value.

Remember, the objective of a sales playbook is to provide a helpful reference tool that every member of the sales team will use.

The ways to maintain the successful use of a playbook with your sales team include the following:

  • Referencing examples while working with your team
  • Encouraging playbook adoption as part of regular sales training
  • Distributing copies of the playbook to every member of the sales team
  • Creating simple sales playbook downloads
  • Ensuring your playbook is reviewed and updated frequently
  • Where it makes sense, incorporate sales playbook software, and
  • Solicit the help of experts to create your playbook.

Sales Playbook Formats

Considering the goal of a sales playbook is to provide a readily available and handy tool for sales leaders and their teams, a playbook can take many forms.

sales playbook formats

The most common formats include the following:

Excel or Word Format

  • Easy to create, capture and organize essential information
  • Simple to read, share and update as necessary, and
  • Low to no cost other than the investment of time to develop.

Printed Sales Playbook (Physical Copy)

  • Provides an aesthetically pleasing resource your sales team can carry with them
  • Encourages use by salespeople while “in the field”, and
  • Less prone to quick updates and harder to control revisions.

E-book or Digital Playbook Format

  • Simple to create and easy to distribute
  • More professional appearance than using Excel or Word, and
  • Difficult to control revisions in use by the sales team.

Sales Playbook Software

  • It can be easy to create using custom or existing CRM software
  • Quick access when an App or mobile version is available, and
  • Ability to monitor the frequency your sales team uses it.

Sales Playbook FAQs

1. What is included in a sales playbook?

The fundamental components of a sales playbook include an Ideal Buyer Persona, Product or Service Details, Typical Buyer Challenges, and Value Statements.

Additional information can include typical buyer objections and responses and closing language that has been successful previously to close new business.

2. How do you make a playbook for sales?

A sales playbook incorporates basic information that your sales team should know to have the best opportunity to find, convert and close new sales.

You can select a format that is easy to create, as well as readily accessible to your sales team, including a simple excel or word playbook, all the way up to using custom software designed to help you create a successful playbook.

3. How do you write a good playbook?

The goal of a playbook is to encourage use by your sales team. To achieve this, lay out your playbook in an easy-to-read and reference format, using numbering and bullet points where possible.

Include examples and scenarios as reference points to help your sales team connect their experiences with the best practices they should apply.

What Will Your Playbook Look Like?

If you want your sales team to sell more, you need to create a solid sales playbook.

The format isn’t as important as the information contained within.

Get your sales team involved in its development, and you’ll immediately create buy-in to its use and application.

What information will you include in your sales playbook?

Thursday Thrive

© Shawn Casemore 2022. All Rights Reserved.

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Account Based Sales Strategies: Your Guide For Success [2024]

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: September 1, 2021

Selling to big companies can be a challenge, particularly if you sell a complex product or service. Determining who the buyer is and gaining their attention while you navigate a sea of decision-influencers can seem near impossible. This is where account-based sales can be highly effective.

A concept that has evolved from Account-Based Marketing, Account-Based Sales is a highly effective strategy for complex B2B sales, mainly for its reinforcement of collaboration between marketing, sales, customer service, and product development.

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How to Extinguish a Disgruntled Leader

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: October 3, 2016

With winter in Ontario only a few short months away, I’m reminded of receiving my license. It was a blustery Saturday when the Young Drivers instructor was coaching me through skid maneuvering. We were in the parking lot of a local grocery store and trying (that’s right, on purpose) to get the car to skid out of control.  The maneuver wasn’t that difficult, just speed towards a snow bank and then turn sharply and hit the gas. BOOM – instant skid.

What was interesting about the training was how to get out of a skid. I can still remember when I made it into my first skid. I nervously grasped the wheel and shouted out to my instructor, “now what?!”

She replied, “Turn in the direction of the skid.”

 What??!

It would seem that by turning into the skid you gain control of the vehicle again. Counter-intuitive to what you might think.

This philosophy came to mind recently during the formulation of a strategy with a large board for a publicly traded company. We had one employee who had been around for years and who, despite everyone’s desire to walk on eggshells in his presence, was an obstacle.

You might think I’m exaggerating, but let me ask you, if the board members name someone during the swat analysis as being an “obstacle,” do you think it’s a recognized issue? Absolutely!

I’ve learned over the years that the most difficult obstacles in any organization are often the ones that are living and breathing. You know what I mean. There’s Bob in the corner office who is stuck in his ways, or Sally who has been with the organization since its inception and disagrees with everything you say.

Living, breathing obstacles are often the most difficult to overcome. If only we could tuck them away somewhere, like in the trunk of a car… (Kidding. Sort of.)

The interesting thing is that dealing with this type of obstacle is no different than dealing with a skid on icy roads.

You need to agree with them.

That’s right; agree with what they are suggesting, when they suggest it. Give them the floor, let them speak their mind, and agree with them.

Sound counter-intuitive? Well, it might be, but it’s the only way to diffuse them as an obstacle.

I’ve repeatedly found that when you let those who oppose ideas fully voice their opinion, they tend to lose their stamina. In fact, I often find that those who are most boisterous are often so as a result of having others dismiss their ideas for long periods of time. The longer they perceive they are ignored, the more of an “obstacle” they become.

If you allow them a stage to fully voice their opinion and explain it to others, there is an 80% chance they will feel listened to, validated, and be prepared in turn to fully listen to the ideas of other.

So the next time you have someone speaking out in rebellion towards the ideas of your board or leadership team, give them the floor and hear them out. You just might find that not only do they share some information that may have been missing from their earlier explanations, but they actually lose momentum and avoid skidding out of control.

[Tweet “Living, breathing obstacles are often the most difficult to overcome.”]

© Shawn Casemore 2016. All rights reserved.

 

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Synchronize your team; Improve productivity

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: August 26, 2014

This is the last call for my FREE online experience on Tuesday September 2nd at 12:00pm EST. I will be unlocking the vault on the keys to building a winning team poised for productivity with a positive and engaged attitude. I will present the 8 challenges that most leaders face relative to engaging their team, and provide insights into exactly how to transition your existing team into one that achieves your strategic objectives. You can sign up by clicking here.

Make sure you sign up as this will be like no other online experience I have ever delivered as I will have my webcam on! Not only will you hear me speak about this critical topic for success, but we will be able to interact live and in person! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn why your team isn’t as strong as you would like it to be, and how to quickly increase productivity. If you can’t make the time, I will still send you a recording of the event to watch at your leisure.

Sign up here and if you can’t attend I will send you a copy of the recording within 48 hours to review at your leisure!

© Shawn Casemore 2014. All rights reserved.

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Dream team on your wish list?

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: February 12, 2014

Have you ever wondered whether you can build a dream team? Most of the leaders I interact with want nothing more then to build a strong, collaborative team. The challenge however is often an inability to “let go” of the team, allowing them the opportunity to lead themselves.

Learning to let go

How strong is your team? Is it possible to actually empower your team to the degree they can manage themselves? The answer depends on the degree to which you are able to empower your people.

In this brief video I share several strategies that leaders of Unstoppable Organizations use, all of which build team strength.

Are there any qualities I missed?

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Strategic Perspective Begins With Your Team [Video]

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: January 28, 2014

Developing a strategic perspective is critical to the success of any organization. Leaders of Unstoppable Organizations ensure that their strategy is always based on diverse input. By engaging customers, employees, and suppliers, a broad perspective is developed. This diverse input ensures not only a 360-degree review of the organization but also develops a broad commitment to its success.
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Empowerment Starts With More Effective Decisions

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: August 26, 2013

I recently conducted several sessions for an international bottling and beverage distributor. The focus of the sessions was to improve upon the leadership tools that were being used by both front line and middle management. As an introduction to the session the Vice President of Manufacturing spoke of the need to empower employees, absolving front line leadership of the perception that they needed to personally attend to every single task that required execution.

The session went well but it struck me that there was still a gap that had not been addressed that would hinder the ability of leadership to empower employees, that being the decision making process. The process within which decisions are made will determine the degree of speed, quality and relevance of decisions within the organization. Critical to both employee empowerment and productivity.

When constructing your organizational decision making process, ensure the following considerations are incorporated:

1. Define what the critical components are in an effective decision (i.e. clarity, validity).
2. Define what constitutes organizational value (i.e. strategic goals, customer value).
3. Identify the level of empowerment assigned to leadership (i.e. escalation boundaries).
4. Define the employee empowerment boundaries (i.e. self directed decisions).
5. Specify how decision velocity can be improved (i.e. initiate planned communications).

If the decision making process is not documented and communicated, it’s difficult to ever achieve true empowerment either at the employee or leadership level. So if improving upon employee empowerment is an objective, then consider how to integrate the questions above into your decision making process. Faster and more effective decisions are the only possible outcome.

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.

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Ten Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: August 13, 2013

1. Involve employees in assessing the problem, rather than just informing them of the problem or challenge.

2. Position communications from the employees perspective, always addressing the question “what’s in it for them?”

3. Be open and receptive to employee feedback. If you aren’t getting it, ask for it. “So John, what are your thoughts about this?”

4. Prompt others for their ideas and feedback before ever making decisions.

5. Purposefully inject yourselves into other peoples discussions, not to offer your thoughts, but to learn their perspectives and ideas.

6. Be aware of others receptivity to your views and ideas. If you sense someone disagrees of doesn’t support your ideas, meet with them outside of the group to understand their concerns. It only takes one person to derail engagement.

7. Spend more time listening and less time talking. We learn through listening.

8. Create cross functional teams for decision making purposes, to gain a broader perspective.

9. Abstain from speaking first and speaking last. Let others lead with their opinions or thoughts, and always end with others speaking in support of your ideas, even if you have to prompt them to do so.

10. Ask questions. If others don’t seem engaged you have to be forthright enough to ask “why.” Most importantly you have to keep asking (albeit in different ways) to get to the root of their concerns, allowing you to resolve or overcome.

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.

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New Video: Managing A Multi-Generational Workforce

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: July 10, 2013

I recently spoke at a conference geared towards the public service sector on Managing A Multi-Generational Workforce. With Baby-boomers continuing to exit the workforce in droves, the key points of this talk are timely for everyone managing a team. Enjoy!

There are numerous challenges navigating and managing in today’s business environment, not the least of which is managing multiple generations. Watch me as I keynote to a group of senior executives in the Public Sector, providing insight into how to be a more effective leader in a multi-generational workforce.

For more information on our speaking, visit our website.

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.

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Kept In The Dark

Shawn Casemore • No Comment
Posted: June 26, 2013

Recently my flight between Toronto Ontario and Chicago Illinois was delayed for several hours. The only information we were receiving from attendant at the terminal is that the plane was delayed leaving it’s last stop.

Upon boarding the airplane the captain proceeded to advise that due to weather in the area, the Toronto airport had been delaying inbound traffic in order to control flow. With the full explanation the captain provided, the somewhat disgruntled passengers suddenly seemed to calm.

The attendant at the terminal was kept in the dark relative to “why” the plane was truly delayed, resulting in her spending significant time with disgruntled passengers.

Are you keeping your staff or team in the dark?

Do they understand “why” something needs to happen?

If you are transparent in your communications, engagement will increase. These forces are directly proportional to one another. So think about now only what you should communicate, but why it is important to staff and you will find increased employee engagement and improved customer satisfaction.

Sounds like a logical approach, doesn’t it?

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.

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