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Building a dynamic sales strategy should be at the top of your list when it comes to growing your business. At the end of the day, sales make the world go around, and many organizations lose their way with their respective sales focus. When that happens organizations big and small can see revenues slip and become very vulnerable, or worst insignificant. In some cases, the word “sales” makes people very uncomfortable - but ironically everything we wear, eat, drive and live-in has at some point - been sold by somebody to someone. The two fundamental basics of running a business comes down to “Driving Sales” and “Controlling Expenses”. In my opinion, the following six “P’s” are crucial for building a dynamic sales team and sales strategy for your organization. 1. The People - Any organization is dead in the water without the right sales personal and sales leaders in place. These individuals are the building blocks of your organization and need to have the energy, enthusiasm and product belief to drive revenues. Without these key individuals your business will not grow.

I have had the pleasure of working with many successful businesses and non-profits over the past three decades. One of the luxuries of working in the media business is you have the privilege of getting to know many of these leaders and learn about what makes them and their business tick. My experience has been that the majority of these leaders are very passionate and knowledgeable about their craft, and the successful ones most often always have a strategic plan that they follow – they don’t fly by the seat of their pants. .

There is no question that creating a strategic plan is a vital process that will set your business, or non-profit up for future growth and success. It’s an opportunity to take a half-step back and analyze your business identifying such things as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and future threats.

During my thirty year media career, I had the privilege and honour to work side-by-side with several fantastic sales consultants. Sales is the heartbeat of the business ecosystem and for businesses to excel it’s imperative that they have a strong and vibrant sales force and good supportive sales training programs. A career in sales can be tough and sometimes sales reps don’t get the credit they deserve. Stakeholders of companies demand revenue increases and good sales teams are the foundation of strong businesses. So what makes a good sales person successful? During my career, I discovered top performing sales people all share the following five attributes. Top Sales Professionals never get complacent. These high achievers are never satisfied with mediocre, they are competitive and will do what it takes to move to the top. Complacency kills and top performers never take their foot of the gas. Top Sales Representatives take ownership of their craft and run their territory just like it’s their business. When they take ownership of their business they feel immense satisfaction and a yearning to succeed.

One of the biggest downfalls I see in modern strategic plans for businesses and non-profits is the lack of a rock-solid communications plan.  Communication should be one of the core foundations that you build your business on both externally, and internally.  Having been in the media business for over 25 years, I have seen first-hand many organizations who have performed at very high levels with their communications strategies and many who have failed miserably.  The non-profits and businesses that succeed with good communication strategies are ahead of the curve and position themselves nicely in a very competitive world.  The following are ten key tips to consider when formulating an external communications strategy.