As an aspiring entrepreneur, you probably have some awesome goals to achieve with your online business.

But do you have a plan to get there?

Before you hit any goal, you have to know where you’re going and how to get there. 

That’s why sales plans are so helpful for entrepreneurs.

Writing a sales plan helps create a clear strategy to help you get where you want to go with your business. 

I recently read this article on HubSpot that laid out an in-depth strategy to help advanced entrepreneurs and established business owners create a sales plan. 

If you’re just starting out though, it may be a bit much to take on.

Here’s a simple guide to creating your very first sales plan as a new business owner

Start with the Big Picture

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of strategy and planning, it helps to take a step back and look at what you are doing.

Take some time to put together a clear mission and vision statement.

What kind of impact do you want to make on the world with your business?

How do you plan to serve a greater number of people?

Answering these questions will give you a big-picture perspective that allows you to be adaptable as you seek to fulfill it. 

Also, take some time to consider your why’s.

Why start a business in the first place?

That way you stay connected to your motivation and remain connected to your purpose.

Target the Right People for Max Sales

Now that you have a big picture view of your business, take a moment to figure out your target market, or the people that you plan to serve.

Start with some basic demographic information, like their age, gender, interest, and income. 

That way you can establish some common ground and start to understand how to approach it. 

But don’t stop there!

Remember; providing value means solving problems and fulfilling desires. 

Identify the problems your target market is facing and how your offer can help solve them. 

There will always be surface-level problems like being stuck at a 9 to 5 job or having too much belly fat.

But the real power comes from the emotional problem, or in other words, how the surface-level problem makes them FEEL.

Getting to know your prospects on this level allows you to tap into the emotions that will lead people to a buying decision. 

Check out this article for more tips on learning about your target audience

Gather Your Resources

Now that you know who you are marketing to, it’s time to take inventory of the resources at your disposal. 

Software tools like these can help automate tasks and track data which will make planning and hitting your goal much more practical

Take some time to review and choose which tools you plan to use in your business.

Also, if you plan to start with Affiliate Marketing, you may have access to promotional materials provided through the affiliate program. 

This can help relieve some of the early burdens and get you up and running even quicker. 

As a beginner though, there are other resources that may be even more important to consider. 

Do you have what you need to develop the skillset and mindset of a successful entrepreneur?

Having quality training courses, as well as a community and coaching to support you can be an essential part of your success with your new business.

Another resource to consider is your budget.

It’s important to set aside a budget that is practical for you to sustain while you grow your business.

Do you have your funds coming in on a weekly or monthly basis, or do you plan to work with a lump sum?

Do you plan to leverage credit, or work with your own money?

Take an honest look at the resources at your disposal and fill in any gaps as needed. 

Size Up the Competition 

Competition is inescapable in business, but getting to know the other players in your arena can help you find the advantage you need to come out on top. 

Take some time to look at the competition. 

Check out their websites, social media, opt-in to their funnels, watch their webinars. 

This will give you insight into what they offer, who they are offering it to, and how they are making the offer. 

Once you have a good idea of the playing field, you may be able to find small audiences that your competitors have missed. 

Or maybe you can present a similar offer to the same audience from a new angle.

If nothing else you can learn from their approach and model what’s working from them. 

Taking some time to learn about your competitors gives you a serious leg up and helps you plan for success.

Setting your Sales Goals

Now that you’ve gathered your resources and done your research, it’s time to set some goals for yourself. 

This post (also by HubSpot) explains how to create goals using the S.M.A.R.T format. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of what that means:

Specific:

It’s important to set a goal that is clearly defined, preferably with a number attached.

It’s great to have a goal of creating a 6-figure business, but our minds are not as motivated when our goals are vague or unclear

Try something like “I want to convert 10 leads into satisfied buyers from my email list using my high-ticket coaching offer”

This gives your brain something more specific to visualize, focus on, and achieve.

Measurable:

Make sure your goals can be measured.

Otherwise, how will you know when you’ve reached them? 

Plus, keeping track of the right data can help you make adjustments along the way to help you reach your goals faster.

Check out this video from Keala for more info on measuring success in your business 

Attainable:

Most of us have heard the advice to dream big, 

But is building a 6-figure business a realistic goal for you as a beginner?

Maybe. (It’s been done before!)

But it’s also unwise to set ourselves up for disappointment when obstacles arise and success doesn’t come as fast as we want it to. 

This is where having the support of coaches and community can be super helpful. 

Tap in with people who are further along the journey with you and talk through goal setting to make sure your goals are attainable so you don’t get burnt out before reaching them. 

Relevant:

Keep your mission, vision, and your big “why” in mind when setting goals. 

That way you don’t waste your energy trying to achieve something that isn’t important to you. 

There will always be exciting distractions along your journey.

Keala experienced this along his journey as well.

Take the time to ensure that each goal you pursue has real meaning for you before giving it your time and energy. 

Time-bound:

This one’s pretty self-explanatory.

Put down a date for when you want to reach your goal. 

This creates a sense of urgency to help propel your forward. 

This also gives you something to hold yourself accountable to. 

Whether you hit it by that date or not, you’ll have some great feedback with which to adjust your strategy and/or your expectation.

Sales Action Plan

Now that you have a goal (or goals) laid out, next you’ll want to put together a strategy to help you get there. 

Consider what products or services you plan to promote.

Will they be yours or someone else’s?

How will you convert your leads to buyers?

How will you generate leads in the first place?

Keala and the Fullstaq Team put together a simple strategy to help people start taking action towards their goals called the Core 4.

Here’s what that looks like. 

Conquer the Mind

Taking 20-30 minutes per day to read or listen to audio can help develop the mindset of an entrepreneur.

Create Traffic 

Placing ads (using our templates) or using endorsed email to get traffic coming into your funnel.

Capture Leads

Using our high-converting Landing page allows people to capture leads in the form of email subscribers.

Convert Sales

Sending emails to your list of leads daily gives you the opportunity to convert leads into buyers.

These 4 steps make an effective action plan for getting started with your online business. 

Conclusion

Meeting your goals as an aspiring entrepreneur will be challenging, but having a good plan will help tremendously.

Start with the big picture so that you have a meaningful ‘compass’ to guide you.

Get to know your target audience so that you are in a position to help solve their problems and fulfill their desires. 

Take an honest look at your resources so that you can make the best of everything at your disposal without overstretching. 

Consider the competition to find a possible edge and model from what’s already working in the marketplace.

Set S.M.A.R.T. goals to give yourself the best chance of reaching them. 

And put together a plan of action to help get you there.

Following these steps will leave you with a sales plan you can use to stay on track and lead yourself along the path to success!

Are there any other challenges that you could use some tips and tools for?

Drop a comment to let us know what you’d like to learn. 

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