Why 97% of Sales Leaders Want a Playbook

What is a Sales Leader Playbook?
Is a Sales Leader Playbook the same as a Sales Playbook?  The short answer is ‘No!’  A sales leader playbook is a book of ‘Plays’ for sales leaders – Sales VP’s, Directors and Managers.  A reference guide mapping out the best practices associated with all the aspects of their challenging jobs.

Sales Playbook vs. Sales Leader Playbook:
At a high level, your Sales Leader Playbook might include:

• Sales Leadership and associated plays
• Sales Methodology (the management of, not the doing) and associated plays
• Sales Execution and associated plays
• Sales Culture and associated plays

At a high level, your Sales Playbook might include:

• Suspect stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria
• Qualify stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria
• Develop stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria
• Propose stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria
• Close stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria
• Expand stage: definition, actions, buyer’s journey, tools and exit criteria

According to my research, 97% of sales leaders believe that a Sales Leader Playbook would be extremely valuable and positively affect their sales goal achievement.  It turns out that Playbooks are not just for salespeople, but for anyone interested in pushing their business goals to a higher level of success.

Sales Leaders report the impact of having a documented Sales Leadership Playbook:

The benefits of a Sales Leadership Playbook are far-reaching and include:

• Elevates your game: helps sales leaders rise above the urgent to focus on the important (increases effectiveness)
• Easy reference for best practices: efficient vehicle to help leaders perform at their best
• Consistency and alignment amongst the sales leadership team: everyone is speaking the same language
• Indispensable onboarding tool for new sales managers
• Practical: codify the details associated with critical sales leader practices

How to Start?  Sales leaders will realize results this year by gathering their teams around the development of a custom Sales Leader Playbook.

A Resource to Help
The TOP Sales Leader Playbook by Lisa Magnuson is a great place to start.  It includes 16 ‘Plays’ that will inspire ideas for your custom playbook. To learn more or order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998224715

Lisa Magnuson

Lisa Magnuson has walked in the shoes of sales leaders.  She was an award-winning sales manager and Sales VP including executive positions with several Fortune 50 companies. Top Line Sales, which Lisa founded in 2005, has a proven track record of helping companies overcome the barriers to winning TOP Line Accounts™.  Her clients boast of closed contracts totaling over $350 million in new revenue due to Lisa’s “roll up your sleeves” approach to winning big deals.