Alius- 5 Steps to a Sales & Marketing Plan

5 Steps to a Sales 

& Marketing Plan 

5 STEPS TO A 

Sales & Marketing Plan

www.alius-services.com 



www.twitter.com/AliusServices 

020 3637 6325 

info@alius-services.com 

www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjefferson 

Alius - meaning "different" - was set up in response to an 

overwhelming need in the industry for simple, impartial, 

practical advice about Sales & Marketing strategies, 

implementation, monitoring and continuous adjustment. 

The team of specialists at Alius advise on all aspects of Sales & 

Marketing Strategy. As Founder / Director, Darren Jefferson's 

30 years in the professional services industry - including with 

providers, Third Party Administrators, large and small 

employee benefits consultancies, lawyers and trustees - 

positions him as a trusted authority in the field, driven to deliver 

effective, bespoke solutions for his range of clients. 

Clients say they hire Alius for its straight-forward, practical 

approach, its best-in-class team of specialists, and its 

impressive track record of delivering clear, measurable results.



(that works) 



"However beautiful the strategy, you 

should occasionally look at the results." 

- Sir Winston Churchill 

1 

REVIEW 

Review what’s been happening. Sales teams need to come together at the start of 

this process to discuss what worked and what didn’t over the last year. From 

whence came the best leads? What was lost that was expected to be won? Why? Any 

prospects stuck in the pipeline? How can close rates be improved? 

Review what the client looks like: it’s to no one’s gain to pursue the wrong clients. 

Agree, review and write down a list of ideal project-types and client-types, in order 

to save time and money pursuing the wrong kinds of business. This can always be 

updated and changed during monitoring and adjustment phase, on an ongoing basis. 

info@alius-services.com

"Sound strategy starts with 

having the right goal." 

- Michael Porter 

SET GOALS 

2 



Lay out the goals for 2018. Da Vinci’s assertion that simplicity is the ultimate 

sophistication rings true here: goals must be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, 

Realistic and Time based. And they must be few. Three or four goals determined by the 

Board is ideal, so they can be memorized by and passed to the sales teams to 

implement. Write them down, repeat them, display them, sing them from the rooftops! 

Invite collaboration from the sales team to devise the plan for achieving them: work 

together to include all channels of communication (social media must not be forgotten) 

and make a plan based on the team: play to individual team members’ strengths. 

3 BUDGET 


The budget must work with the goals. The greatest mistake is to continue doing 

something because it’s always been budgeted for. The world changes fast: 

conditions change, goals change, best available tools change. Budgets need to 

change with them. 

Take the time to figure out what budget allocations paid off and what didn’t. Ask the 

team for blue sky thinking when it comes to the best available tools to achieve the 

agreed goals. Do not shy away from new things or feel beholden to old ways. 

Immense opportunities present themselves in the world of social media.

4 

WRITE THE PLAN 

Writing the Plan should be simple after the discussion of the first three steps, but in reality 

the writing down itself often kicks out important and pertinent questions. First, there is 

often the question of who should write it, and this engenders a discussion around the 

gatekeepers of the brand and accountability. The writing process can often identify gaps in 

accountability that are helpful to note and close. The document itself should contain the 

goals and budget, but remain as short as possible in order to be useful and, most 

importantly, used. 



"If you have a goal, write it down. 

If you do not write it down, you do 

not have a goal, you have a wish. 

- Steve Maraboli 

MONITOR, ADJUST 

5 

Peter Drucker, perhaps the father of modern business management, told us “If you can't measure it, you 

can't improve it”. In this area, ne’er a truer word was said. The Sales & Marketing Plan can and should 

form the basis of the agenda for monthly sales team meetings and be subject to measurement and 

scrutiny. Every variable that is possible to be quantified, should be. With the ubiquitous embrace of 

technology as a key communication channel, and the simplicity of analytical tools, any online activity 

should be measured and shown graphically. 

Changes to client profile, SMART goals, and realistic targets can be discussed and agreed amongst the 

team to ensure not just that everyone is on board, but that the Plan remains relevant as the year 

progresses and the world changes. A more detailed review of the document itself can take place quarterly. 


W H Y 

? 

Engage an External Advisor 



The art of true strategy underpins every successful business. Now, more than ever, it is the 

competitive edge. In today’s market, we can’t afford not to pay close attention to how to formulate 

and implement a truly strategic Sales & Marketing Plan that maximizes resources. 

But the formulation of a truly strategic Sales & Marketing 

Plan, in a business environment of often large teams with 

competing expectations, styles and even culture, can become 

extremely complex. Done in-house, a Plan may become a 

consumer of resources, unnecessarily complex, lack a clear 

structure of accountability, fail to be monitored, and therefore 

ultimately be relegated to desk drawers to collect dust. 

Strategy is inextricably linked to vision, and companies with a 

clear vision have a head-start. However, the partnership 

between strategy and vision alone is not enough. Completing 

the trio is an ingredient continually undervalued across the 

board in any industry: simplicity. 

UNBIASED 

Practical approach, allowing 

for complete alignment with 

company vision and goals. 

EXPERTISE 

Identification of areas of need, 

resource deficiencies, or 

weaknesses. Provision of the 

specialised skill of strategy 

writing and monitoring. 

EXPERIENCE 

Advice and guidance from 

those who have guided this 

process in dozens of other 

environments successfully. 

The devising of a clear, actionable, successful plan that aligns 

with a company vision, and stands the test of monitoring, is 

truly an art - mastered through experience and expertise. 


2 0 1 8 

Start 2018 with a Plan 



Gone are the days of over-supplied sales-teams with loose goals. The world is leaner now. Modern 

Sales & Marketing Plans must adapt to their times. 

Call us so we can help you: 

Set out goals 

clearly, and 

communicate 

them to the 

team simply, 

with reference 

to your 

organisation's 

vision 

Break down 

exactly how to 

achieve goals, 

using the 

resources 

available and 

playing to your 

strengths 

Make use of all 

available 

communication 

channels, 

suggesting 

new, valuable 

and more 

effective tools 

Lay out clear 

success 

metrics and 

suggest ways 

to monitor, 

quantify and 

report on 

progress 

Devise an 

ongoing plan 

for monitoring, 

measurement 

and adaptation 

in response to 

changing 

environments 

"We hired Alius Services to help us get traction 

for our proposition within the care funding sector" 

- Owain Wright, Care Funding Services 

www.twitter.com/AliusServices 

020 3637 6325 


www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjefferson

Alius- 5 Steps to a Sales & Marketing Plan

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