What Is Sales and Operations Planning?

A sales plan is a plan that guides an enterprise's product sales activities during the planning period. It stipulates the types, quantities, sales prices, sales targets, sales channels, sales deadlines, sales income, sales expenses, sales profits, etc. of products sold by enterprises during the planning period. It is an important basis for enterprises to prepare production plans and financial plans. The company's sales plan is based on market surveys and forecasts, understanding social needs and the possibility of production by the company. The department may be prepared by the sales department in conjunction with the production department. ^[1]

Sales Plan

A sales plan is a plan that guides an enterprise's product sales activities during the planning period. It stipulates the types, quantities, sales prices, sales targets, sales channels, sales deadlines, sales income, sales expenses, sales profits, etc. of products sold by enterprises during the planning period. It is an important basis for enterprises to prepare production plans and financial plans. The company's sales plan is based on market surveys and forecasts, understanding social needs and the possibility of production by the company. The department may be prepared by the sales department in conjunction with the production department. ^[1]

According to the length of the sales plan, it can be divided into weekly sales plan, monthly sales plan, quarterly sales plan, and annual sales plan.

The sales plan is divided from the size of the scope, and can be divided into the overall sales plan of the enterprise, the sales plan of the branch (department), and the personal sales plan.

The sales plan is divided by market area and can be divided into

The formulation of a sales plan must have a basis, that is, a related sales plan must be formulated according to the actual situation. Imagination, building a car behind the scenes, and unrealistic sales plans are not only useless for sales, but also for sales activities and

The sales plan is generally prepared according to the following procedures: 1. Analysis of marketing status

2. Determine sales goals

3. Develop a sales strategy

4. Evaluation and selection of sales strategies

5. Comprehensive preparation of sales plan

6. Specify the plan

7. Execution plan

8. Check efficiency and control

There are two ways to decide on a sales plan-"allocation method" and "upward method". The distribution method is a top-down method, that is, a method of allocating sales plan values to the next layer from the highest management level. This approach is a deductive decision. The uplink mode is first performed by the first line

Working out a thorough sales plan is the first step to a successful sales campaign. Salespeople should follow these principles when formulating a plan.

1. Principles of reification.

Make a daily list of things to do, decide the order according to the importance of the incident, and fill in each day.

2. The order priority principle.

Arrange the actions of the day in sequence. The order depends on the importance of the matter, that is, the first thing that must be done first, rather than the ease of decision. In addition, the similarity of matters should be considered, and similar matters should be handled together.

3. Arrange the simplification principle.

Master the secrets of sales and avoid unnecessary waste.

4. Don't stick to the principle of work schedule.

The work schedule is only a rough guideline, not an absolute one. Especially when people are working, there may be unexpected situations at any time. If you do not pay attention to this phenomenon, you may inadvertently offend customers, so you must be extra vigilant.

Sales plans must be prepared in accordance with certain procedures and requirements. There are usually three stages.

preparation stage

The following tasks need to be done during the preparation phase.

(1) Product demand survey work, scientific forecast, grasp the development and change trend of market demand.

(2) Grasp the strength of the enterprise, such as production capacity, supply capacity, sales capacity, etc. Identify weaknesses to unlock potential.

(3) Analyze the sales situation in the previous period, such as product sales volume, sales expenses, profit income, etc., and find out the inventory of existing products.

(4) Collecting, sorting out, and preparing plan data, such as product sales quotas, the number of contracts signed with users, and original records and ledger of various sales.

(5) Determine the sales goals and policies during the planning period. ^[2]

Calculation of the equilibrium phase

(1) Focus on the sales department and organize relevant departments of the enterprise to calculate the sales plan indicators during the trial period. For example, discuss with the material supply department to obtain sufficient material security; discuss with the production department to determine the delivery date; discuss with the financial department to ensure that the necessary funds are obtained; finally, directly work with the sales director to conduct research and objectively evaluate Indicators, strategies and approaches in the plan.

(2) Formally draft the plan and submit it to the supervisor for approval.

Identification stage

After the draft plan is approved by the supervisor, it is released to the sales department and becomes a formal sales plan. If there are discrepancies between the opinions approved by the superior and the draft plan, the sales department will also investigate and revise. It is important to prepare the sales plan correctly, and the execution, inspection, analysis and control of the plan are even more important. This is because the preparation of the plan is only the beginning of the planning work. More important and large-scale work is still involved in actively organizing the realization of the plan. The implementation of the plan must have a broad and solid mass foundation. The content of the plan must meet with the sales staff in a timely manner. The division of labor must be rationalized and the sales progress must be arranged. It is necessary to regularly check and analyze the implementation of the plan, and find out that problems are corrected in time. If there are some changes in the external situation of the enterprise, some specific measures stipulated in the plan need to be modified or adjusted if necessary to ensure that the expected goals are achieved.