sales playbooks: the how - qvidian rfp & proposal...

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C A T E G O R Y : S A L E S E F F E C T I V E N E S S

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened with consider-

able fanfare, connecting the U.S. Great Lakes

with the port of New York. Building it required

the combined resources of many, from the lead-

ership of New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton to the

labor of thousands of immigrants. Its impact was

significant; the shipping cost to move a ton of

goods over the same distance eventually

dropped from $100 to only $10.

While we’re not suggesting that building a

sales playbook compares to an engineering mar-

vel like the Erie Canal, there are analogies to be

drawn. First, playbooks require significant col-

laboration between a broad range of sales and

marketing resources; and second, they can drive

major impact on the productivity of reps. In this

brief, we will share a five-step plan to design,

build and deploy sales playbooks.

ONE: GETTING STARTED

Building an impactful playbook begins with

deciding what sales scenario it will support. As

mentioned in the brief “Sales Playbooks: The

What and Why,” rules aren’t set in stone for

making such a selection; however, most play-

books tend to be focused on a given product,

market segment or buying group.

Be sure to outline the typical players and

buying roles within the scenario to help deter-

mine the degree of complexity that is being

faced. If the scenario will require more than four

HTML pages to tackle, consider breaking it up

into multiple playbooks.

TWO: ASSEMBLING THE TEAM

Creating successful playbooks demands align-

ment between a number of sales and marketing

resources. The key roles to consider and the ben-

efits to each participant include:

• Sales enablement/readiness. Located at

the crossroads of sales and marketing, sales

enablement is well positioned to play the

essential role of playbook project manager.

When they are properly designed, play-

books help solve the challenge of getting

knowledge into the hands of salespeople

when they need it, guiding reps in the

activities they should be performing, the

content they should be using and the incre-

mental resources that are available to

enhance execution, from links to training

videos or online tutorials to the ability to

connect directly with a subject matter

expert (SME).

• Sales and marketing leadership. As with

any field initiative, getting buy-in from the

top is critical. The benefit of playbooks at

the executive level is simple: they provide a

catalyst for improved alignment between

sales and marketing.

• Sales managers. While we encourage

having first-line managers as part of the

playbook development team, they will play

their most important role during launch. As

in sports, playbooks are first and foremost

a coaching tool; managers can use them

with new reps to provide help in various

selling situations. Playbooks also can help

managers get up to speed on products,

markets or sales approaches that may be

new to them.

• Sales reps. While sales enablement may

lead the development effort, reps must

contribute content. Improving sales pro-

ductivity means enhancing both efficiency

and effectiveness; playbooks address both

by saving reps from content search time or

repeatedly asking colleagues what to use.

Providing a guided sales approach that

leverages best practices around process and

Sales Playbooks: The How

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effectiveness.

• Product marketing. Product marketers

play the role of SME, supplying content

to support existing selling efforts.

Playbooks also provide product mar-

keters with a vehicle to create a “how-

to” guide for new offerings and acceler-

ate the adoption process across the field

force. The playbook can include links to

training content, client testimonials,

FAQs and success stories from early

adopter reps.

• Sales training. Getting reps to transfer

skills and processes they learn in the classroom and execute them

in the field has been an age-old training problem; playbooks can be

a terrific help. If your sales organization has adopted a given sales

methodology, every playbook should be designed to support it,

including the verbiage used and steps outlined. Sales training

should also ensure that reps have the necessary skills, knowledge

and processes to execute the play.

• Sales system administrators. The assistance of a resource familiar

with the sales content portal is needed to design and build play-

book pages. Many third-party providers of sales content portals

offer playbook modules with pre-built templates; an admin should

be able to leverage these. It’s helpful if this resource has HTML

experience, which allows for greater flexibility in designing tem-

plates outside the pre-built options.

THREE: IDENTIFY SALES ACTIVITIES, ASSETS

The next step is to create a brief (one- to two-paragraph) overview of the

play, the market opportunity and any pertinent background information

(e.g. marketplace trends). To organize the activities and content, create

a playbook content template (in Word, Excel or PowerPoint) that lists the

process steps along the top or side, and several columns labeled activi-

ty/asset (see example, above).

For each step, list the key selling/buying activities and milestones

involved. Rely on the input of experienced field reps and managers to

help provide guidance, and get consensus from the playbook team on

these activities and milestones by holding regular review sessions (these

can be conducted via Web conferencing).

Next, for each activity list the assets that would help both reps and

customers. These could be resources (e.g. white paper, case study or

SME), tools (e.g. templates or proposal generators), or systems (e.g. a

reservation system for a briefing center). What can make this step so dif-

ficult is that many sales organizations don’t have a handle on the assets

being used in the field. Thus, for each activity and asset you should:

• Determine what exists today that can be used as is. If there are

several assets to choose from, vote on the top two or three to make

available in the sales playbook. The goal is to provide sales with the

best of the best; ultimately, the project manager should make the

final call.

• Determine what exists but must be updated. Creating a playbook

is a terrific opportunity to take inventory of dated content and

implement the necessary changes to make it relevant.

• Determine what must be created. During the process, current

gaps in enablement support become clear, especially for latter

stages of the sales process where there are a lack of assets to sup-

port the selling function in the facilitation of a buying process. This

is where one of the ancillary benefits of building playbooks

becomes apparent: bringing marketing farther along the sales

pipeline to provide the assets needed to close business.

• Identify content for internal use only. Some content, like a com-

petitive grid, may be “for internal eyes only.” Be sure to tag these

assets accordingly.

FOUR: CREATE LAYOUT/DESIGN

While there are no absolute rules in terms of playbook design, we

encourage a less-is-more approach. What is important is that this design

is consistent so that sales reps know what to expect. Start with the

descriptor of the playbook that has already been created. Include a link


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to any relevant training resources, including a learning management sys-

tem with e-learning courses, downloadable content or the ability to reg-

ister for scheduled courses.

In addition, provide links to relevant competitive intelligence, and

access to SMEs via email, an HTML page with a discussion thread or other

social media tools. Include the ability for reps to provide feedback, as well

as the steps, activities, and assets created through hyperlinks. Finally,

clearly indicate any assets that are for internal use only.

FIVE: DEPLOYMENT

Building a terrific sales playbook does not guarantee that sales reps will

use it. We encourage deployment to your first-line managers initially,

allowing them to train their reps on the playbooks; managers’ training

can be conducted via Web conference. Managers should be given a thor-

ough demo of the playbook, a script to follow when they launch it for

their reps, and tips on how to use it as a coaching tool. The key benefits

to this approach are that reps tend to take instruction better from their

managers (feeling that if it’s important to them, it must be relevant) and

getting managers to be the change agents by using the playbook as a

coaching tool.

As with a sports playbook, the ability to effectively execute a play

will depend on the skills and abilities of the players. If you build a play-

book to help salespeople call on financial decisionmakers, but have not

prepared them with the skills and knowledge required, they will fail.

Conduct playbook deployment with an eye on required rep development,

using playbooks as a part of broader training engagements.

THE SIRIUS DECISION

Playbooks truly are a living document, and must be continually updated

as new assets become available and changes occur in the selling environ-

ment. Encourage feedback from the field, leveraging best practices and

field-created content to augment existing playbook assets. The message

to your sales reps should be loud and clear: “The ultimate owner of the

playbook is you.”


sales playbooks: the how - qvidian rfp & proposal...

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