4 Tips in Creating a Sales Playbook for Your Sales Team (That Will Actually Succeed)

You’re on a pro sports team. Scratch that. You’re on a highschool sports team. 

Ten minutes before your game, your coach says “Alright, cool. You’re all here. Now go out there and… just… you know, play the game! Win! Rah-rah!” 

When you go out to… you know, play the game, what happens? With all that super detailed instruction in that game plan your coach went over, do you win? 

Yeah, we’re going to guess not. 

You need a game plan before each game. You need to understand how to deal with different situations as they come up, and overcome obstacles before they even happen. 

But we’re not talking about highschool sports anymore. This is the big leagues– sales. Your career. Your success, when it comes down to it. 

You cannot have your reps going into selling situations without a game plan. Your company needs a sales playbook. They need a sales manual. Otherwise, how can you expect to grow? How can you expect to win?

What is a Sales PlaybookWhat is a Sales Playbook?

So, what is this sales playbook we’re talking about? How is it going to help you hurdle over any roadblocks you come across in your business, or on your sales team? 

You can think of it as your all-inclusive, go-to document for the benefit of your sales department. It teaches you what best practices, strategies and tactics your team will use for each stage of your sales process. 

Your sales playbook will even give you play-by-plays of how to contend with certain selling situations as you encounter them. This way, you can prepare yourself and your team for any potential objections. You can also prepare yourself and your team for obstacles you run into while pitching or prospecting. 

Here are some examples of what your sales playbook might include

  • Copywriting examples, like emails
  • Cold calling scripts (or any other sort of sales call scripts) 
  • KPIs
  • Buyer personas
  • Sales strategies 
  • Discovery call guidelines
  • Sales enablement materials 
  • In-depth details of your company’s sales process

How Much Does a Sales Playbook Cost?

The price of your sales playbook will vary depending on a number of factors. 

With that in mind, though, there is a sales template out there for just about anything you can think of. This means you can find sales playbook examples that you can draw your inspiration from when creating a playbook of your own.  

There’s marketing playbook templates and sales sheet examples available to you. There’s playbook software out there that can help you to make one too, like Hubspot’s playbook tool. 

So, yes, you technically can make a free playbook– to an extent. 

But we also get that sometimes, it can get a little tricky to tackle this project alone. After all, it’s your first time trying it, right? We can’t always do everything by ourselves, all the time. 

That’s why we’re here for you, though. At Selling Revolution, we take the one-size-fits-all approach out of selling solutions. We can help you align your policies, processes and procedures with a customized plan. 

Let us help you help your business succeed. Book a call with Selling Revolution today for the results you’ve been looking for. 

Top Tips to Create a Sales Playbook Your Team Will Actually Use?

Feeling like a DIY project is in your future? You can still create a sales playbook without a whole lot of external help, if you’re up to the challenge. But we’re not gonna leave you hanging. 

Below, we compiled a list of our top four insider tips on making a playbook. More than that, these can serve as your go-to tips for a playbook that works for your business model. Even more than that, these can serve as your go-to tips for a playbook that your team actually uses. 

A lot of playbooks turn out to be not much more than a document that collects dust over the years. It doesn’t engage your new team members. Your long-time sales leaders have too much on their plate to even bother with it. 

Don’t let your playbook end up like that. We’ll show you how to not do that right now. We’ll also show you how to end up with the results you want, and the capable team you need… 

Make Your Playbook as User-Friendly and Actionable as Possible

Make Your Playbook as User-Friendly and Actionable as Possible

Look, there’s no getting around it… 

Why would you make a playbook that nobody wants to use? You wouldn’t. 

That fact doesn’t even begin to touch on the fact that nobody will use your playbook if they literally cannot use it. 

It needs to be user-friendly. Do not include a bunch of information that your sales team members do not understand. Do not include anything that they do not need to understand. 

Instead, only provide information that your sales reps, managers and leaders need to reference throughout your sales process. 

Once you have said what you need to say, stop. Don’t try to get fluffy with your language. Don’t throw in excessive, complex wording just to reach your idea of what your word count should be. 

As a matter of fact, you don’t need to make your sales playbook more than 50 or so pages. That does depend on the level of complexity involved in your sales process and operations, though. If you run some sort of an uber-complex sales company, your playbook can and should reflect that. 

At the end of the day, make it as easy as possible for your sales department to grasp the content by: 

  • Labeling who each chapter is meant for
  • Giving sections action items to complete
  • Remove repetitive or excessive information

Avoid Giving Customers Information They Already Know

Speaking of that repetitive or excessive information, are you adhering to that same body of thought when it comes to your customers

It’s clear that you design your playbook to help your actual sales team. It’s not for your customers. But isn’t it, sort of? 

This is to help your reps and the rest of your sales team deliver the best results for your customers. Shape your playbook around your customers’ needs, and what they already know. 

To elaborate, ask yourself as you draft your playbook: 

Where in the customer lifecycle is my customer right now? Where are they when they start communicating with one of my reps? 

The thing about the modern buyer is that they aren’t reaching out to your company’s salespeople at ground zero, as far as their knowledge goes. They’ve already looked into other options. They realized they had a pain point and have been taking active steps to find a solution. This means they’ve done their research, at least a little bit. 

Don’t bother them with repeating the stuff they already figured out. 

Instead, touch briefly on the info that anyone can find with some research. Also set aside a section for your buyer personas. This helps your reps to know what your customers are thinking, and what sorts of questions they ask. 

Align Your Sales Playbook With Your Company Mission

Alignment, alignment, alignment. 

We can’t repeat that enough. 

Your brand mission is the reason you do what you do. It’s the fuel that lights the fire of your business’s ultimate success. 

In light of that, create a playbook with a specific goal that reflects your overarching goals. How do you expect your reps to deliver for your customers? How will they uphold the customer journey in all customer interactions? 

This approach will leave you with successful sales, every time. 

Use Metrics to Measure the Success of Your Team and the PlaybookUse Metrics to Measure the Success of Your Team and the Playbook

Okay, we said to not be repetitive earlier on. But that doesn’t apply here. 

You need to take advantage of repetitive metrics. Include what you define as “success” for your team. Elaborate on the ideal end game. Don’t forget to include success metrics for your actual playbook itself. 

Last of all, revisit your playbook in the future to update it as needed. 

Has Your Current Sales Playbook Been Failing You?

Do you have a sales playbook that hasn’t been working for you? Or are you still confused about how to get started? 

Let’s talk some more about what we can offer you at Selling Revolution

We can increase your volume of high-quality leads. We can recruit top talent for you. We can bring you higher conversion rates and better sales training. 

We build your selling system from the ground up. 

But we want to get to know you first. 

Book a call with Selling Revolution today.