A Sales Playbook is your team's how-to-guide for successful sales in your company. My friend Kevin Quan, the CEO of CloseQuickly says it is like a sports playbook. It tells you what play to run in different situations or at different stages of the sale.

The level of complexity and detail included depends a lot on your company culture, how much material and scripting is needed or available to your team, and the experience level of your sales team(s). A Sales Playbook is your team's how-to-guide for successful sales in your company. My friend Kevin Quan, the CEO of CloseQuickly says it is like a sports playbook. It tells you what play to run in different situations or at different stages of the sale.

The level of complexity and detail included depends a lot on your company culture, how much material and scripting is needed or available to your team, and the experience level of your sales team(s). 

Every company has a different level of complexity in their selling process depending on how complex the buying process is, how complex the selling organization is, and how experienced the sellers are.  You may be solving a different problem than another organization.

1.  Prevent sellers from skipping critical steps

2.  Help the sales team follow the same process and use the CRM the same way

3.  Provide solutions to typical problems along the sale process

4.  Improve the quality of CRM information

5.  Help onboard new sales reps

6.  Provide specific scripting to improve outcomes

7.  Provide a coaching tool

Your Sales Playbook should solve the problems you have.   You will include the components most important to the team you have and the issues they are facing. Suppose you are writing a sales playbook for a complex business-to-business sale for an experienced team. In that case, your playbook will include very different things than a playbook designed for an inexperienced inside sales team with a simple deal or task.

In any case, your sales playbook should outline the selling/buying process. It should include the stages of the buying/selling process, the activities that happen at each stage, the questions to be asked/answered at each stage, and the content or tools available at each stage.  You might also consider the gates or requirements to move from one stage to another.

Your playbook might include common objections and answers.  It might include scripting for sequences for different purposes along the buyer journey.

If you have a complex sales organization, your playbook could map the handoff from marketing to the marketing or sales development rep, to the demo team to the sales rep, and finally to the delivery team.

Design your playbooks to solve the problems you have. Your Sales Playbook should solve the problems you have.   You will include the components most important to the team you have and the issues they are facing. Suppose you are writing a sales playbook for a complex business-to-business sale for an experienced team. In that case, your playbook will include very different things than a playbook designed for an inexperienced inside sales team with a simple deal or task.

In any case, your sales playbook should outline the selling/buying process. It should include the stages of the buying/selling process, the activities that happen at each stage, the questions to be asked/answered at each stage, and the content or tools available at each stage.  You might also consider the gates or requirements to move from one stage to another.

Your playbook might include common objections and answers.  It might include scripting for sequences for different purposes along the buyer journey.

If you have a complex sales organization, your playbook could map the handoff from marketing to the marketing or sales development rep, to the demo team to the sales rep, and finally to the delivery team.

Design your playbooks to solve the problems you have.

You may find you have several sales playbooks.  You might have one for each product. You could design one for each customer type. You could have a different one for your inside sales team and a different one for your senior account reps.  You could have a playbook for new business and a different one for growing accounts.  But, you will need to start somewhere, with your first playbook.

1.  An outline of the buying/selling process

2.  The questions that need to be asked/answered

3.  The activities that need to occur in each stage of the process outlined

4.  The process for moving from one stage to another

5.  The content available to help at each stage

6.  Solutions to the most common problems along the process1.  An outline of the buying/selling process

2.  The questions that need to be asked/answered

3.  The activities that need to occur in each stage of the process outlined

4.  The process for moving from one stage to another

5.  The content available to help at each stage

6.  Solutions to the most common problems along the process

Everyone has a different idea about the format of a playbook. A playbook can be a simple document that outlines the components listed above. It can live inside your CRM as notes and pop-ups. It can be in a SaaS program designed to created Playbooks.

1.  Decide what problem you are solving

2.  Develop the components listed in "What Should be in your First Playbook."

3.  Decide what tool will best support the components and users you have.

Making a playbook takes time and requires careful planning.  If you aren't sure how to do it, there are experts who can help you determine your process, select your tools, and input the data. Schedule a no cost, no obligation meeting with  a sales strategist to get you started.