We knew that for the show to grow, we needed to get a top company from each of the categories. We identified the top three to five companies in each category and aimed to get a minimum of one from each category. Develop an action plan Prospect lists have been built, and targets have been set. Hitting those targets requires creating and implementing a plan that integrates direct mail with sales calls. For each show, we talk with the marketing director about how many mailings there will be and when they will be sent out.
Marketing is heavily involved in the whole sales plan process.
Sales calls are also carefully planned, Walsh says. We allocate resources against the number of companies we need to contact. For example, if we wanted to contact 100 companies, and an average sales rep could contact 20 per day, then we'd need one rep for a week. Not that the formula is quite that simple, of course. We need to determine how many calls will be needed to close an account.