A distribution business is an important part of any kind of industry. The kind of distribution method selected can also make or break a business’s success or its penetration into an overly aggressive, competitive, and diverse market. Good and effective sales planning can help properly position the business in the market, as well as achieve its goals, in this case, it's business revenue goals. Similar to a roadmap, a distribution sales plan lays out the strategic steps to be taken to hit the revenue target. It also identifies who the end-customer target market is, and the type of sales strategies to be undertaken. In a distribution business, revenue comes from the sales or purchases from the business’s end-customers, such as the wholesalers or the retailers. There are no hard and fast rules when coming up with a distribution sales plan. In fact, a sales plan should be flexible and realistic enough to be carried out and meet the business’s needs in coming up with the revenue. If you plan to make one, here are some of the essential elements that need to be included in a distribution sales plan. 1. Executive Summary An executive summary provides an overview of what the distribution business is all about. It gives a brief background of the business, what are the products or services it provides, and what are its goals and objectives as a whole. Executive summaries are often a turning point when being presented to their audience or readers. It should be brief, concise, yet interesting enough to make the reader or the audience want to go through the rest of the document or presentation. Executive summaries often contain a mission and a vision statement. A mission statement states the purpose or the reason for the distribution sales plan, which is mainly for business revenue targets. It also sometimes reflects the culture and values of the distribution business. A vision statement describes what the business hopes to achieve within a given timeframe. The statement usually sets the tone of urgency, motivating the people involved to work together in achieving the goals that are set. 2. Products and Services Aside from buying goods and products from the manufacturer to sell to wholesalers or retailers, lots of distribution businesses also offer a variety of services. Some of these services include logistics, providing transportation of products from end to end, and warehousing or storage. The products and services should be outlined as well here in the sales plan document. 3. Market Analysis A market analysis looks into the market’s condition, particularly in the distribution trade. It checks all the variables that can affect the business, such as the growth and trend of a distributorship, the target market, as well as the competitors’ profile. The analysis assesses how ready the market is for the type of distribution business that you are offering, and what are the possible opportunities or challenges that your business might face. One of the methods of doing a market analysis is by conducting a SWOT analysis. SWOT refers to the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats aspects that can affect the distribution business. Strengths are those unique features of the distribution business that makes it stand out in the market. Weaknesses are those factors that hinder the success of the business. It could come in the form of lack of manpower, lack of resources, lack of marketing skills, and so on. Opportunities are those features that the business could use to further boost its position in the market. While threats are those factors that could potentially harm or put the business at risks, such as increasing saturation of competition in the market or extreme weather conditions that could hinder logistics or harm product storage. 4. Marketing and Sales Strategy Good marketing and sales strategy should always be based upon the goals and objectives for which the sales plan is created for. A marketing strategy is about reaching potential customers and turning them into actual purchasing customers. An example of a marketing strategy is creating a unique and appealing branding concept. Branding is all about attracting customers, in this case, retailers or wholesalers to what the distribution business has to offer. Another marketing strategy is using the latest trends in advertising, such as online marketing, social media or social networking marketing, search engine optimization or SEO marketing for those that have websites, and even email marketing. A sales strategy is all about how you position your products or services in the market. For a distribution business, one of the best sales strategies is to increase the presence of field sales personnel in target markets. The field sales agent should be trained in sales techniques to get retailers or wholesalers to sign up to partner with the distribution business. Another sales strategy is to increase products or goods presence or visibility in stores, both physical and online. Remember that when coming up with strategies, both in marketing and in sales, it should adhere to a SMART goal method. Meaning, strategies that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. 5. Action Plans Now that you have come up with your marketing and sales strategies, now is the time to put those strategies into action. The next section of your sales plan document can contain an itemized list of strategies or steps taken to achieve the business’s goals. You could present it in a table format. The first column shows what are the strategic steps or the action items. The next column would be the target sales goals. Since sales plans are time-bound, the next column should indicate what are the timelines or the due date for each strategy. Another column next to it could show the progress of each strategy, how far or near are they from reaching the sales goal. The last column could be assigned for the comments, observations, or feedback for each strategy. 6. Financial Statements Oftentimes, a sales plan is created along with a business plan for the purpose of securing funds or capital for businesses. The current financial condition of the business is presented to potential investors or to financial lending institutions, as well as the strategies for earning sales revenue. The financial statement usually presents a cash flow statement and a balance sheet statement. A cash flow statement shows the flow of the money coming in and out of the business, while a balance sheet statement shows the assets, liabilities, and investments of the stakeholders.