Article: Every salesperson has a sales target he or she is expected to meet. In all honesty, practically every salesperson has a sales target he or she is expected to exceed. Creating an individual sales plan helps define the strategies and tactics that will be utilized to meet and exceed the target. Start your plan by establishing your sales target weekly, monthly, yearly, or otherwise and then outline several overarching strategies that you will use to achieve it. Strategies for enhancing sales might include increasing awareness in the community, obtaining more referrals from existing customers, or adding to your number of weekly "cold calls" to potential customers. If the strategies you lay out are your general guidelines, then the tactics you describe are the specific ways in which you will make more sales. For instance, if one of your strategies is to increase community awareness, your tactics may include attending a set minimum of community events and volunteering at least so many times per month / quarter / year in the community. If one of your tactics is to enhance your social media presence, you should provide specific details. For instance, how many social media posts do you intend to average per day? For many engaged in the sales business, holding onto current customers is as vital as recruiting new ones. Here again, you want to begin by laying out some key strategies that you will employ, then add some specific tactics which you will utilize. One strategy, for example, may be to increase your opportunities for at least monthly interaction with each of your existing clients. If so, your tactics could include calling once per month with a relevant idea or tip, setting up an interactive newsletter, or taking a minimum number of existing clients to lunch per month. Obviously you want to at minimum retain your existing sales with existing clients. Even better, however, is to mine this fertile ground for increased sales with existing clients and new sales to additional clients. Your strategies here could in fact be listed as "increase sales within my existing client base" and "identify new clients through my existing client base." Your tactics could include meeting with the key decision-maker for every account you hold, scanning client social media outlets daily for useful news, or including promotional materials with every delivery of goods or services. Individual sales plans should be brief, and generally shorter than sales business plans. One page is a reasonable length. For clarity and convenience, straightforward subject headings and succinct, specific bulleted points are recommended. Simple and direct is key. You want something you, your boss, or anyone else who wants to look can scan quickly and understand. Think of it as something you can (and may actually want to) post on a bulletin board. Simple and direct plans are also easier to revise as times and circumstances change. You should indeed revisit and revise your individual sales plan regularly. Consider the following example for four possible subject headings for an individual sales plan. Each section would include three to five bulleted strategy or tactic examples: I. New Business Acquisition Strategies II. New Business Acquisition Tactics III. Existing Business Growth Strategies IV. Existing Business Growth Tactics

What is a summary?
Consider what you can do to reach your sales target. Define your tactics for increasing sales. Determine how you will stay relevant to current customers. Explain how you will "prospect" within your existing customer base. Lay out your individual sales plan.