Gap Planning...Manage Your Time with Focus
When Rocky wakes up in the morning he cracks 5 raw eggs to drink. Super macho but I prefer starting my day with some Gap analysis. The first thing I do when I sit down is get my coffee and start going over my plan. What is Gap Planning Analysis?
Gap Planning Analysis is a great and underused tool when it comes to sales performance. As a rep I leaned on this heavily everyday. It helped me structure my day based on priority as well as provided clarity in how I was going to get to my number.
Most reps I speak to don’t take advantage of this enough… They initially see it in the same way that young athletes look at Footwork drills. What’s the point?
Any Hall of Famer will tell you that footwork is the foundation for everything. Sales is no different.
Every morning you want to look at your Gap plan. I structure mine in the following categories:
IN: What’s closed and booked
COMMIT: What am I 100% positive wil come in
BEST CASE: What has a shot but there is still some work to do
PIPELINE: Outside chance of coming in aka miracle needed from the sales gods
ON THE BENCH: What are accounts I’m prospecting into that could replace a slipped deal
Now depending on your type of pipeline this will vary somewhat. If you are in SMB sales with a pipeline packed with monthly deals then you’ll have an extensive list. I would recommend keeping this to a monthly cadence.
As you get into the Mid-Market and Enterprise tiers this will thin out. MM AEs should have it on a monthly and quarterly level. Enterprise reps are landing those 747s on a quarterly basis… no need for monthly plans.
Let’s assume a Mid Market pipeline and a quota of $100k ARR. This is a good example since it’s the best of both the SMB and Enterprise worlds. See here:
In this example I have a healthy amount closed at $30k after week one. But my commitment is very light and my best case is inflated. I have more than enough meat on the bone to get there but I need to start making some choices here.
My gap is $55k based on my In + Commit amounts. So I know what chips I need to focus on to get to my number. So here is my adjusted plan:
Each category is more balanced and evenly distributed. My gap is $15k and I have several paths on how to get to my number. I feel better about this.
By adjusting my Commit and Best Case this starts to give me clarity on what is important. Am I connected at the right levels with these deals? Is my manager plugged in on these? If not then I need to focus my 1:1 on these deals and direct her/him to focus discussion here.
Sidenote; this might feel like a bold move but EVERY leader appreciates you focusing them in a 1:1 setting. It’s no different than setting an agenda for a sales call… I want you to lead me, not the other way around.
I can also determine in my best case what needs to be done to move them to a commit. I can look at my Salesforce Opportunity to see where I am missing information needed. I love the Pain/Gain chart and anyone who has worked with me will recognize it.
If I am going into territory then how can I get facetime with these opps FIRST. Then get some meetings going with my Pipeline category opportunities as well as my On The Bench opportunities.
My Monday is already coming into focus on what I need to do.
Adjust Commit and insure they are still good to close
Determine what is missing in Best Case & how my manager can help
Start peppering my champion with an in person meeting.
Spend time re-engaging my outbound targets to see if there is an active project.
Each day that passes I am re-adjusting my Gap plan. As deals come in, move up in stage or fall out I can adjust my game plan. See below:
As the week closes out you can see where my Gap plan is. I'm sitting at $3k by Friday with 3 deals tracking towards commit. I can maximize my time and resources to focus on revenue generating activities. I've also closed my gap from $55k to $3k... any salesperson will take that.
Also, when I submit my forecast I have a working understanding of how I get to my number. It shows I have command and understand the risks of where I am at. For the record I am committing $100k with a best case of $120k based on this pipeline.
Most importantly I can speak to my pipeline from a Factual standpoint and not based on my gut. Sellers and leaders who rely on their “gut” forecasts are dangerous. It’ll get you fired so I advise against it.
So as you approach your Monday give this structure a shot. It’ll feel awkward at first and a bit of a pain (much like starting cardio). But as you stick with it you’ll find it’s incredibly simple and leads to great forecasting and crm hygiene. Give it a shot… you’ll love it.
