Sales Strategy: A 90‑Day Plan to Fix Missed Quarters

If you’re here, commits look fine on Monday and slip on Friday. Forecasts look healthy, yet the last-week scramble breaks the number.

Most MDs and Sales Directors who call us aren’t short of leads. They’re short of clean commits, access to a buyer group, and time for managers to coach. Discounts creep in late stage. Your team struggles to reach that group. Managers want to coach but calendars stay full. You don’t need theory. You need a sales strategy that can change behaviour within a quarter. Here’s a practical plan: run a quick audit, pick the motions that fit your market, and give managers a weekly rhythm that lifts win rate and keeps forecasts honest.

A practical sales strategy sets exit criteria, focuses managers on a weekly pipeline review, and uses a mutual plan to keep deals moving so win rate improves and forecasts stay believable.

How do you run a quick sales strategy audit?

Start with facts you can pull from the CRM today. Compare forecast vs actual for the last two quarters. A wide gap typically points to loose qualification, unclear exit criteria, or limited coaching time. Then check stage conversion on your two most common deal types. Use the same date range and segments or you’ll fix a measurement artefact, not a sales problem. Where conversion drops, read five recent losses and tag the stall reason. Within an hour, you’ll usually spot patterns: thin discovery, late access to the buyer group, approval delays, or price tension.

60‑minute audit checklist

• Forecast vs actual (last 2 quarters)
• Stage conversion (same range + segments)
• Five losses with stall reason (from CRM)
• Two fixes this month with owners and dates → track for 3 pipeline reviews

Pull three QBR decks. If the commit slide changes colour in the final week, that usually signals exit criteria aren’t enforced, and coaching time is thin. Need an objective baseline? Get in touch with us and turn the findings into a focused 90‑day plan.

Which sales strategy motions fit your market right now?

Pick one or two motions that match your segments and deal sizes. New logo suits launches and greenfield lists. Land and expand works when usage grows with value. Key account growth works when you already have an install base. Use partners when extended reach or third-party credibility is required. You borrow trust and can shorten time-to-first meeting in guarded accounts. Inbound leads fit when content drives qualified demand. Run targeted outbound when your ICP list is short and precise. You protect CAC by focusing effort where win probability is highest.

Common motions:

• New logo: launches and greenfield lists. Entry: clear trigger and target roles. Exit: proof of value and a booked next meeting.
• Land and expand: usage grows with value. Entry: active use and a success story. Exit: defined expansion path and stakeholder alignment.
• Key account growth: existing install base. Entry: executive sponsor and a mapped account plan. Exit: agreed value case and expansion timeline.
• Partner‑led: when reach or credibility is required. Entry: agreed partner intro. Exit: qualified meeting with the right buyer group.
• Inbound‑led: content drives qualified demand. Entry: MQL with fit and intent. Exit: sales‑accepted opportunity with next steps.
• Targeted outbound: short, precise ICP list. Entry: named account and contact plan. Exit: discovery meeting with the buying group.

Write entry and exit rules for each motion in plain English. Entry means a clear trigger, target roles, and the first meeting objective. Exit means proof of value, the next meeting booked, and alignment across stakeholders. Keep it on one page and coach against it every week. If two motions fight for the same account, you don’t have rules of engagement. That’s a conflict. Fix the ROE.

How do you reset the sales strategy operating rhythm each week?

Stages only matter when you can prove progress. Move from discovery to qualified when the problem is quantified and you have access to the buyer group. Do not send a proposal until a mutual plan with dates and owners exists. Keep deals in forecast only when they include a customer‑dated next step. This rule helps reduce slip and keeps commits believable.

Pick one qualification guardrail and apply it consistently. Train managers first so coaching lands the same way. For manager enablement, see Managing the Sales Team. That gives managers a repeatable coaching cadence that improves conversion and forecast hygiene. For leadership blueprint and quota/capacity planning, explore The Sales Director. That helps leaders set fair quotas, capacity, and governance that align to board targets.

Keep enablement light and live: a short skills matrix by stage, simple playbooks for key calls, standardised CRM notes, and a lean stack. Block two short call‑listening slots per rep each week and one team review. Run one monthly skills clinic based on the most common stall.

Use the same weekly pipeline agenda every time: new opportunities, stage movement, ageing by stage, and risks with an owner and a next step. If a next step isn’t customer‑dated, it isn’t a next step. Close the loop by testing one small change the following week.

What should your sales strategy change in 90 days?

In most teams, you can launch a working model within a quarter.

Weeks 1 to 4: Diagnose and design.

Run a baseline across pipeline, pricing, skills, and tools. Agree on ideal customer profiles and priority problems. Draft stages with exit criteria. Define outcomes and review cadence on one page. Circulate to managers and refine.

Weeks 5 to 8: Pilot and enable.

Pilot with two squads. Train managers first, then the team on discovery and qualification. Publish short call plans and proposal outlines the team can reuse. Run the new weekly review. Use a give‑get log to control discount creep without slowing most deals. Every concession needs a return: access to the buyer group, a reference call, or a signature date. Write it down.

Weeks 9 to 12: Roll out and refine.

Roll out with named owners and dates. Adjust quotas and territories with early data. Add negotiation and closing skills where deals stall. Lock the monthly review so issues do not recycle. This prevents repeat issues and shows progress quarter to quarter. Remove low‑use tools that add admin and distract sellers. Fewer systems usually mean better CRM notes and higher selling time.

Want to set the cadence quickly? Book a Sales Strategy Workshop via our Sales Leadership Consultancy. The workshop produces a one-page plan, clear exit criteria, and a weekly agenda you can run next Monday.

From the field

Three moves often shift numbers fastest: gain access to the buyer group before proposal, run a mutual plan on every late‑stage deal, and protect coaching time in calendars.

Start your 90‑day sales strategy reset

Use this plan to start today. When you want support, speak to us. We help you run the audit, choose the right motions, set exit criteria, and stand up the weekly review so managers keep the plan alive. Share your context and goals and we can propose a focused next step. Get in touch with our consultation team!