Battery has invested in more than 400 companies over our 38-year history, and we’ve been fortunate to back some very big ideas. We exist to support

Building Next Year’s Sales Plan: Doing It Right and Avoiding Common Mistakes - Battery Ventures

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2022-01-14 23:30:11

Battery has invested in more than 400 companies over our 38-year history, and we’ve been fortunate to back some very big ideas.

We exist to support our companies, and we have focused expertise in areas including talent, business development, marketing and communications and growth/leadership.

NA: It’s the time of year that every company is building next year’s plan. As an investor, I see a lot of these plans and I see many miss some key planning assumptions. I’ve joined up with Bill Binch to walk through how to best build a sales plan – one that factors in the variability you’ll inevitably encounter over the year and insures your actuals stay abreast or ahead of plan.

Bill, you’ve been part of Marketo* and then most recently Pendo*. Both companies were in earlier stages when you joined, so you’ve had a lot of repetition in building the sales plans. What are the most common mistakes you’ve recognized?

BB: I’ve unfortunately not only seen many of the mistakes, but made them firsthand! But there’s a basic blueprint for companies to use, and a few pitfalls to avoid. The most common one is that founders build a plan, put AE hiring down, but fail to account for variability. The variables are timing of hires, ramp periods, attrition, and then attainment levels.