Key takeaways
- A sales strategy sets the choices; a sales plan sets the actions, owners and dates.
- It starts from a clear target customer and a reason they should buy from you.
- Common types include inbound, outbound, account-based and partner-led selling.
- Review it against real results on a fixed rhythm, not every time a deal is lost.
What should a sales strategy include
A sales strategy should include the target customers, the value you offer them, the way you will reach and sell to them, the team that does it and the measures you will use. Each element should be a decision, not a wish.
- Target customers and the segments you will prioritise.
- The value proposition and the main alternatives you compete with.
- Sales approach: inbound, outbound, account-based, partner-led or a mix.
- Team structure: roles, territories and handoffs.
- Process: the stages a deal moves through and what ends each one.
- Targets and measures, with the leading signals you will watch.
What is the difference between a sales strategy and a sales plan
A sales strategy decides where and how you will compete, while a sales plan lists the actions, owners, timelines and targets that carry it out. The strategy might say: win mid-sized retailers through outbound and partners. The plan says who contacts which accounts, which partners to sign this quarter and what each seller's target is.
What are the common types of sales strategy
The common types of sales strategy are named after how deals start and how accounts are chosen. Most companies combine two or three.
- Inbound: sellers respond to buyers who come to you through marketing.
- Outbound: sellers find and contact target accounts first.
- Account-based: a small list of high-value accounts gets tailored, coordinated attention.
- Product-led sales: sellers help people already using a free or trial version to buy.
- Partner or channel: resellers and partners bring and close deals.
- Land and expand: win a small first deal, then grow across the customer.
How do you build a sales strategy
You build a sales strategy by starting from the customers you win most easily and working out how to find more of them. Look at recent deals: who bought, why, how they found you and what nearly stopped them.
In an invented example, a company selling stock management software sees that its best customers are independent garden centres that found it through a trade association. Its strategy becomes: focus on independent garden centres, sign two more trade associations as partners, run outbound to members with a short demo offer, and measure first meetings booked each month.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsDescribe a segment your strategy prioritises and your Pebbles Ai assistant finds matching companies, up to 50 per search; Find fresh leads then adds the right people at up to ten named companies as CRM (in Beta) contacts in a segment.
- FoundationCompany IntelCompany Intel holds your offerings, approach and brand voice, so the assistants draft plans and outreach from what your company actually sells.
Common questions
How often should a sales strategy change?
Review it at least once a year and whenever the market, the product or the team changes significantly. Small adjustments each quarter are normal; rewriting it every month means it was never a strategy.
Who is responsible for the sales strategy?
The head of sales or chief revenue officer usually owns it, working with leadership, marketing and revenue operations. Sellers should understand it well enough to explain it.
What is the most important part of a sales strategy?
Choosing who to sell to. A sharp target customer makes every other decision, from message to channel to team structure, easier and more consistent.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
