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Add our ready-to-go mutual action plan templates to your sales strategy. Just swap out the details and speed up your sales cycle.
Sales cycles are now almost exclusively digital. Long before a customer contacts a sales representative, they’ve read dozens of blog articles, consumed podcasts, and read eBooks. Much of the buyer’s journey is now self-directed – companies must find solutions for themselves – and not for the better.
The reality is that 78% of business buyers want salespeople to act more like trusted advisors. In some ways, it’s a call back to friendly in-person sales meetings. The challenge is reintroducing that collaboration to digital sales cycles.
Mutual action plans are a popular solution. Implemented early in the sales cycle, companies can forge strong customer relationships, working together toward the sale. To save you time, we’ve got a collection of mutual action plan templates, as well as advice on how to incorporate these examples into your current sales strategy.
Mutual Action Plan templates for different sales scenarios
Not sure how to get started? We’ve got some mutual action plan sales templates below covering everything from the initial sales stages to customer success. Customise the plans to your needs and add them to your digital sales room.
Sales Cycle
Phase 1: Consultation / Discovery
Tasks:
- Intro call to explore [buyers] priorities
- Share summary recapping conversation with [buyer name]
- Arrange call with your wider team [buyer name]
- [seller] to share case studies with [buyer name]
- [buyer] to confirm date for proposal evaluation
Phase 2: Trial / Technical validation
Tasks:
- Activation of trial accounts for [buyer company]
- Trial kick-off tech call
- Mid-trial check-in call with [buyer name]
- End of trial sync
Phase 3: Training
Tasks:
- Team-wide training session with [seller name]
- Follow up with [buyer] post-training session
Phase 4: Agreement formalisation
Tasks:
- [Seller] to share paperwork
- Terms of Service to be reviewed by [buyer's] legal team
- DPA, NDA and Privacy Policy to be assessed
- Additional information (ISO and SOC 2 certifications) to be sent to [buyer's) security team
- Invoice sent to [buyer company]
Phase 5: Onboarding / launch
Tasks:
- Agree with the buyer on the kick-off date
- Kick-off call with CSM/CS [name]
- Account set-up
Phase 6: Account setup
Tasks:
- Assist [customer name] in setting up and customising the account according to customer specifications.
- Implement necessary integrations and configurations.
- Conduct comprehensive product training sessions.
- Provide access to learning materials and resources.
Phase 7: Review and feedback
Tasks:
- [Customer] provides feedback on the onboarding experience and any ongoing support needs.
- [Seller] Addresses feedback and provides additional support or training if required
Phase 8: Ongoing support and relationship building
Tasks:
- Provide ongoing support and check-ins to ensure customer satisfaction and successful product utilisation.
- Identify opportunities for further training or product enhancements.
Check out a Mutual action plan Pod in action
Customisation tips for mutual action plan templates
When customising mutual action plan templates, ground them in the specific needs of the client – be it an enterprise or freelancer, a different industry, or just a different corporate culture.
Start by identifying key goals and challenges of both parties. Adapt timelines and phases to match the project's complexity and urgency. Clearly define responsibilities and expected outcomes for each phase to ensure accountability. Incorporate regular check-ins and feedback mechanisms to keep the plan dynamic and responsive. Tailor communication preferences to suit the stakeholders involved.
Last, add in some flexibility between the tasks. Remember, everything that could go wrong can go wrong. Allowing some “wiggle room” ensures your plan can evolve to address unforeseen challenges and opportunities.
How to effectively Use templates in sales meetings
Sales meetings often meander without any real structure. There’s a tendency for people to come away without concrete tasks or a clear understanding of how the deal is progressing. Mutual action plans fundamentally change this.
Effective utilisation of mutual action plan templates in sales meetings is critical to align goals, set clear expectations, and facilitate successful outcomes. But how can you get the most from this sales tool?
Remember these steps as you adapt these templates:
- Select Appropriate Templates: Choose a MAP template that aligns with the specific stage of the sales cycle and meeting objectives.
- Customise for the Client: Tailor the MAP to fit the client’s industry, needs, and specifics of the deal. Customise elements like timelines, responsibilities, and success metrics.
- Outline Clear Agendas: Include a detailed agenda in the MAP, covering objectives, solution overviews, and discussion points.
- Incorporate Visual Elements: Use timelines, progress trackers, and responsibility charts for clarity and engagement.
- Facilitate Collaborative Discussions: Use the MAP as a guide for dynamic, open-ended conversations. Allow flexibility for adjustments based on client feedback.
- Update Post-Meeting: Revise the MAP with any changes or additional notes from the meeting. Share the updated version with all stakeholders.
- Regular Reviews and Refinements: Continuously update and refine the MAP templates based on feedback and changes in sales strategies to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
Success stories using mutual action plans
As a digital sales room platform, trumpet includes mutual action plans, which are one of our most prominent features. It's our clients' go-to way to structure how their customers use the room and funnel them towards a sale.
Mutual action plan templates work in both formal and informal settings. Formally, they allow a structured approach to client meetings, setting a clear agenda, but also facilitating the sales process more generally. Informally, however, small changes to the mutual action plans creates continual touchpoints, which, thanks to the MAP being present in the digital sales room, means both parties are always on the same page.
Lunio, for example, used mutual action plans in trumpet to drive momentum in the sales cycle. As Sophie Ellis, an account executive with Lunio, explained “We always have a mutual action plan page within each Pod. This allows us to assign buyers to their next steps and identify what needs to be done."
"We always have a mutual action plan page within each Pod. This allows us to assign buyers to their next steps and identify what needs to be done." - Sophie Ellis, AE at Lunio.
