How to Improve Dealer Action Plans

Most people don't hit quota because they never plan beyond the close. I learned this the hard way during my worst quarter at Corsearch. Had everything mapped out perfectly - or so I thought. Three deals lined up to save my numbers. Each one looked solid. Then reality hit. Deal one: "Budget got frozen." Deal two: "We're pushing this to next quarter." Deal three: Complete radio silence. That's when I realized the brutal truth about enterprise sales. You think you have control. You think your pipeline is predictable. But without a mutual action plan, you're basically hoping strangers will do what they promised when they promised it. Here's what changed everything for me: Stop treating deals like they'll close themselves. Start creating mutual action plans that lock in commitment from both sides. Map out every step between now and signature. Get your prospect to agree on timelines, resources, and next actions - in writing. The best part? When they help build the plan, they own it too. No more surprise budget freezes. No more mysterious delays. Just clear accountability that keeps deals moving forward. I've used this approach for the past two years. My deal slippage dropped by 70%. Not because I became a better closer, but because I started treating prospects like partners in the process. Build the plan together. Close together. Win together. What's been your biggest deal that slipped at the last minute?

After 10 years in sales and millions closed in revenue, one lesson has stuck with me throughout. Deals are won on momentum. Most reps lose deals in the quiet weeks. Top performers don’t allow quiet weeks. Here’s what high performers actually do to keep deals moving. Not theory. Just patterns I’ve seen work over and over. 1. They reduce options Average rep sends 4 pricing scenarios and a deck. Top rep sends 1 recommended path, maybe 1 alternative: “If you want X outcome by Y date, this is the most suitable option.” Too many choices kills momentum. They make it easy to say yes. 2. They never leave a call without a calendar hold Not “I’ll send some times.” Instead “Before we drop, let’s grab 20 minutes to review next steps. Does Tuesday at 10:00 or 14:30 work?” No next step = deal risk 3. They tighten the time between touches Most reps: “Let’s reconnect next week.” Top reps: “You’ll have questions so let’s find 15 mins tomorrow” Momentum dies in 7-day gaps. They aim for 24–48 hours, max. 4. They send succinct recap emails the same day Subject: “Recap + agreed next steps” 3 bullets: - Here’s what ACME cares about - Here’s what we’re doing - Here’s what happens on X date No novel. No fluff. Just alignment and a timestamp everyone can point back to. 5. They multi-thread early They don’t wait for deals to stall before asking: “Who else needs to see this?” On the first call: “Who signs this off, and when do they usually get involved? Let’s bring them in now so we don’t lose a month later.” More stakeholders now = fewer surprises later. 6. They give champions assets, not homework Instead of “Can you sell this internally?” It’s: “I’ve made written an exec summary and recorded a summary video in this deal room that you can forward to your CFO.” Great reps don’t expect champions to pitch. They arm them. 7. They agree mutual action plans live on calls Not a fancy spreadsheet no one opens. 5–7 steps, screen-shared, with dates and owners: “You own this line. I own this line. If we slip here, the go-live moves there.” Deals move faster when everyone can see the path to going live. 8. They get ahead of legal/security delays early They ask each stakeholder when legal or InfoSec usually get involved. Recommending to bring them in now so they don’t become the bottleneck. Then they send a security pack, sample MSA, whatever removes friction. 9. They always tie next steps to a real business moment Not “Let’s move this along.” It’s: “If we want this live before Q1, we need sign-off by Jan 31st. Shall we work backwards from that?” Timeline anchored to their reality, not your quota. High performers don’t get lucky with fast deals. They build a system where momentum is non-negotiable. They know that time really does kill deals. What are you doing to drive conversations forward?

Stop cold calling. Start scoring. Most sales teams rely on a "spray and pray" approach for upgrades. They blast their entire database with new model launch messages and just hope for the best. The result is usually message fatigue for the customer and wasted time for the dealer. We recently flipped this script for a leading automotive manufacturer. Instead of asking "Who might buy?", we used data to ask "Who is ready to buy?" The Shift: Predictive Upgrade Scoring We moved away from generic campaigns to a Propensity-to-Upgrade Score. We categorized existing owners into tiers (A, B, C, D) based on real data points like purchase timing, service behavior, mileage, and enquiry signals. The Execution We didn't just hand a raw list to dealers. We built a structured journey: Pacing: We set a 48-hour gap between messages across channels to prevent spamming. Routing: "Hot" leads were routed to dealers with a strict 15-minute callback deadline. Alerts: If a dealer missed that window, an alert was automatically sent to their manager. The Impact Dealer callbacks happened 30% faster. We reduced wasted marketing touches by 35%. Most importantly, we saw a 15-20% higher conversion rate on repurchase offers for the top-tier leads. Data doesn't just help you target the right people, it helps you ignore the wrong ones.

An AE on my team has a 40% win rate. Their secret? Mutual action plans for every single deal. Here’s how: • 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹: They ask champions what’s missing, what needs to be added, or what’s making them nervous. If there's no buy-in, it’s back to discovery. • 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀: They fill in the MAP with assumed timelines and ask if the milestones are realistic. If not, it’s back to discovery for adjustments. • 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀: They outline the 5-6 next steps in the MAP. Some steps might not be needed or might happen in tandem. Laying everything out de-risks the process. • 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗔𝗣 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹: They spend the last 5-10 mins of each call reviewing the MAP for progress, risks, and next steps. • 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: They give everyone involved a role, increasing ownership and accountability. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: Being great at sales means being an excellent project manager. MAPs are the blueprint for your deal's journey. Introduce them as early as your first call and watch your close rates get a boost.

The best reps I have managed do all of the nitty gritty things that most reps don’t want to do - Prep work, follow up, and most importantly, MUTUAL ACTION PLANS And let's be real, if you're not using MAPs in your sales process, you're leaving money on the table and wasting everyone's time. The hard truth most sales leaders won't admit? That impressive sales methodology you've implemented is useless if buyers and sellers aren't marching to the same drumbeat. After leading sales teams for years, I've seen it repeatedly: -> Deals that drag on forever -> "Committed" prospects who ghost at decision time -> Forecasts that look like novels The common denominator in failed deals? No structured mutual action plan. Here's why MAPs are non-negotiable in today's selling environment: 1/ They separate serious buyers from professional time-wasters. When a prospect won't commit to a collaborative plan with clear milestones, that's a MASSIVE red flag your team is ignoring. 2/ They force executive alignment EARLY. No more nasty surprises when the final decision-maker appears in week 12 with completely different priorities. They cut through the BS. When milestone dates keep slipping, you have concrete evidence the deal is at risk - not just "feeling good" updates from overly optimistic reps. I love trumpet 🎺 for Mutual Action Plans, which finally solves those classic problems: -> Getting true customer buy-in -> Keeping plans updated without admin headaches -> Making them central to the sales process rather than forgotten side documents Don’t get lost in the sauce. Become mutual. 

60% of deals die in indecision. Mine don’t. Here’s how (steal this playbook) Complex deals don’t die because of bad selling. They die because of buyer friction. Here’s the 3-step playbook I used in my last deal (and closed weeks faster): 𝟭. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹: I used to lose deals to endless email threads and missing docs. So now I drop every deck, pricing sheet, onboarding plan, and case study into a single Aligned workspace. That way, champions know exactly where everything lives, and hidden stakeholders can see it too. 𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻: Deals used to stall because no one knew the next step or owner. Now I co-create a MAP inside Aligned with my buyers, mapping each step from security review → legal → CFO sign-off. Everyone is accountable, and nothing slips through the cracks. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 (𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴): I used to rely on gut to see if buyers were engaged. Now I see exactly who views a doc, how long they spend on pricing, and which new stakeholders pop up. It helps me prioritize, spot risks early, and forecast with confidence. The result? - No ghosting - No confusion - No “gut-based” forecasting Just a smooth buying process where my champion looked like a hero internally. I run all my bigger deals this way with Aligned, you can try it for free here: https://lnkd.in/g63bazpW P.S. I’ll drop my best tips for building Mutual Action Plans in the comments 👇🏼