18 Key Components of A Successful Sales Playbook

11/12/23, 5:00 PM 18 Key Components of a Successful Sales Playbook
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18 Key Components of a Successful

Sales Playbook [2022 update]
As many companies have found out firsthand, hiring salespeople with great track records
doesn’t guarantee your sales team will hit their targets.
Even if you fill your team with talented sales reps, they won’t be able to deliver their
maximum value unless you train them to be experts on selling your specific products to your
specific target market.
A study by Bridge Group shows that the average tenure for a salesperson is only around 1.5
years, so chances are you’re regularly onboarding new salespeople. The faster you can get
them up to speed and selling effectively, the more value you’ll be able to get from your
limited time with each rep.
The key to training reps better and faster is to create a sales playbook. This asset outlines
your company’s particular sales processes and best practices so everyone on the team can
refer to and learn from it. The sales playbook should include all the resources new reps need
to start making sales.
Whether you’re building a playbook from scratch or upgrading an existing asset, this post
packed with examples and videos will show the resources your playbook needs to include to
set your sales team up for success.
https://www.howtosaas.com/blog/sales-playbook 1/40
Why a sales playbook is important
What should be in a sales playbook
How to maximize the success of your sales playbook
A free sales playbook template
Why is a sales playbook important?

Sending reps into sales conversations without sufficient training and support can lead to
issues that stunt your business’s growth, such as:
Time and resources wasted on the wrong prospects

Giving prospects a disorganised or disjointed sales experience
Potential sales stalling at the first objection
Losing opportunities by mismatching the pitch to the persona
Getting stuck in high-level conversations that fail to convert
Misselling of products, leading to customer dissatisfaction
Losing prospects to competitors
All of these issues lead to fewer closed-won deals and missed sales quotas. However, you can
avoid these kinds of issues by giving comprehensive training on your sales processes and
tools.
A sales playbook is at the core of efficient sales training. It collects together all the processes,
assets, tactics and knowledge your sales team needs to carry out their role effectively. Having
all this in a single, clearly organized document minimizes the time reps spend searching for
the right resource, so it frees up time they can spend selling and cuts response times. A
playbook is also a great way to share the best practices your sales team has built up, and
steer reps away from common pitfalls.
A good sales playbook will also make life easier for your marketing team. It’s quicker for
Marketing to update this single document with new processes and content, rather than
having to edit multiple files individually and risk missing important documents. Plus, building
a sales playbook highlights where there are gaps in sales enablement content and new assets
need to be created.
What should be in a sales playbook?: 18

components successful sales playbooks
include
1. Company Overview
2. Sales Team Structure
3. Messaging and Positioning
4. Product Overview
5. Differentiators
6. Buyer Personas
7. Use Cases
8. Sales Methodology
9. Sales Plays
10. Lead Sources
11. Sales Process and Definitions
12. Sales Collateral
13. Case Studies
14. Competitor Battlecards
15. Pitch Deck
16. Objection Handling
17. Tools and Software
18. Dashboard and Metrics
1. Company Overview
If your sales team isn’t sure how their roles connect to those of other teams, they can end up
missing opportunities to collaborate and leverage company expertise. For example, if
salespeople understand the role marketing plays in generating leads, they might be able to
suggest ways to target specific customer types.
To help orient your sales team to the larger organization, start your sales playbook with a
company overview that shows what each department is responsible for.
This overview is particularly important if your company has multiple product lines or business
units. The sales team needs to know whether they are working with central marketing and
technical support teams, or separate teams that support each product, geography, or vertical.
A company overview shows sales reps who to speak with for accurate information on specific
topics or functions, so they don’t waste time trying to track down the right person or
department.
The company overview should include:
A diagram showing how the organization is structured, including all product lines.
The key responsibilities of each department, to ensure accountability and transparency.
The point of contact for common questions or feedback.
Feature requests
Billing issues
Product knowledge
Renewal requests
Customer testimonials and case studies
Lead source/marketing campaign questions
IT support
This may include:
Include the name, job title, and contact information of the person in question.
Include a back-up contact in case the primary contact is unavailable.
2. Sales Team Structure
Whether your sales team structure is an assembly line, pod, or island, having a visual
representation of the structure will make the chain of responsibilities clear at a glance. This
helps reps understand how each role contributes to the sales process and at which points the
prospect is passed to a different team member. Laying out the structure also gives clarity on
which metrics each role is responsible for.
The sales team structure should give more detail than the company overview outlined above.
It should include:
An organization chart of the sales team.

Include each role that will be involved in the sales cycle.
Include the name of the employee currently in each role. This can be helpful to
orient new hires and build team relationships.
If you use external contractors as part of your sales process (for example, if you
outsource some of your lead qualification), note this in the chart so reps can get a
complete picture of everyone involved.
Outline the responsibilities of each role.
Note which stage of the sales cycle they own, e.g. making first contact with leads
or closing deals.
Include the key objective of each role, e.g. qualifying leads for Account Executives
or communicating opportunities to upgrade to existing customers.
Identify which team members have expertise in key areas, e.g. working with niche
verticals or in-depth understanding of a particular product.
3. Messaging and Positioning
This section should briefly outline the core benefits your product offers and why people
should buy it. This summary will help reps focus on the most important points and
communicate the value to prospects even when they have very limited time.
Establishing core messaging and sharing it with both marketing and sales also helps align
their approaches, so potential customers have a smooth experience from awareness to
purchase.
The messaging and positioning section should include:
1. Value proposition
What are the tangible benefits of using your product?

What does your product provide that sets it apart from similar products?
2. Product positioning
Where does your product sit within the competitive landscape?

Is it the lowest cost solution?
Is it the most easily scalable?
Does it offer a premium experience?
Is it the only established solution for a particular niche?
3. Elevator pitch
Short, compelling summary that includes:

The problem your product targets
How your product provides the solution
Two or three main benefits
USP or main differentiator against competitors
4. Product Overview
To help your salespeople communicate in a way that is authoritative and informative, the
sales playbook should give reps an understanding of what customers can do with the
product. This section should include the basics they need to explain what the product offers
and to confidently answer customer questions.
This does not need to be an in-depth explanation of how the product works or give
unnecessary technical detail. Instead, it should cover what the product does and why these
features matter. This frames your product in feature-benefit language that speaks to
customer needs.
For example, if the product overview details how your software uses API to connect to other
platforms, that requires your sales team to have technical knowledge, and it doesn’t highlight
the benefit the feature actually delivers. Instead, the product overview might state that the
data sharing feature shows accurate data from all the customer’s platforms in an easy-access
dashboard.
If you have multiple products, include an overview for each product in this section, as well as
explaining how they work together. Even if each salesperson only sells one product line,
giving them an understanding of all your products helps them to identify leads they can pass
to other product lines.
The product overview should include:
Key features and functionality
Integrations and plugins
Services you provide to customers, for example:
Onboarding
Support
Training and education
For some companies, it may be possible to mention features that are in the roadmap
for the coming months.
This can help deal with objections prospects might have about the current range
of features, and show that you regularly update the product.
Encourage salespeople to not make promises of specific launch dates to
prospects, in case development is delayed.
Assign a team member to update this section if plans for features change.
5. Differentiators
Include a list of differentiators to help your salespeople show prospects why they should buy
your product instead of similar options on the market.
Equipping your salespeople with evidence of 3-5 specific differentiators gives them a
compelling argument for why your product stands out from competitors. These may include:
Price
Established company
Specialism in niche
Superior support
Additional features
Software that is more frequently enhanced
For each differentiator, include:
Links to supporting assets like case studies or pricing pages on your website.
Talk tracks that explain the difference in a concise way
To make it easier for reps to pick the right differentiators to discuss, list some of your main
competitors and note which of the differentiators they should highlight when facing each.
6. Buyer Personas
For new team members who may not be as familiar with your target market, profile your ideal
prospects as ‘personas’ in the playbook to help reps direct their pitch to a prospect’s likely
concerns and responsibilities. These guidelines will also help your reps identify when a
prospect doesn’t fit these personas and so may not be a good fit for your product.
For each persona that your salespeople are likely to speak with, include the following:
1. An overview of the buyer persona:
Role
Seniority
Company type
Company size
Internal challenges
Personal drivers
2. Tips and suggestions for how to sell to each persona:
Whether they have purchase authority or need buy-in from another team member
Particular features to highlight
Benefits of the product that are specific to their department
Main concerns reps may need to reassure them about
Assets specific to this role that reps should share
Deeper Dive: Buyer Personas
Sales Playbook Template

Download your free copy of the template.
Name
Work Email
Role
Company
Access now
7. Use Cases
You can help your sales team understand and demonstrate the tangible impact of the
product for customers by sharing use cases. These give practical examples of how the
product can be used to solve specific challenges. By referring to these use cases in their
conversations, reps can help prospects see the value to their particular business.
Create a list of the most common ways customers use the product to address a challenge or
problem. For each, include real customer examples your reps can use to prove the benefit.
If the use cases vary for different personas and verticals, make a note of the types of
customers each use case applies to. This will make it easier for salespeople to choose a use
case that is relevant to each customer and tackles pain points they can relate to.
8. Sales Methodology
To guide the way your reps apply the sales process, define your sales methodology in the
playbook. Making sure all salespeople are following the same methodology helps deliver a
consistent customer experience and makes it easier for your team to scale.
Some people may not be familiar with the names of frameworks like Challenger, Sandler, or
SPIN, and each business puts them into practice in a slightly different way. To ensure
everyone is on the same page, include:
The basic principles of the methodology

How to approach sales within this methodology
Why this is effective for your target audience
This helps reps understand the communications styles they should use and the
way they should direct conversations
How the methodology should be applied to selling your product
Best practices
Types of conversations to have
Examples of the methodology being used successfully
Assets that support the salespeople in using this methodology
For example, a slide deck showing how to apply the methodology at each stage in
the sales process.
9. Sales Plays
From the accumulated experience of your existing sales team, you’ll likely have great insight
into the techniques that work for each customer type or situation. To save new salespeople
from going through time-consuming trial and error and potentially losing deals, share some
of the sales plays your team has found effective in your playbook. If a salesperson finds
themselves in one of these situations, this section will give them a step-by-step guide to keep
the sales process moving forward.
Only include plays that have had proven success and can be repeated for multiple
companies. You may want to include sales play examples for each industry, each company
size, or each buyer persona. Organize these plays however will make the most sense for your
company, so reps can quickly find the most appropriate play. This might mean categorizing
plays by solution, industry, or buyer.
For each play, ensure that it’s clear who the target audience is, why it works, and what steps
to take.
Outline the situation this play should be used in

Include a profile of the play
Main pain points of the buyer persona
The insights to share with the customer
Value propositions to highlight
Key messaging
Common objections
Most common competitor
Link to tools that will help reps execute each play
Talk tracks
Scripts
Email templates
Note the recommended cadence
10. Lead Sources
By educating salespeople about the types of leads that come from each source, you can help
them tailor their pitch to be more effective. The source of a lead can suggest details like what
industry they’re in or what stage they’re at in their decision-making, so reps can customize
their approach to suit these factors.
In this section, list the lead sources and note the proportion of leads that come from each
source. Suggest what each source might show about these leads and the recommended sales
approach.
Include:
An extensive list of every active lead source. This might include:

Affiliate/partner programs
Blog posts
Downloadable assets
Email campaigns
Paid search
Paid social ads
Events
How ‘sales ready’ leads from each source are
What can be inferred from the lead source
Are they struggling with a specific challenge?
What type of company is it?
Where are they based?
A link to the landing page they converted on
Deeper Dive: Lead Sources
11. Sales Process and Definitions
Whereas the sales methodology informs reps about the approach they should take to selling,
the sales process shows the stages a prospect is taken through to result in a closed-won deal.
It is focused on actions rather than principles, and gives reps clear objectives and steps to
follow to keep the sale progressing.
Map out the stages of the sales process and briefly define the milestones and roles involved
in each stage. If your team uses shorthands like MQL and SQL, define what those terms mean
to ensure complete clarity.
12. Sales Collateral
Even if you have powerful sales collateral in your library, if salespeople aren’t able to find
what they need when they need it, it isn’t providing value. In this section of the playbook, list
some of the assets you have to support specific circumstances and include links so that reps
can access them instantly.
Organizing the list of assets by sales stage or vertical makes them easy to sort through. This
helps make sure that salespeople are using the appropriate sales collateral for each situation
and persona, without wasting time searching for it in a content library.
Include:
Product brochures or one-pagers

Service brochures or one-pagers
ROI calculators
Buyers guides
Industry or geo-specific one-pagers
Slide decks
Battle cards
Talk tracks
Deeper Dive: Sales Collateral
13. Case Studies
Case studies are powerful tools because they provide proof of the benefits you’re selling. So
that your reps can give real-world validation of how your product helps, supply them with a
list of ready-to-use customer examples, including metrics.
For each case study, include key points that reps can refer to at a glance. This not only helps
them identify which is the right case study to use, it also highlights key pieces of evidence
they can share with prospects. For each case study, include:
Key data on ROI

Why the customer chose the solution
Main benefits they’re seeing from using the product
Case studies are most effective when they deal with companies that are similar to the
prospect and have pain points they can relate to. To organize your case studies in a way that
makes it easy to identify appropriate examples to share, break down your case studies by:
Product
Persona
Industry
Use case
Categorizing your case studies according to the various personas and verticals also identifies
segments where you may need more case studies to support sales. For example, if hospitality
was a high volume vertical for this company, this would suggest that there is a need for case
studies that CMOs in the hospitality sector can relate to.
14. Competitor Battlecards
If a prospect is seriously considering your product, they’re likely to be weighing it up against

your competitors. Your sales reps need to be able to explain how your product is superior to
the other tools the prospect is considering. Without sufficient competitor content at their
fingertips, salespeople may struggle to make a compelling argument and are more likely to
lose customers on the verge of purchase.
Include battle cards that summarize the ways to win against each competitor so your reps
won’t be caught off guard when a prospect challenges them with a competitor solution.
For your top 3-5 competitors, put together battle cards for each that include:
Their products
Pricing comparison
Strengths
Weaknesses
Potential challenge
How to win
15. Pitch Deck
Pitch decks give reps an opportunity to present your company and solutions at length.
However, presenting them effectively isn’t just a matter of showing the right slides. In this
section of the playbook, prepare reps to deliver the three main aspects of pitch decks:
1. Visuals - the slides

2. Speech - the words the salesperson uses to expand on the deck
3. Presentation - the presentation style the salesperson uses, their tone and approach
Make a list of your major pitch decks and note the ideal audience for each, including the
vertical and persona. For each pitch deck, include:
A link to the deck

Talk tracks for each slide
A recorded video of your top rep or sales manager presenting the deck
16. Objection Handling
Preparing your sales reps for common objections can help them turn these situations into
positive customer experiences. Dealing with objections promptly and professionally can
prevent them from bringing the sales process to a halt, and the way salespeople deal with the
objections can also build their relationship with prospects. With training, objections can be an
opportunity for salespeople to show the prospect they understand their concerns and to
share content that addresses them.
To build this section in your playbook:
1. Review your sales team’s experiences to outline the common objections they have
come across.
These objections might include price, features, integrations, current contracts or
budget obligations.
2. For each objection, list the sales plays and talking points that have been most effective
for handling them.
Use the expertise of your existing sales team to include tips for getting in front of
the objection before it becomes a roadblock.
17. Tools and Software
Particularly if you have a complex tech stack, it’s important to have a central place that lists all
the tools and software that salespeople should be using. Include this in the playbook to avoid
confusion and help reps start using the right software in the right way from the beginning.
This prevents duplicating work to fix incorrect software use and helps ensure your
salespeople are recording accurate data on sales team performance.
Provide a complete list of the tools and software that the sales team will be using, including
CRM, CRM integrations, call recording, deal forecasting software, and shared drives.
For each software, outline:
What the tool is used for
The individual rep’s responsibilities for each tool
The data they should be entering or updating
How often they should add their updates
Any reports they need to present based on this software
How to access the tool
Do they have an individual login or a shared team account?
Does the login use single sign-on or is it stored in a password vault?
Who to speak with if they have questions about using this tool
Link any user guides or process docs you have for each software
18. Dashboard and Metrics
Make sure that data and KPIs are a priority for all sales reps by including metrics and
performance tracking as part of the onboarding process. If salespeople have a clear picture of
their performance against targets, this will help them identify which areas they need to ramp
up. It also gives accountability for each sales stage and visibility into what each role
contributes to the team’s performance.
For each sales role:
List the KPIs. Depending on the role, this might include:
Number of converted opportunities
Number of calls booked
Number of accounts closed
Dollar value of revenue booked
Link to sales dashboards
Note where reps can see their individual performance, team performance, and
performance of the company
Note how often these dashboards are updated
Include any additional competitive elements
Leaderboard
A bell they can ring for closed won deals
Incentives like spiffs
Maximizing the Success of your Sales

Playbook
A comprehensive sales playbook will help keep your team aligned and train new reps in a
way that’s tailored for your product and target market. However, once you've gone to the
effort of making a playbook, it still needs ongoing work to deliver maximum value. Review
this document regularly to ensure that it is:
1. Accurate
Update the playbook to reflect any changes to sales processes.
Update the organization and sales team structure sections to reflect changes to
your teams.
Assign a member of the marketing team to oversee all the sales enablement
assets in the playbook. They should regularly check that all the links to assets are
working, and add new key assets as they are produced.
2. Usable
Save a copy to a location everyone can access, such as a shared drive.
Include the playbook in your onboarding process.
Encourage salespeople to bookmark the link.
Organize the playbook in sections that make it quick for reps to find what they
need.
Include a table of contents so they can jump to the relevant section.
Make the playbook easy to access.
Make it easy to use.
Access the Sales Playbook Template
Sales Playbook Template

Download your free copy of the template.
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11/12/23, 5:00 PM 18 Key Components of a Successful Sales Playbook

18 Key Components of a Successful

Why is a sales playbook important?

Time and resources wasted on the wrong prospects

What should be in a sales playbook?: 18

The company overview should include:

2. Sales Team Structure

An organization chart of the sales team.

3. Messaging and Positioning

The messaging and positioning section should include:

What are the tangible benefits of using your product?

Where does your product sit within the competitive landscape?

Short, compelling summary that includes:

The product overview should include:

For each differentiator, include:

1. An overview of the buyer persona:

2. Tips and suggestions for how to sell to each persona:

Deeper Dive: Buyer Personas

Sales Playbook Template

The basic principles of the methodology

Outline the situation this play should be used in

10. Lead Sources

An extensive list of every active lead source. This might include:

Deeper Dive: Lead Sources

11. Sales Process and Definitions

12. Sales Collateral

Product brochures or one-pagers

Deeper Dive: Sales Collateral

13. Case Studies

Key data on ROI

14. Competitor Battlecards

If a prospect is seriously considering your product, they’re likely to be weighing it up against

15. Pitch Deck

1. Visuals - the slides

A link to the deck

16. Objection Handling

17. Tools and Software

For each software, outline:

18. Dashboard and Metrics

For each sales role:

List the KPIs. Depending on the role, this might include:

Maximizing the Success of your Sales

Access the Sales Playbook Template

Sales Playbook Template

Subscribe to SaaS Marketing Simplified!

Buy our bestselling book: Post-Acquisition Marketing

About How To SaaS

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