Building a Successful Sales Strategy: From Revenue Targets to Execution
A comprehensive guide to developing and implementing a sales strategy that helps you reach your revenue goals through targeted outreach, clear messaging, and consistent execution.

by alper yurder

Set Your Revenue Target and Work Backwards
Define your target: Let's say you want £150k in revenue.
  • Example breakdown: 5 clients from SMBs, each paying £15k = £75k. Then, 1 larger client (a "whale") at £75k.
How to get there: Break down your target into manageable steps. Focus on smaller wins that lead to the big one—start by targeting smaller clients and work your way up to that whale.
Calculate How Many Accounts You Need
Total Pool
How many accounts are out there that fit your ideal customer profile (ICP)?
If your conversion rate is 2%, and you need 6 SMB clients at £15k each, you'd need to reach out to 300 accounts (300 * 2% = 6 clients).
Acquisition Targets
Now, determine how many accounts you need to contact to hit your numbers. For example, reaching out to 300 accounts might give you 6 clients.
Choose Your Go-to-Market (GTM) Channels
Direct Outreach / Lead Gen
Make a list of cold prospects and start emailing or calling them. Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help you find leads.
Events
Attend virtual or physical events to network and generate leads.
Partnerships
Look for companies offering complementary products and pitch partnership ideas.
Content
Use blogs, videos, and social media to attract inbound leads.
Outreach Strategy: Get Tactical
Message: Craft a clear, simple message. Focus on why your product will solve a specific problem for them. Keep it short.
Sequence: Plan out 5-6 steps for your outreach. For example:
Day 1: Soft intro email or message
E.g., "Hey, check out this article we wrote on [topic]. I thought it might be useful for you."
Day 3: Follow-up email with a more direct message
E.g., "I see you're doing X, and we've helped companies like yours achieve Y—let's chat."
Day 7: Final follow-up with a CTA
E.g., "Let's schedule a quick 10-minute chat."
Why this sequence?: Start soft, then progressively get more direct. The first message is low pressure and provides value.
Define Your ICP and Messaging
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Who exactly are you targeting? Size of business? Industry? Pain points they face?
Example: SMBs in the tech sector looking for more efficient sales processes.
Messaging
Focus on their pain points, not your product. How will you help them solve a specific problem?
Example: "We help tech companies streamline their sales process to increase conversions by 30%."
Get Practical with Tools & Engagement
Warm up your domain
Use tools like Lemlist or Mailshake to warm up your email domain before sending cold emails.
Prospecting tools
Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Waalaxy for automated outreach and to build your prospect list.
Create your first sequence
Start with a 6-step sequence, as mentioned above. Focus on soft messaging first, then move into more direct CTAs.
Track performance
Use tools like HubSpot or Salesforce to track your outreach and keep record of responses. This helps you adjust your approach and improve over time.
Engage Before You Message
  • Engage with prospects: Don't just send a cold message—start by liking their posts, commenting, or following them on LinkedIn.
  • Warming up: Use tools like Waalaxy to automate likes, views, and follows in bulk, but don't overdo it. Personal touches are key early on.
  • Test and tweak: Monitor what works and what doesn't. If a subject line gets more opens, use it more. If a CTA gets more responses, prioritize it.
Execution, Tracking, and Next Steps
Execution & Tracking
  • Set weekly outreach targets: Aim to reach out to 50-100 accounts per week, depending on your resources. Keep it consistent.
  • Track results: Record key metrics (e.g., email opens, responses, meetings booked). Each week, review what worked and adjust your outreach strategy accordingly.
  • Test messages: Try different subject lines and CTAs. See which ones get the best results.
Evaluate and Iterate
  • First responses: Review the responses you get. Are they positive, neutral, or negative? Use this feedback to tweak your messaging.
  • Adjust: Based on the responses, tweak your outreach sequences, messaging, or targeting. If something isn't working, change it quickly.
What's Next?
Let's meet and dive deeper into:
ICP & Persona
Get specific about who we're targeting.
Value & Messaging
Refine our message to make it irresistible.
Weekly Outreach Targets
Agree on how many accounts we'll reach each week.
Tools
Decide which tools are best for your process.
By following these steps, you'll set yourself up to hit your revenue targets and build an actionable, repeatable sales process.
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