Using a 30–60–90 day plan to accelerate sales success.

A 30–60–90 day plan is exactly what it sounds like: a document outlining your goals for the first 30, 60, and 90 days in a new role. It outlines your top objectives and actionable goals, as well as the criteria you’ll use to gauge performance in the first three months. If done correctly, it will assist you in making a favourable first impression and accelerate your sales success.

The key elements of a 30–60–90 day plan

Before you go into the specifics of your 30–60–90 strategy, consider the high-level items that must be included. As the name implies, you should conceive about your strategy in 30-, 60-, and 90-day increments.

You’ll need to do the following for each phase:

• Choose a specific emphasis.
• Determine your top priorities.
• Make specific targets to support those aims.
• Decide how you will assess success.

Focus

The first month of a new employment is often spent learning, the second month preparing and beginning to contribute, and the third month executing and — where applicable — introducing changes to the status quo.

However, your monthly emphasis may vary depending on your job and the firm.

Priorities

Outline your high-level priorities for each phase inside those broad monthly buckets.

At example, your goals for various phases may include understanding internal procedures, doing your work autonomously, or suggesting solutions to a company problem.

Priorities should be more precise than focuses, but more general than individual goals.

Goals

Setting objectives entails devising a strategy for achieving your main aims. Set goals for each phase that correspond to your stated emphasis and priorities.(For ideas, see our sample 30–60–90 day plan below.) Break your goals down into categories like learning, performance, and personal goals if it helps.

Learning objectives:

To set these, inquire, “What knowledge and abilities do I require to be successful? How can I best absorb and gain the knowledge and skills?”

Performance objectives:

These are specific tasks you wish to achieve or finish as part of your new position. To determine these, ask yourself, “How far do I plan to get in the first 30/60/90 days?”

Personal objectives:

These objectives are mainly concerned with getting to know the individuals you’ll be working with and finding your position in your new firm or team. To set these, inquire, “Who are the essential individuals I need and want to connect with? How do I build and maintain such ties so that I am perceived as trustworthy and credible?”

Metrics

Determine at least one measure for each objective that will be used to track your progress. “What does success look like, and how will I measure it?”

6 strategies for creating a 30–60–90-day plan

So, how do you determine your focus, priorities, goals, and metrics for a new position?

You’ll need to obtain a better knowledge of the problems that the firm or department is attempting to tackle and consider how you might make a difference in the first 90 days.

Here are six suggestions to help:

1. Consider the big picture

Before you begin defining particular goals and OKRs, consider your overarching priorities. Determine why they recruited you and define goals to achieve that goal. For mid- and upper-level positions, you’re most likely being brought in to address a specific problem or oversee a specific project. For more junior positions, your aim may be to learn the fundamentals of your function and how the firm operates.

“What will you need to know in order to be successful?

2. Make inquiries

Asking questions is essential.

You’ll need a baseline awareness of the existing quo to define realistic goals and measurements that ladder up to your high-level priorities.

Questions that begin with “What’s the average…” or “What’s usual for…”

You may ask these questions to your new coworkers or utilise early-stage interviews to ask questions that will help you develop a 30–60–90 day strategy later on. “What can I handle in the first 90 days that will allow me to hit the ground running while also making a substantial effect on the organisation?”

3. Hold a meeting with key stakeholders

Healthy workplace connections are essential for success in every profession. Set up meetings with the following persons during the first 30 days if you’ve already begun the job:

• Your supervisor
• Other team members with whom you will collaborate closely
• Other coworkers in your or a comparable position
• Any cross-functional partners (from other teams) with whom you will routinely collaborate
• Any external partners (those outside the firm) with whom you will routinely collaborate
• If you’re a manager, your new direct reports

Learn about your teammates’ jobs within the organisation and get to know them as individuals at each meeting. As you learn the ropes, ask plenty of questions about the corporate culture, internal procedures, reporting structures, team and company difficulties, and anything else that comes up. It’s critical to have these discussions before making preparations to modify the way things are currently conducted.

Before you can become a teacher, you must first be a student.

4. Establish SMART objectives

Set specific goals that ladder up to your high-level priorities for the 30-, 60-, and 90-day phases once you’ve determined your high-level priorities.

These objectives should be SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.

Instead of “Understand our SEO,” a SMART objective may be “Identify our top 10 target keywords and examine how we’re presently ranking for them during the first 30 days.”

5. Decide How You Will Measure Success

This will most likely alter for each of your objectives.

Indicators are frequently measurable (revenue, page visits, and so on), but certain goals may include more qualitative metrics, such as good customer feedback. Make even qualitative indicators quantitative, such as the amount of five-star reviews you receive.

6. Be adaptable

Don’t be concerned if you don’t stick to the strategy exactly. Every position is unique, so build your plan based on what you know about the role and company, but expect it to evolve. Throughout the first 90 days, solicit feedback (and throughout your tenure at the company). It’s very OK to make course corrections as you go.

Consider adding “Conduct a SWOT analysis of my project, team, department, or firm as a whole” to your plan during month two or three if you’re a team leader or executive.

SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Example of a 30–60–90-Day Plan

Days 1–30

Focus:

Learning\sPriorities:

Learn about my role, team, and the organisation as a whole.

Understand my manager’s expectations for me, discover how the internal processes and procedures now function, and begin to investigate some of the difficulties confronting the firm and my job.

Learning objectives:

Read all relevant internal information accessible to me on the corporate wiki or drive, and ask my boss for advice on papers, reports, and studies to read.

(Metric: finished reading)

Obtain access to the accounts (email, task management software, customer relationship management platform, etc.) that I will require to do my duties.

Spend some time getting to know each of them.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Listen to five recorded sales calls from experienced colleagues.

(Metric: five sales calls heard)

Meet with a member of the account management team to learn about the onboarding process for new customers.

(Task completed: metric)

Goals for performance:

Make my initial sales calls to key clients and prospects.

(Metric: three completed sales calls)

Request feedback from my management on my production and performance.

Document the input so that I may use it to improve my future performance.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Personal objectives:

Meet with my management as well as as many new employees as possible.

Introduce myself and learn about their positions within the company.

(Metric: conducted five meetings)

Establish recurrent meetings with everyone I’ll need to collaborate with on a frequent basis, including cross-functional and external partners.

(Metric: established and attended regular meetings)

Days 31–60

Contributing is the focus.

Priorities:

Perform my position to the best of my ability, with less reliance on advice.

Begin to consider how I may make a distinct contribution to my job and the firm.

Learning objectives:

Complete an online training course to learn how to use our customer relationship management software more effectively.

(Metric: finished one course)

Shadow an experienced team member, listen in on at least three of their sales conversations, and capture what I learn from studying their technique.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Goals for performance:

Make five sales calls each week to key clients and prospects.

(Metric: 20 completed calls)

Request that a seasoned team member witness at least one of my sales conversations and provide input on how I may improve.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Listen to at least four of my recorded calls and take note of any self-feedback

(Metric: Four calls listened to)

Request input from my management and coworkers, and document it so that I may use it in the future.

(Metric to be determined)

Personal objectives:

Schedule coffee or lunch with someone from the company I haven’t met yet.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Days 61–90

Concentration:

Taking the initiative.

Priorities:

Assume more autonomy and seek for little opportunities to exercise leadership abilities.

Begin thinking about your goals for the rest of the year.

Learning objectives:

Find and register for a conference, webinar, or online course that will help me advance professionally.

(Metric: Registration for one conference, course, or webinar)

Analyze my success thus far and identify critical metrics that are important to me (sales, leads, revenue, etc.).

Implement a test to see if you can enhance that measure.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Performance objectives:

Based on the criteria I established, perform my key tasks at a higher level.

(More sales, higher revenue, etc.)

(Metric to be determined)

Create a new project or initiative that I can lead and present it to my boss.

(Metric: accomplished task)

Finish the project or activity I mentioned and solicit input from important stakeholders.

(Metric: project/initiative finished and input from three key stakeholders obtained)

Personal objectives:

Participate in extracurricular activities inside the firm by signing up for a corporate volunteer day or a company-sponsored club or sports team.

(Metric: One action registered for)