All sales job candidates should create a 30/60/90-day sales plan to use in their job search and interview process.

A 30-60-90-day sales plan is a document that spells out how you will spend your time in the first 30 days, the first 60 days, and the first 90 days on your new job.  To do one correctly, you have to research the position and the company, and you have to analyze the job so that you can lay out the steps to success.  It takes some effort, but the results are almost always worth it in terms of great job offers.  It’s amazingly impressive to hiring managers that you’ve put in this kind of effort before you even get the job, and it demonstrates to them that you understand the job and what it takes to be successful from the start.

But how do you go about introducing your innovative 30/60/90-day plan to the hiring manager?

• In an ideal situation, you bring your 30-60-90-day plan to the interview and “wow” the hiring manager when you present it during your conversation–as an answer to “How do you see yourself in this job?” or “Why should we hire you?”.  You ask the hiring manager for input during the interview, and in your follow-up thank you note, you should attach your sales plan with the changes that the hiring manager suggested.
• Less than ideal, but better than nothing:  you don’t get a chance to present your 30-60-90-day plan during the interview, but you realize that thank you notes can be second chances.  Either you attach your sales plan to your thank you note (which points out how the information you gained during the interview is included), or you put a shortened version of a 30-60-90-day plan in the body of the note if you think he might not open the attachment.

What if you can’t even get the interview?

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A 30/60/90-day sales plan is a written outline for exactly what you’ll do in the first 3 months on a new job.  It’s the goals you’ve set for yourself as a new employee for the first 30 days, the first 60 days, and the first 90 days.  A 30/60/90-day sales plan is tremendously impressive to a hiring manager because it takes a lot of effort to write one, and requires that you research the company and the job very well in order to be specific in your goals.  (It takes the idea of “doing your homework” to a whole new level.)  Very few people put this kind of effort into a job they haven’t even gotten yet.  When a hiring manager sees a candidate with one of these plans, they think at least two things:  (1) “This person knows exactly what I need here, and he can hit the ground running…I can see him doing well in this job”  and (2) “Wow.  If this candidate will work this hard before she gets the job, imagine what a go-getter she’ll be on my team.”  (Either one means great things for you.)

If you’ve got lots of experience, your 30/60/90-day plan will show the hiring manger your energy, enthusiasm, drive, determination, and knowledge, setting you apart from the pack.

If you have little experience, a 30/60/90-day plan will show the hiring manger that you do, in fact, know what it takes to be successful at this job, and it’s not going to be a risk to hire you. (Here are a few links to other tools for your job search:  an Extreme Sales Resume Makeover Kit, a LinkedIn Profile Tutorial, and a Telephone Interview Preparation podcast.)

OK.  I said all that to say this:

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Creating a 30/60/90-day plan is one of the most effective things you can do to impress a hiring manager and win a job offer. It shows knowledge of the position, initiative, energy, enthusiasm, the ability to focus, written communication skills—all of which you definitely want to demonstrate to your interviewer and potential new boss.

But when do you bring it up?

When to introduce your 30/60/90-day sales plan in your job interview

The interview model that most people envision is that of a job seeker passively answering the questions put to him, focusing on delivering the “right” answers to interview questions. Not a bad model, but you want to do a little better than that—you want to stand out. You want to be exceptional. And the chances of your interviewer asking about your 30/60/90-day plan so that you can answer are pretty slim. This is “above and beyond” stuff…not expected, and so not asked about.

So what do you do?

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A 30-60-90-day plan is a written document outlining what you will do as an employee within the first 3 months of your employment.  It’s broken up into sections:  the first 30 days usually includes training, as well as getting to know the company and customers; the next 30 days are more focused on getting out on your own and into the swing of things; and the last 30 days are often more about branching out and bringing in new business. 

As a sales recruiter, I encourage all of the people I send to companies for interviews to create this kind of document and learn how to present it.  It really sets them apart from other candidates, and the ones who have done it usually see tremendous results.  But why is it so important?  Why does it make a difference?

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Every job seeker looking for a dream sales job wants a “secret weapon”—the edge that will make potential employers eager to hire him or her, and willing to bestow high salaries, benefits, and bonuses.  In many cases, that weapon is the 30/60/90-day sales plan:  it’s a written plan that explains to the hiring manager how you’ll spend your time in the first 3 months you work for the company, in detailed steps that demonstrate exactly how you’ll be an asset.  It’s a goal-setting exercise that showcases your initiative, energy, and enthusiasm–and it’s an almost-guaranteed way to impress any hiring manager or hiring team.

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One way to impress a hiring manager: SWOT Analysis

Can’t get an interview?

Can’t get past the first interview?

Are you demonstrating the levels of commitment, drive, tenacity, skills and organization employers want?

Here are 6 tried and true ways to separate you from other candidates and be the candidate everyone wants to hire:

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