Let’s face it: B2B selling isn’t getting any easier. According to recent data, over half of sales professionals feel it’s harder to sell now than it was a year ago.
But the truth is, B2B buying is often difficult, too. Per Gartner, more than three-quarters of B2B buyers rate their last purchase as very complex or difficult.
A mutual action plan can simplify the sales process for buyers and sellers alike. How? By ensuring all parties are aligned throughout the entire purchase journey.
But what is it?
In this post, we’ll explore everything you need about mutual action plans. We’ll share examples and tips for developing an action plan that aligns buyers and sellers and empowers reps to close more deals faster.
What is a mutual action plan (MAP)?
You may ask yourself, “What is a mutual action plan?” If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place.
A mutual action plan clearly defines action items and assigns responsibility for each. They also include deadlines for when each action item must be completed.
Some mutual action plans also outline decision criteria, the factors a buyer will evaluate when determining if the solution fits them. They may also include a list of potential risks – and how they can be overcome.
A mutual action plan isn’t simply a list of checkboxes for a seller to tick off. Instead, it’s a collaborative document between sellers and buyers. Buyers and sellers must align on the outlined action items, next steps, milestones, and timelines.
A mutual action plan (also known as a MAP) is a collaborative framework that outlines the actions buyers and sellers must take throughout the entire purchase journey. In other words, the MAP answers, “What must happen for this deal to close?”
Why does your sales team need a mutual action plan?
Now that we’re clear on what a mutual action plan is, does your sales team really need one?
Absolutely yes.
Mutual action plans are extremely beneficial to any sales team. Let’s look at some of the key benefits of developing and implementing one.
Better alignment throughout the purchase journey
There was a time when B2B sellers were in the driver’s seat. But today, B2B buyers are active participants. As such, B2B sales must be a collaborative process.
A well-written mutual action plan ensures buyers and sellers are aligned every step of the way. Both parties have a single source of truth for referencing goals and the steps that need to happen to make those goals a reality. In addition, buyers and sellers alike are held accountable for the action items assigned to them. This builds trust and increases follow-through.
Consistent customer experiences
Ideally, your prospects would have seamless, consistent experiences with your brand, regardless of which sales rep they’re engaging with. But often, that’s not the case.
New sellers may struggle to reinvent the wheel every time. And even veteran sellers may get hung up determining what step to take next.
Providing sellers with templates helps them deliver consistent experiences every time. New sellers can hit the ground running faster, and more seasoned reps can spend less time guessing – and more time executing.
Improved close rates
Sales mutual action plans improve alignment and facilitate better customer experiences. As a result, prospects are more likely to convert to customers, and your close rates will grow.
Accelerated sales cycles
We all know that B2B sales cycles can be quite long. With large buying committees, progress can often be held up.
They facilitate a structured sales journey for buyers and sellers alike. Everyone is aligned on goals and understands what they must do (and when) to achieve them, which increases sales acceleration.
More accurate forecasting
Accurate forecasting is important, but it’s often a struggle. Per Gartner, less than 50% of sales leaders and sales reps have high confidence in forecasting accuracy.
Mutual action plans outline a given deal’s timeline and key milestones. This can help you understand when a deal will likely close so you can more accurately predict revenue.
How to create and implement a mutual action plan
There are many benefits of using mutual action plans. But getting started with them can seem overwhelming.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
When developing and using a mutual action plan during the sales cycle, certain steps must be taken.
Team up with your stakeholders
A mutual action plan isn’t simply a checklist used by sellers. Rather, it’s a collaborative document between buyers and sellers. As such, the first step of the process is to meet with your key stakeholders.
You may have one primary contact with the buying organization, but remember: several people are likely weighing in on the purchase decision. According to Gartner, the typical B2B buying group consists of six to ten stakeholders. Make sure you involve as many as you can.
Ask the right questions
To develop a mutual action plan, you must understand your prospect’s needs, preferences, challenges, decision-making criteria, and internal processes.
Asking the right questions is critical to getting the information you need. When you have the right information, you can create an effective plan that accurately reflects what needs to be done for a deal to close.
Align on timing
A seller may want to close a deal by the end of the month. But the buyer won’t have the budget until the start of the next quarter.
It’s important to ensure everyone is aligned on timing.
A good starting point is to determine the buyer’s projected launch date. Then, you can work backward to assign deadlines. That way, the deal stays on track, and the buyer can launch on time.
Develop a template
Use the information you’ve gathered up to this point to develop a mutual action plan template. Your template should incorporate the stages of your sales process and the key milestones of the prospect’s purchase journey.
Collaboratively refine your mutual action plan with stakeholders
We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: a mutual action plan is a collaborative document. After you’ve developed the template, share it with your prospects. Ask for their feedback and incorporate it into your template. That way, you can ensure everyone is on the same page.
Track progress
Creating a template and never looking at it again doesn’t make sense. Instead, it’s important to track progress regularly.
Meet milestones and deadlines and ensure deals are progressing as expected. Consider scheduling regular check-ins to discuss progress and increase accountability among everyone involved in the purchase journey.
Update to your mutual action plan as needed
In the world of B2B sales, change is inevitable. For example, a prospect’s decision-making criteria can change. Or, a stakeholder may leave or join the buying committee. Or, perhaps the seller simply uncovers new information they didn’t have before.
Be sure to update your mutual action plan to reflect any changes that arise. Otherwise, your template will quickly become outdated and irrelevant.
How to increase adoption of your mutual action plan templates
Creating a mutual action plan template is the first step. But your templates are useless if your sellers aren’t using them.
It’s important to ensure your sellers know that these templates exist and how to use them to keep deals on track and convert more customers faster.
Here are some best practices for increasing seller adoption of your mutual action plan templates.
Provide training
Some of your sellers have probably used mutual action plans in the past. Others haven’t. It’s important to ensure your entire sales team knows where to find your templates and how to use them to improve sales results.
You can share your templates during sales onboarding as a starting point. You can also create micro-learning modules to share tips and best practices for using templates.
Deliver personalized coaching
Sales coaching can improve how your sellers use mutual action plans throughout the sales cycle. But sales coaching must be personalized for it to be effective.
First, sales managers must determine how a seller uses mutual action plans. If you use a platform like Mindtickle to create them, you can likely access data to see how buyers and sellers engage with it. Using a conversation intelligence tool, you can reference call recordings and summaries to get insights into how sellers use them in their prospect conversations. Once you have the right data, you can identify the seller’s strengths and deliver coaching to improve their weaknesses.
Centralize your tools and resources
Sellers only have so many hours in the day. They shouldn’t waste time finding the necessary tools and resources, such as templates.
Be sure to store and organize your mutual action plan templates in a single repository so they are easy for your sellers to find. If you use an integrated revenue enablement platform like Mindtickle, your mutual action plans can live within the platform and the other tools, information, and content your sellers use to engage buyers.
Use a mutual action plan tool
Creating a MAP doesn’t have to be a high-tech endeavor. Some organizations use Microsoft Excel or Word to create their MAPs.
If possible, consider using a tool instead. With the right tool, you can easily create plans, collaborate with customers, and access analytics on how buyers engage with the mutual action plan.
Mutual action plan examples and template
There’s no single, one-size-fits-all template that works for all deals. Instead, mutual action plans must be tailored to each specific sales scenario.
As a starting point, consider creating mutual action plans for common scenarios your sellers encounter. Some examples include those based on:
- Industry
- Deal size
- Company size
There are many different examples, ranging from simple to complex. Here’s one simple example you can use as a starting point.
Mutual Action Plan: Marketing Automation Platform Evaluation
Customer: [Name]
Sales executive: [Name, title, company]
Date: xx/xx/xxxx
Project Overview
- Prospect’s goals: Short paragraph outlining prospective customer’s goals.
- Sales goals: Short paragraph outlining sales objectives.
Timeline and Project Milestones
| Action item | Responsible party | Due date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task #1 | Seller | 11/11/2024 | Completed |
| Task #2 | Buyer | 1/22/2025 | In progress |
| Task #3 | Seller | 1/30/2025 | Not started |
Decision Criteria
- Criteria #1
- Criteria #2
- Criteria #3
- Criteria #4
Risk Mitigation Plan
| Potential risk | Mitigation plan |
|---|---|
| Potential risk #1 | How you plan to mitigate this risk. |
| Potential risk #2 | How you plan to mitigate this risk. |
| Potentail risk #3 | How you plan to mitigate this risk. |
Examples of mutual action plan tools
As mentioned earlier, some businesses create mutual action plans using Microsoft Office or Google Workspace. This can be as simple as a spreadsheet outlining roles and responsibilities throughout the purchase journey and corresponding deadlines. The upside of this approach is that you can create plans with tools you already own.
Other businesses prefer to use a tool. For example, Mindtickle’s digital sales rooms allow sellers to create and share mutual action plans for each deal.
Buyers and sellers can then collaborate on the mutual action plan. Updates are made in real-time, so buyers and sellers can be sure they’re always working with the most current version. Furthermore, sellers can access analytics on how buyers engage with the plan and the digital sales room. They can use these insights to adapt their approach.
Start closing deals faster with a mutual action plan
Navigating the B2B purchase journey can be tough. Mutual action plans make it much easier for buyers and sellers alike.
With the right template, your sellers can collaborate more effectively with buyers throughout the sales cycle, ensure alignment every step of the way, and close more deals faster.
Mutual Action Plans With Mindtickle
Ready to see how Mindtickle makes it easy to create and execute mutual action plans that engage buyers and accelerate deals?
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