Sales Readiness Checklist Template

Owned by the readiness lead. Enter the go-live date on the first task: every due date counts back from it in working days, and the last few count forward. Choose what kind of change this is, and agree what ready means before anyone writes a slide.

• Set up the run: what is changing, the go-live date and the people — what the team is getting ready to sell, the kind of change, the first day the team sells it, and the readiness lead, the sales leader, the product marketing lead and the sales operations lead
• List the teams and roles who must be ready — every team that will sell, support or hand off the new offer, such as account executives, SDRs, account managers, sales engineers and their managers, with the number of people in each
• Agree what ready means: the criteria and the pass mark — the readiness criteria the go or no-go will be judged on, the certification pass mark, and what happens to a rep who misses it, agreed with the sales leader
• Set the readiness timeline and book the readiness review — the training dates, the certification deadline and the date of the readiness review, in the calendars of everyone who must attend

Product marketing writes down what is new, what is in scope on the go-live date and who it is for. For a launch, a new product line or a new segment or territory, the kind of change chosen on the first task adds one task here.

• Write the change brief for the sales team — what is new, who it is for, what it replaces or changes, what stays the same, the go-live date and who to ask
• Confirm what is in scope at go-live and what is not — the features, plans, regions and integrations available on the go-live date, the known limitations, and what reps must not promise yet
• Agree the target customers, buyers and first accounts — the segments and buyers to go after, the signs that an account is a fit, and the accounts each team will contact first
• Agree which customers reps may name as references — the beta or early customers who have agreed to be named or to take a reference call, and exactly what reps may say about their results. Applies only to a launch
• Set the cross-sell rules for existing accounts — who sells the new line to existing customers, how account managers and specialists work together, and how credit is shared. Applies only to a new product line
• Set territories, account assignment and rules of engagement — the territories or segments, who owns which accounts, how leads are routed, and the currency, contract terms and local requirements checked with finance and legal. Applies only to a new segment or territory

Agree what reps will say and what they can charge before the playbook is written. Record who approved each one, so the CRM, quotes and training are built from the approved versions.

• Draft the positioning and the core messages — the problem it solves, for whom, why it is different, the proof points the team can back up, and the words to use and to avoid
• Get the messaging approved — by the sales leader and product marketing, with any claims about results or competitors checked by whoever reviews claims in your company
• Set the prices, packages and what each one includes — the list prices, editions or packages, what is included in each, the billing terms and any minimums
• Write the discount rules and who can approve exceptions — the discount reps can give on their own, the bands that need approval, who approves each band, and what is never discounted
• Get pricing, packaging and discount rules approved — by the person or group that owns pricing, with the date, so the CRM and the quote templates are built from the approved version
• Plan how existing customers and open quotes move to the new pricing — once the prices are approved: what renewing customers pay, how long open quotes and proposals at the old prices stay valid, what customer contracts say about price changes, and who tells customers. Applies only to a pricing or packaging change

The playbook is what reps are trained and certified on: how to qualify, the talk track and demo, the objections and the competitors. Build it from the approved messages and prices.

• Write the qualification questions and what makes a good fit — the questions that show whether an account needs it, can buy it and when, and the signs that it is not a fit
• Write the discovery questions, the talk track and the demo storyline — the opening, the questions to ask, a short talk track and the order of the demo, built on the approved messages
• Answer the objections reps will hear — each likely objection with a short answer and the proof that supports it
• Write how to position against each competitor — for each competitor the team meets: where it is stronger, where you are, the questions that show the difference, and what not to say
• Publish the playbook where reps work — in the CRM, the content library or the sales wiki, with the link sent to every manager on the teams list

Everything a rep shows or sends: the deck, the one-pager, the battlecards, proposal text and a demo environment that works. Each asset goes into the place reps already look.

• Update the pitch deck and the one-pager — with the approved messages, prices and proof points, and the old versions removed from the content library
• Publish the battlecards — one page per competitor, built from the playbook, in the place reps look during a call
• Update the proposal text, RFP answers and customer FAQ — the standard proposal sections, the answers library for RFPs and security questionnaires, and a customer FAQ for the new offer
• Set up demo environments and demo data for every rep — an environment for each rep or team with the new features switched on, realistic demo data and a way to reset it, tested against the demo storyline

Sales operations builds the new offer into the CRM and the quote templates from the approved prices and discount rules, and answers the commission and quota questions in writing before training.

• Add the products and price book to the CRM — the products, editions and approved prices, with the old ones closed from the go-live date where they change
• Update the opportunity fields, stages and reports — any new fields, the stage rules for the new offer, and the reports and forecast views that show it separately
• Build and test the quote templates and discount approvals — the quote and order form templates with the approved terms, and the approval routing for each discount band in the rules
• Answer the commission, crediting and quota questions — whether the new offer earns commission and at what rate, who gets credit on shared or cross-sell deals, and whether quotas change, answered in writing before training
• Test a full deal from opportunity to signed quote — in a sandbox or a test account: create the opportunity, add the products, apply a discount that needs approval, produce the quote and check it against the approved prices

Train the whole team on the playbook, pricing and systems, practise, then certify each rep on the talk track and the demo against the pass mark set in Phase 1. Reps who miss it get a second attempt before the readiness review.

• Run the training sessions — the change brief, the playbook, pricing and discount rules, the CRM and quote changes and the competitors, with a recording for anyone who misses a session
• Run talk track and demo practice — role-plays in pairs or with managers, using the demo environments and the objections list, before anyone is certified
• Certify each rep on the talk track and the demo — each rep gives the talk track and the demo to a manager or the readiness lead, scored against the pass mark
• Re-certify the reps who missed the pass mark — coach each one on what they missed, give a second attempt before the readiness review, and agree with the sales leader what anyone who still misses may sell until they pass. Applies only when some reps missed the pass mark

Brief the teams who look after customers, check the evidence against the criteria and hold the readiness review. The sales leader’s go or no-go is the gate: nothing after it can be completed until it is recorded.

• Brief customer success and account managers — what changes for customers, who handles upgrade or price questions, the handoff from sales, and the questions customers are likely to ask
• Brief support and update the help content — known issues, how questions about the new offer are routed, and the help articles published before the go-live date
• Collect the readiness evidence against the criteria — each criterion agreed in Phase 1 with its status, the evidence and the owner of anything still open
• Hold the readiness review — the readiness lead, the sales leader, product marketing and sales operations go through the evidence, record the gaps and agree a recommendation
• Record the sales leader’s go or no-go — go, go with conditions or no-go for the go-live date, with the reasons and any conditions, recorded by the sales leader alone
• Act on a no-go: close the gaps and set a new date — close each gap the sales leader named, move the go-live date on the first task so every due date moves with it, hold the readiness review again, and ask the sales leader to reopen the decision and record it again. Applies only after a no-go
• Meet the conditions before go-live — each condition the sales leader set, done and recorded, or the sales leader told in writing that it is not. Applies only after a go with conditions

The team starts selling on the go-live date. In the first weeks the managers review the early deals, sales operations checks quotes and discounts, and what the field learns goes back to product marketing.

• Announce go-live to the sales team — the new offer is open in the CRM, the playbook and collateral are live, and the team knows who to ask in the first weeks
• Review the first deals — with each manager: the deals opened, how they were qualified, the objections heard, the demos given and where reps needed help
• Check quotes and discounts against the rules — the first quotes for the right products, prices and terms, and every discount approved by the right person
• Send field feedback to product marketing — objections not in the playbook, missing collateral, competitor moves and product gaps, with the deals they came from
• Update the playbook and close the readiness run — the playbook, battlecards and FAQ updated from what the team learned, and the lessons recorded for the next change