This article suggests a framework that establishes the essential pillars of playbook maintenance to ensure that your team always has access to relevant, actionable guidance while maintaining quality standards and measuring real impact on revenue outcomes.
Playbook Creation Standards
Set some Playbook Creation Standards:
Follow the best practices from How to create a Playbook
Create a checklist to properly target the playbook audience (e.g. remove customers from a playbooks for Sales, remove prospects for a playbook for CSMs, remove opt-outs from a playbook with an outreach action, etc)
Make sure all playbooks are actionable
Iterate with a few key users to perfect a playbook before sharing it with the whole org or a large team
Approval workflows before playbooks go live
Performance Monitoring
When?
Set Review Cadences:
Monthly tactical reviews for performance optimization
Quarterly strategic reviews for alignment with business goals
Annual comprehensive audits of all playbooks
Who?
In this review process, include representatives from Sales, Marketing, Sales Operations, and Customer Success
Define clear roles and responsibilities for playbook creation, updates, and maintenance
What?
Key Metrics to Track:
Playbook adoption rates across the team
Performance metrics (conversion rates, deal velocity, win rates)
Usage analytics (which playbooks are used most/least)
Sales Rep qualitative feedback
Identify top-performing playbooks for broader adoption
Flag underperforming playbooks for revision or retirement
Training and Adoption Strategy
Set up an onboarding process for new hires:
Formal training on how to use playbooks effectively
Also, set up a regular refresher training for everyone as playbooks evolve
Continuous Improvement
Feedback collection mechanisms for continuous improvement
Regular input sessions with sales reps
Win/loss analysis tied to playbook effectiveness
Change Management
Clear communication across teams / your org when playbooks are updated