This document discusses the importance of planning for sales management. It states that planning involves determining goals, current status, timelines, and actions needed to reach targets. As a planner, the sales manager must consider the organization's needs like products, sales targets, budgets and the customer's needs like target markets, decision makers, and timelines. The sales manager will then plan the sales organization structure, recruitment and training of sales executives, their compensation plans, and use of sales force automation to track key metrics. Overall, the document emphasizes that planning is critical for sales management to offset uncertainties and have a clear path to achieve objectives.