What do you do when you miss your sales target?
Whether it’s an annual, quarterly, or monthly goal, missing a plan is a reality every salesperson faces at some point. In this post, I’m going to share 9 key actions you can take to recover from missed sales targets and set yourself up for success in the future.
1. Conduct a Year-End Sales Review
The first step after missing your sales target is to conduct a year-end sales review. Whether you missed a quarterly or annual goal, it’s essential to evaluate where things went wrong. Ask yourself:
- What customers did I successfully close?
- Which deals slipped through the cracks?
- Did I make enough sales calls?
- Were there specific periods of the year when my performance improved? Why?
Use this review to identify areas where you can improve and leverage existing customers that offer the greatest upsell potential.
2. Break Down Your Annual Sales Goals into Manageable Pieces
Large goals can feel overwhelming, but when broken down into smaller, manageable pieces, they become more attainable. For example:
- How many sales calls do you need to make?
- How many conversations or emails should you send?
Tip: Focus on one key metric. For me, it’s having five conversations a day—this is my metric for success. If I consistently hit that target, my business will thrive.
3. Enhance Your Lead Qualification Process
Take time to refine your lead qualification process by focusing on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). By targeting the right leads, you can spend more time with fewer prospects.
Follow up faster on both inbound and outbound leads to prevent them from slipping through the cracks.
Read What Is Your Customer’s Preferred Method of Communication
4. Evaluate Pipeline Management and Clean Up Your Pipeline
A cluttered sales pipeline can prevent you from hitting your targets. Take a critical look at your pipeline and ask yourself:
- Are you holding onto deals just to appease your manager?
- Are you keeping “big logo” accounts just to look good, even though they’re unlikely to convert?
Pipeline management is about having the right mix of opportunities. Don’t waste time with deals that won’t bring results.
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5. Improve Your Sales Follow-Up Strategy
Improving your follow-up skills is one of the most impactful ways to increase your close ratio. Salespeople who have a difficult time closing deals generally have a hard time following up and following through.
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6. Leverage Your CRM to Stay on Track
Ask yourself: Is your CRM open right now? If it’s not, you’re missing out on a valuable tool that helps you stay organized and focused on closing deals.
This is a really simple measurement that I have for finding out whether or not someone is really dialed in and wanting to improve their sales success. Is their CRM open?
There’s no such thing as a perfect CRM. However, it provides a repository for you to keep information, keep you on track and allow you to understand what you need to do.
7. Set Clear Sales Milestones and Accountability
To get back on track, you need to set clear sales milestones. These are the smaller, daily or weekly tasks that help you progress toward your bigger goals. For example:
- “I’ll make 5 calls today.”
- “By the end of the week, I will follow up with 10 leads.”
Milestones make your goals feel less overwhelming and give you clear benchmarks to measure progress.
It’s also important to share your milestones with others to hold yourself accountable. Sales is not a solo activity. Sales is a team sport!
8. Identify Potential Setbacks and Plan for Obstacles
When things don’t go according to plan, it’s crucial to identify potential setbacks. Look at the past year and ask yourself:
- Where did things go wrong?
- What could potentially derail my progress going forward?
If there’s a large deal in your pipeline that requires significant outside resources (from either your company or the customer), think about the potential setbacks.
- How will you navigate around them?
9. Maintain a Positive and Resilient Mindset
Finally, one of the most important steps in recovering from a missed sales target is to maintain a positive mindset. It’s easy to get discouraged, but a resilient attitude will help you bounce back stronger.
I have an annual planning process that I want to share with you. Send me an email to ma**@th************.com and I’ll show you how this annual plan can work for you.
How Balanced Is Your Sales Pipeline?
Mark dissects elements we often overlook:
- opportunity size
- closure timing
- and complexity.
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Copyright 2024, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
