How are you doing with your goal-setting process?
In the book I co-authored with Matthew Hudson, Advisor Selling, we discuss a quick way to get your quarterly goals in place.
Below is the quick process you can use:
Start each quarter by defining your goals for the quarter. Begin with the end in mind and work back (the end being what you want to buy or do this year).
Now that you know what you want, how much money (commissions, bonuses, etc.) will it take to get there?
Okay, now ask what you have to sell to get there? This can be number of accounts, total revenue with all accounts, etc. It will vary based on your compensation plan.
How many sales calls do you need to complete to get those sales? By now in your career, you should know your closing average almost precisely, as well as the average number of sales calls you need to close a sale.
How many phone calls, cold calls, direct mail letters, etc. will you have to make/do to get that number of sales calls?
For each of these metrics above, you now have a goal.
Goals only serve you well if there are several aligned or linked together to an end result.
The number one reason salespeople fail at reaching their goals is not that the number was too high—it’s because they only focused on the one number—total revenue—and had no plan to get there.
Along with these goals, be sure to set at one or two personal development goals designed to help you improve you professionally and personally.
Never allow yourself to not have a goal and plan to help you improve yourself.
For more insights on goal setting and strengthening your selling skills, check out Advisor Selling: The Art of Becoming a Trusted Advisor.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
