Having a sales goal is such an easy concept, and certainly a primary driver in how we execute our jobs. Yet, this is a type of struggle that seems to be rooted in disfunction and leads to failure. Without a good goal, it is difficult to have a good plan. Without a good plan, well, best of luck to you. When it comes to our personal physical fitness, there are a variety of goals we may have. Increased muscle mass, stamina, focusing on core, etc, but one of the primary numerical drivers is almost certain to be your weight. It is the first key metric we use to evaluate the effectiveness of our fitness plan. The same is true in sales. Maybe we want to become better closers, or improve our prospecting while achieving more client referrals. Like our weight, the key metric we pay the most attention to (and rightfully so) is sales. Setting a weight goal is easy. It is your body and your time, so unless you are under a doctor’s advice, your goal is your business and that’s that. You decide on a plan to help you reach your fitness goal and it’s up to you alone to make it happen. Sales goals, on the other hand, are a much different animal because it may no longer be just up to you. You may be asked for your goal or you may have one inflicted upon you. Are these goals based on your input, past performance, overall corporate goals, and so forth? Setting a simple sales goal can suddenly get messy. The result? Goals are ignored, not achieved, resented, and rendered useless. Back to the same old ineffective ways we go. Setting unattainable goals will rarely motivate others to work harder. Most people just aren’t wired that way, even if you are. Good goal setting should always be a dialogue between the salesperson and the supervisor using past performance results and growth goals. If someone weighs 230 lbs today and has maintained that weight over a 3 year period and you insist that they lose 50lbs in 6 months, even though it is possible, it is highly unlikely. Realistic and achievable goals have a secondary value. The more we become accustomed to achieving small victories (our goals) the more likely we are conditioning ourselves to achieve large victories (our lofty goals). If you have a goal of losing 10 lbs and we achieve it, how likely are you to achieve a new goal of 15 lbs? Much greater because now your mind and body has a success map wired inside of you to refer to. So, when we are building our sales muscles to achieve good sales goals, we too need a success map based on past victories to show us how we can do it not only again, but even better the next time. Your fitness plan (sales strategy) grows from your success map of previous victories. What worked well that I can repeat? What did not work so well? What do I need to learn? What new methods can I try? Your plan keeps you focused and engaged when you follow it both in terms of your sales performance and physical fitness. Much like the ever-important sales goals, personal sales plans seem to escape our sales people. And we wonder why they don’t meet our expectations. Read more about Scorecard’s unique One Page Sales Plan and follow this link to get started with your sales “fitness” plan. Most people don’t reach their weight goals without following some kind of diet and exercise plan. Why should it be any different in sales? Once you come up with your sales goal and sales ‘fitness’ plan, we’ll talk about hitting the sales gym and the different exercises we can start to do to build our sales muscles.
