Setting Sales Goals

ADVERTISEMENTS

Goals are one of fundamental things in life. They define what are you are doing and why you are doing it. They serve as a constant reminder of what the end destination in any journey. They act as a road map to show us how reach where we want to go.

So, why do we need goals? The answer is simple; to keep us on task. Goals give us a purpose and a focus that cannot be replaced by anything.

Goals are expectation and it means looking forward. Does it not make more sense to commit to writing what you are seeking? Take a moment to think about the everyday common writing grocery list. What happens to your expectation when you leave that written list at home or at the office? If you are like more people, you potentially waste a lot of time thinking about what was on the list. Upon your return, you realize that you have failed to secure everything you had previously thought of having in the future.

Using goals to help your situation as a sales person is vital to your success. All of the sales people I talk to who consider themselves successful rely on goals to help get them there. I hear time and time again that people that set goals for themselves reach a higher level. They find a way to stretch themselves and make it happen.

Setting sales goals are demanded by sales management and yet results reveal for fewer of those demands are ever realize. Some research suggests that anywhere from 35% to 60% of all targets are never achieved. Possibly one reason for this failure is because the goal is not personally held (think managed) by the salesperson.

As mentioned above sales professionals, though a lack of experience at setting appropriate sales objectives, set unrealistic goals, which in turn assure their failure long before they even start to execute their plans for achieving them. When they find they are not able to meet the objectives they’re set, they not only experience the frustration inherent in failing, but many of them also management. This failure discourages future goals setting and if given the choice, a sales professional will not likely choose to use the goal setting strategies ever again to achieve success. Even when goal setting is used successfully it is obvious that it is not the goal setting that is the motivator.

Years ago, there was the creation of smart goals. These criteria were supposed to further assist in the achievement of projected targets. By having the desired result, specific, measurable, attainable, realistically set high and target date (time driven) helps to close the gaps between today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, these criteria have been around now for many years and targets are still being missed. Possibly, the answer lies in the expectations of the sales person and sales management.

There are many things you should do to help get you in the right direction when setting goals. Here is a list of a few of those things: