4 Simple Steps for Setting Sales Goals

Have you ever set a goal and then completely forgot about it?  We’ve all been there, but now things are about to change. I’ll be sharing four simple steps for setting sales goals.

Goal setting is such an important part of personal development that when I launched Sales365 last April, it was the central focus of the very first month of content for our Elite members.

What goals did you set to make it through the pandemic?

I set a goal of learning how to play the bass guitar.

What does it mean to learn? How will I know when I’ve achieved my goal? Does learning to play a couple songs from memory count? I soon realized I needed to be clearer about the outcome. To achieve my desired outcome, I changed my goal. I wanted to play with the band at church by the end of the year.

Up until the point when I clarified my goal, it was nothing more than just a vague dream. But when I added specifics, it became a reality. The same is true for sales goals.

5 Reasons Why Goals Matter

• It’s difficult to plan for an unknown destination. If you don’t have a clear goal, you can end up meandering around hoping that you’ll be successful. That’s not what top performers do.
• Goals focus you on what you really want. If you’re here reading this blog post I’m thinking you want more than your fair share. Goals inspire you to outperform others and as a result, achieve more than others are going to achieve.
• Goals keep you out of mediocre thinking. Most salespeople are willing to do the least they need to do just to get by, but the best of the best dream big, and they forget about any kind of mediocre thinking.
• Goals release your potential. They help you to achieve more than you thought you could by stretching your paradigm to an entirely new level.
• Goals allow you to track your progress. It’s not enough just to have a goal, you need to see how you are doing to head in the right direction. Remember, what doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done.

4 Steps to Plan Your Sales Goals

• Pick something that will cause you to rise to the challenge. Get out of your comfort zone here. You don’t want to go overboard, but you don’t want to undershoot it either. Think big, dream big, plan big.
• Pick something you will enjoy. It’s not just about how many sales that you’ll get, it’s about the behaviors that get you fired up along the way.
• Pick something that you can control. A sale is not a behavior. A sale is the result of the right behaviors and sales behaviors help you to achieve your goal.
• One of my personal favorites, pick a celebration. Determine in advance how you’re going to celebrate when you have accomplished your goals.

Wrapping Up

Goals matter and they matter most to top performers, that’s you. Remember, it’s almost impossible to hit a target you can’t see. Clarify your goals. Write them down on paper. Make them public by sharing them with your manager or sales team. Work your way backward from the outcome and devise a plan of necessary actions to get you there.

What is a specific goal that you have either personally or professionally?

Would you take a moment right now and head over to Sales365, sign up for FREE if you haven’t already, and in the search box, type in #ShareYourGoals.

Click on the post titled “4 Simple Steps for Setting Sales Goals”, and in the comments, let us know what your goal is and how you plan to achieve it after learning the four steps for successful goal planning.