Setting Goals to Create Sales Success

It's that time of year again. With a few weeks left of 2015, I hope you've given 2016 careful thought and examination. It's time to figure out what's worked, what hasn't and create goals to achieve greater results in the new year. When a plane takes off, the pilot knows all sorts of specifications so the destination can be reached. The exact coordinates of the destination, the amount of time it will take to get there, and other details are confirmed before takeoff to ensure the safe and timely arrival of the flight. A similar process is required for successful goal setting. You must set goals that are detailed, time specific and achievable in your mind in order to create success. ← Click To Tweet The following are example goals that are more likely to generate positive results: - “Increase written and oral communication skills by attending 5 seminars or workshops by December 31st, 2015.” - “Double next month’s sales results by prospecting for an extra hour each day.” - “Make 20 new professional connections before December 31st, 2015 by attending 10 networking events or gatherings by the end of the year.” Notice how each goal has a well-defined result, a time frame and a general “plan of action” to achieve it. Not only can these goals be easily measured and executed, but they are reasonably realistic while still maintaining a respectable “reward” for putting in the work. Let’s compare these with the types of goals that most sales leader set:

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Are You Tracking Yourself?

If you’re doing research about your industry, your market and your competition...well done! Successful salespeople always make moves based on facts, not assumptions. However, if you’re not tracking yourself on a regular basis, you may be omitting your most important pieces of data. ← Click To Tweet When it comes to prospecting, it’s important to set a goal. But, you must also track your progress towards achieving that goal. If you’re not collecting your own prospecting data, you risk falling behind and reaching a point in the year where you can no longer recover for lost time. That's why I strongly suggest measuring the success of your prospecting activities each month. The objective is to ensure that your efforts add enough prospects to the top end of your sales funnels so you can achieve your sales goals. After reviewing your progress, take one of the two following steps:

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