Do you need an easier way to define, track and achieve sales goals?
The first process for creating a goal is to determine its time scale. Most are determined a quarter in advance. However, setting new sales goals on a monthly basis offers benefits that quarterly goals do not.
First, monthly sales goals allow significant time to judge whether you will achieve your goals. Otherwise, you can reject them (without losing another two months for the “goal setting” period to arrive).
Second, monthly goals are generally smaller and less intimidating than quarterly sales goals and can inspire more action.
Here are 5 tips on how to put this into practice:
Set sales goals in retrospect
Some months are slow in nature, like January, when most companies have trouble selling. At the same time, there are seasonal declines for several reasons.
Imagine that you want your team to increase the number of visits they make to new and potential leads to increase the company’s customer portfolio. To keep the sales team on track, the goal will need to focus only on how many leads each sales representative visits each month.
Focus on the future
Focus on the future by setting monthly sales goals. When defining, follow in the footsteps of companies like Coca-Cola, Mattel and AT&T, who saw how setting short-term goals diminished their long-term strategy and describe how their sales strategy and resulting numbers are linked in the long run
Finally, keep your monthly goals flexible, fluid and inclusive of qualitative states to promote your brand’s long-term strategy.
Create viable sales goals
When setting monthly sales goals, the important thing is to make them viable. Including numbers higher than achievable can be a sure way to leave your sales team discouraged and unmotivated, which can significantly reduce company morale.
If the goals are not realistic, there is a very high chance that they will not be achieved and this will demotivate the sales team, which will not be good in the long run.
Associate your sales goals with seasonal trends
Monthly sales targets should be set according to the time of year and your product.
For example, sales targets should be higher in November and December for retail products, as these are the highest months for buying gifts. For example, if you are selling watches (check out the Watch Trading Academy reviews to learn more), then you should be aware that watches sell more frequently during the festive season, as they are a great gift. This becomes even more relevant if your product is seasonal, which is hardly sold out of season.
Set goals based on effort, not outcome
Goals based on efforts, such as number of calls, number of connections or number of meetings, bring more motivation to sales representatives, because they know they are achievable and within reach, while results based goals, such as number of sales or amount of revenue usually depends on many variables, all of which are not controlled by your sales representative.
Once you know how to set and track your sales target in monthly format, check out 5 other tips to reach your sales goals now.
Make them visible
Put goals on a board in the office and online, so that the goal is present and the progress towards achieving it visible. Most people are visual learners and having something to look at is a great way to know what you’re looking for and how far you’ve come.
The simple act of writing things makes them real. After all, it is difficult to ignore notes in the bathroom mirror or on the computer screen every day.
Define KPIs to track the progress of the goal
When setting monthly sales goals, focus on specific performance criteria that you know will bring in the numbers and are easily measurable and achievable.
Try to divide them week by week or day by day. If none of these numbers make sense, the monthly goals will not inspire the team to make sales.
Choose metrics that are simple to track and interpret when you are sharing sales progress with your team and top management.
Conduct regular sales reviews
Once you’ve set your monthly goals, you need to track them effectively. By doing so, you will be able to modify these targets if circumstances change and, more importantly, you will know if it is realistic.
This insight will greatly assist your sales planning for the future and increase your chances of success. You’ll be able to analyze what lacks in your sales pitch and whether you need to polish your communication/negotiation skills. Consider negotiation training programmes that deliver powerful results with proven ROI; it can also benefit you personally.
Know your lead and sales cycles
Know who your lead is and how your sales cycles work so you can plan months in advance.
If, on average, it takes two weeks from the seller’s first visit to a lead conversion, and it takes another three months to feed and convert the average lead into a sale, planning for February on January 31 will not work.
Offer incentives to achieve sales goals
Think about establishing incentives that reward your employees for reaching individual goals, which will also be very important for achieving collective monthly or quarterly goals.
The incentive plan must include retention bonuses. Retention bonuses are great for the longevity of your business, as they help the sales team to focus on long-term relationships as opposed to quick gains.
Conclusion
As you can see, setting sales goals is just the beginning. You need to make a solid action plan to achieve these goals and learn how to adapt your sales approach to stay on track (or exceed) your goals.
But do you know if you’re on your way to reaching your sales goal at the end of the month? With our Sales KPI and Commission Tracker Template, you will be able to see your most important metrics, such as how many scheduled calls, outgoing emails and closed offers.
Download it right here.