It is important to know how to set realistic sales goals.
We all know that ‘oh so wonderful’ feeling when we close a sale. There is nothing else quite like it. It fills us with a sense of accomplishment and achievement which motivates us to sell even more.
If you have ever been in a situation where you were given unobtainable goals from a supervisor or sales manager, then you will know that there is nothing more demotivating than being unable to reach your goals or make your quota. This works the same whether these unobtainable goals were provided to you by someone else or you imposed them on yourself. You are left with a feeling of despair that leads to lack of morale and even lower sales figures across the board.
FACT: Unrealistic goals lead to less sales and lower revenue.
It is important to keep in mind that when you are setting your sales goals for the year that you don’t set your expectations too high. While you want to achieve maximum results you need to be realistic; this is the key to your overall success.
You want to put in place, a plan that will allow you to reach your projected goals at a steady pace without putting unnecessary strain on yourself and your sales team. This is important simply because success is a great motivator. If you start out with small, obtainable goals you will find that both yourself and your team (if you have one) will be more motivated to reach higher. On the other hand if you set unrealistic or unattainable goals you and your team will be less motivated and often reluctant to move forward.
SMART Goals
Here is a simple but SMART formula for setting realistic and attainable sales goals. This formula is referred to as SMART because it stands for:
Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely
You have probably heard of S.M.A.R.T goals before… and that is because it is a formula that works. This simple catchy, acronym has been around for many years and has helped many companies and business owners to come up with effective sales plans that are realistic. It helps you set sales goals so they can be achieved in a timely manner.
Here is a detailed breakdown –
SPECIFIC
Your goal needs to be spelled out precisely and you also need to have a reason (your WHY) behind your goal. This WHY can be some benefit or emotional attachment that will keep you focused. For example, a goal might be to earn R12,000 per month and get five quality new clients every month for the next 90 days.
It is important to use specific language that will leave no doubt as to what the goal is, why you want to achieve the goal and how you will get. If you are not able to describe your goal in detail, it will be very hard to meet it. Take a bit of time to get this part of the goal right – it is the cornerstone of your goal making success.
MEASURABLE
This is where a journal comes into play. It is a report card and a great method to measure what you want to accomplish and what you have actually accomplished. If you goal cannot be quantified, then it is not a full goal and you will not know when you have succeeded in achieving the goal. An example of a measurable goal would be “I want to make an additional R500 per week. I will accomplish this by running Facebook Adverts each week.”
ACTIONABLE/ATTAINABLE/ACHIEVABLE
The “A” in S.M.A.R.T can stand for different things such as Actionable, Attainable or Achievable. In order to achieve anything, you have to take action. So make your goals actionable; where you can do something small each day that will eventually result in accomplishing your goal.
Goals must also be achievable, or you will get frustrated and give up. Do not be over optimistic about the time it will take you to reach a goal and what actions you will need to take to get there. Ensure you also take into account the roles and responsibilities of other people in achieving your goal.
REALISTIC/RELEVANT
The “R” in S.M.A.R.T stands for Realistic and Relevant – both of which are important. If you want your goal to succeed you need to ensure it is realistic otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure; and this will affect your overall confidence, motivation and productivity. If you are currently making R500 a week and your goal is to increase that to R12,500 in 90 days – that is not realistic. However, you may be able to increase it by R300 if you are putting up a promotion or implementing a new marketing strategy. Once you achieve the goal of an additional R300 per week, you can set a new goal to increase your income by another R500 per week – and so on.
Your goal must also be relevant to your life’s vision and match your values. There is no point in making or achieving anything that has no relevance to your long-term life goals. You should instead use your time to reach goals that will get you one step closer to actually reaching your long term life goals. So, always ask yourself – “Will this goal bring me closer or in alignment with one or more of my life goals?”
TIME BOUND / TIMELY / TRACKABLE
The “T” in S.M.A.R.T stands for time-bound, timely and trackable. All of these are important parts of the goal setting process. If you do not set a time limit you cannot track where you are in relation to the end goal; thus you will not know if you are achieving anything. It will be impossible to quantify or know when you have actually achieved a goal. This will make you feel like you are not achieving anything. If you set your date target too soon, it will be unattainable and you will feel stressed about it; if you set your date target too far, you will put if off and not focus on it immediately; continually postponing a goal can become a habit and before you know it, your target date will be past and you would not have achieved your goal.
Now you have the framework for creating S.M.A.R.T. goal.
Re-Evaluate and Adjust
You must re-evaluate your goals. Amend the goals that are unrealistic; bring them more in line with what can be achieved. If you notice some of your goals are too easy make them a little harder so you stretch yourself. This will get you achieving more. Never be afraid to re-evaluate and adjust where necessary. This way you will stay motivated and will achieve goals you never thought you could. It takes one well thought out step at a time. Goals set out those steps and keep you on track. Use them properly and you will succeed.
SUMMARY
- Specific means you need to set goals that are well-defined and focused.
- Measurable means you need to define specific criteria to enable you to measure your progress and know when you have achieved the Specific goal.
- Ationable/Attainable/Achievable describes the importance of setting realistic goals you can take active steps towards. If the goal is unattainable or does not include active steps you need to take, you will lose motivation.
- Realistic/Relevant means you need to choose realistic goals that matter to you, this will keep you motivated when you are faced with challenges.
- Timebound/Timely/Trackable means you need to give your Specific goal a target end date, this will help keep you focused.
- Re-evaluate and adjust where necessary!
It is important to be specific when it comes to what you want to accomplish. Setting realistic goals is the key to making your goals work for you. When creating your goals, take your time on each step of the S.M.A.R.T. formula; be realistic but also stretch yourself a little.
Don’t forget to include a solid plan for putting your S.M.A.R.T. goals into action; and ensure you measure them to see if they are being reached!
To help you work through and create your own S.M.A.R.T. goals you can download the quick guide and worksheet below.
Then read the post (CLICK HERE) on working backwards to help you determine the individual steps you should take to reach your goals.
S.M.A.R.T goal – create an outline for a months worth of Social Media content by 12 Jan 2019.