As I write this, it’s early February… and even though it’s only been a little more than a month since ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ went into effect, 90% of them have already been busted! Why is that?
Even when the resolution uses the familiar SMART goal-setting structure, it still fails. For example, “I will lose 20 pounds in 2023.” Properly formed, relevant, achievable, etc. Seems straightforward, so why does it not drive a successful outcome? Simple… because you can’t just ‘lose weight.’ It doesn’t just ‘fall off’ (as much as we would like it to!).
To lose weight, we have to DO STUFF (these are the ‘activity goals’)… For example, go to the gym 3X/week, walk in the neighborhood 2X/week, stop eating sweets, etc. If we set and achieve those activity goals, then we will make progress toward achieving that ultimate weight loss goal.
Well, guess what? It’s no different with your sales goals. So, think about them the same way… Goal: “I will grow revenue by 20% in 2023.” Great… that’s a solid, SMART sales goal. Now what? Now, you have to detail the activity goals that will help achieve that.
This is where you get into those things that you will have to do every day/every week/every month. Some examples might be:
- Make two cold calls every day
- Reach out to three current clients every day
- Send two cold emails each day
- Invite 10 new people to connect on LinkedIn each week
- Reach out to one former or lapsed client every week to try to rekindle a relationship
- Post relevant information on my LinkedIn profile 3X/week
- Send out a monthly e-newsletter to our database
- Write one blog post each month to showcase our subject matter expertise
- And so on
Most of you reading this article are ‘seller-doers’… meaning that you only have a limited amount of your time to devote to selling. But that doesn’t absolve you of the need – and responsibility – to set both sales and activity goals. Even if you have only a few hours each week available for selling… what level of revenue do you want to reach and what activities can you commit to in helping you to achieve it? Remember… what you do, how often you do them and how well you do them are entirely in your control.
So, even though 2023 has already started, it’s not too late to relook, reset, and recommit to your sales goals for the year. Just make sure you don’t forget to include those activity goals. That is… doin’ stuff!
Good luck and good selling!