Successful Startup 101 Magazine - Volume 2, Issue 1

  You know, everyone wants to achieve their goals, and everyone expects that they will.

  But let’s be honest here: Typically about 50 % of salespeople fail to meet their sales quota. And as for you entrepreneurs, I’d suspect that an equal percentage aren’t bringing in the revenue you’d like.

  So why do we so often fall short of reaching our sales goals and what can we do to change this?

  Know Your "Why"

  Knowing your “why” keeps you going during tough times. It’s essential to have a purpose that drives you forward – one that’s beyond an assigned quota or some revenue goal that you’d like to meet.

  Map Out Your "Hows"

  After clarifying your “whys” it’s time to map out your “hows". For most people, that’s the missing link.

  For example, say that one of your goals this year is to land Primo as a client. So what’s it going to take? If it’s a bigger company, you need to figure out your entry point. Which business unit or functional area (like marketing or HR) will you go after first?

  Then, you need to identify the decision makers. That means you’ll need to pop over to LinkedIn to do some research. You’ll need to learn about the company’s direction, their challenges, and their issues.

  After that you’ll have to put together an account entry strategy, comprised of 8-10 different “touches”.

  You’ll have to figure out how to pique their curiosity and position yourself as a credible resource to land a meeting. Then, you’ll have to determine the most effective way to lead that conversation so it advances to the next logical step.

  In short, to know how to achieve your goals, you need to outline, to the best of your ability, specifically which actions you need to take to accomplish those goals. As Rick Page always said – and wrote, “Hope is not a strategy.”

  It’s time to put that plan together. Do it now. Don’t leave those goals floating around in your head. Figure out what steps you need to achieve them. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the difference it makes.

  A quick P.S.

  In the next video in the sales goal series, we’ll be looking at the best kind of goals of all. Stay tuned. (Here's the first video in case you missed it: No One Talks About This Key Factor in Sales Goal Achievement.)

  About the Author

  Jill Konrath is an internationally recognized sales expert, keynote speaker and author of three bestselling books: Agile Selling, Selling to Big Companies and SNAP Selling. To accelerate your sales, check out all the free resources on her website: https://www.jillkonrath.com/sales-resources  

  * This post originally appeared on Jill Konrath’s website and is republished here with permission.