4 Steps to Achieve Your 2011 Sales Goals

Today and tomorrow we'll be featuring a great article from sales trainer Kendra Lee. She will be sharing easy steps you can take to achieve your 2011 sales goals - so let's get started!

The end of one year and beginning of a new one is a great opportunity to examine your successes from the previous year, determine what you want to replicate, what you want to change and then set some goals for the new one.

Because setting attainable sales goals can be a lot trickier, and more stressful, then people tend to think, I'd like to offer a step-by-step guide to help you set and reach your 2011 target.

1. Start with revenue. Some sellers, and particularly business owners who think in terms of profits, like to start with margins or other metrics when setting their sales objectives. But whether you're setting your own goals, or assigning them to a sales team, I encourage you to begin with revenue.

Customers buy based on revenue. They don't agree to pay you a certain profitability margin. If they knew your margin, they'd surely negotiate for deeper discounts!
Revenue makes sales objectives a lot more concrete for sellers. (Of course margin is a critical metric, but you need a revenue goal, too.)

2. Make it your own. There's no law that says you have to be satisfied selling at the revenue level your company needs, or the amount assigned to you. Find the figure that will allow you to reach your personal goals for the year and use it as your real quota goal. It might seem tougher at first, but it's also a lot more motivating!

3. Don't get overwhelmed. When you first see your quota or personal goal, it can seem like an enormous number, especially if it's significantly higher than last year.

Push those thoughts aside.

Concentrate on seeing the goal as a figure that will shrink as you move through your planning process.

4. Figure out how much you've identified already. Look at your sales pipeline. Examine what you already know, or have a strong suspicion, will close. Often you can see opportunities you anticipate will close through the first quarter. Depending what you sell, you may even have annual services contracts you can count on already. Subtract this number from your revenue goal.

Kendra Lee is a Prospect Attraction Specialist and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the SMB segment.