Goal-Setting for Sales

Let's talk about goal-setting.

I'm a big believer/fan of establishing goals and then working to meet or exceed them. Before one week ends, I have specific sales activity goals for the next week and check my progress several times to ensure that they are achieved. Goals can be set in every aspect of our life, from weight to skills to behavior to relationships and on and on. However ...

Where should one set the bar, challengingly high or achievably reasonable? In other words, do you set goals that can be reached relatively easily and therefore ride the good feelings of success into activities that yield even more success? Or, do you challenge yourself to do more than you think you can in an effort to reach even greater success?

I offer you no definitive answer to those questions. I believe it is a personal choice.

Michelangelo got up off of his back while painting the Sistine Chapel long enough to chime in on this subject with the following quote:

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

Improper punctuation aside (could have been the paint fumes), the guy’s got a point. Why not shoot for the moon? Establish sales activity goals and then add, say, 25% to them. The upside? The "failure is not an option" crowd will put in the extra effort, hit the mark, and benefit from the added effort. The downside? Constantly coming up short on this seemingly unreasonable goal is demotivating and adversely affects future efforts.

The other choice is to set goals that are reasonable and achievable. This crowd believes success breeds success in the internal high-five that comes when you hit your numbers and becomes a positive factor in every aspect of your selling life. Therefore, find a number that you can hit regularly and then make it an added goal to not only achieve it, but exceed it.

There, completing this sales tip has caused me to achieve my content-creation goal for this week. What's next …?

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I've got a goal for you: Go to BillFarquharson.com, watch the 3-minute video on sales training, and then call me at (781) 934-7036 to discuss how I can help you achieve sales success.