Setting up Targets
What’s good to ask for? 10 cold calls each day? 20 introduction emails every day? 3 meetings per week? 5 orders pr. month? There are many possibilities, and one fact is for sure;
People will try to give you, what you are asking for!
Therefore it’s crucial, that you actually want, what you ask for – do you really want 10 cold calls every day, or do you want a turnover of X Euros based on valuable products and services for your customers? The last one – right?
Then the target “10 cold calls each day” may be dangerous. If you measure salespeople’s performance by the number of cold calls, they might choose not to follow up on leads talked with earlier. The seeds planted will not be taken care of, and therefore most likely never grow into orders.
The first time you meet another person, it will only be an introduction. Building up relationships takes time. To place an order you need to be confident, that you will get more value, than the money paid – you need to trust, that the sales consultant you discuss your business with understands how to expand it further. Usually you will not reach that stage within your first telephone conversation. Therefore the sales team need to stay in contact with all seeds planted, and they need to understand how they can make them grow.
Therefore I suggest the everyday targets to include:
- Help your customers to succeed
- Expand further your customers' ideas
It still makes sense to calculate how many cold calls, follow ups and meetings you need to make, to reach the turnover agreed. Use your calculation for management of, how many salespeople and months you need – not to motivate your sales team. Base the calculation on historic hit rate, new strategies and time needed according to the sales team.
Motivate your sales team by celebrating the successful stories, you want people to talk about.
Your team will try hard to give you, what you ask for – be careful, and set up the right targets – even though all of them may not be measurable.
About the blog and me
I love my colorful business life, and the people I share it with. This blog is about my life – I share experiences, thoughts, theories and stories. Why? Because I am a sales enthusiast! Let me know what you think, so we can grow together. I will be happy to see you share my posts :)
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