15 Iron-Clad Ways To Achieve Sales Goals Faster

The sales process is becoming more complex. Only 53% of sales professionals are meeting their quota, which means that – you guessed it, 47% aren’t.

There are a lot of variables that go into achieving sales goals, I want to address a few of them. The few that YOU are in complete control of. Before we jump into things, I wanna go over a few important key details in regards to setting goals, SMART goals, and the whole shebang.

Reviewing and Setting Achievable Sales Goals

Every Morning, Take Time to Review Your Sales Goals

Out loud, state your big picture goal (yes, seriously). Next, review your day-to-day actions and review your weekly plan. Every day, take time to review how the day went and plan your activities for the next day.

Establish Goals and Actions for The Next Week by Reviewing the Week on Friday or Saturday

It’s too easy to landline into tasks that do not further your goals once you enter the next week. Small fires need to be put out every day. Prepare for the coming week at the end of the week, and you’ll be prepared to tackle the most impactful tasks on Monday.

Share Your Goals Regularly with A Goals Partner

You should explicitly work with your goals partner each week to ensure that you’re on top of your goals, remaining committed, and pushing yourself. This person can be a peer, a mentor, a coach, or a friend.

I used to speak to Jonathan. Discuss any obstacles or potholes that may be preventing you from reaching your goals, milestones, and progress so that you can get past them.

Examples of Achievable Sales Goals And Targets

Increasing Your Monthly or Annual Revenue

As an example of a fundamental sales goal, revenue targets should be a primary objective for every company. Revenue growth targets can be set monthly, annually, or both. It may also be helpful to break up your team’s overall revenue sales goal into individual sales goals for each of your reps, especially if your team has a comprehensive range of experience.

If you have a long sales cycle, it might be best to focus on annual revenue targets. If you have a shorter sales cycle, such as with many consumer-based products, then monthly targets may work better.

Number of New Customers or Clients

A second common goal is to focus on the number of new customers or clients that your team brings in over a certain period.

Like revenue targets, the time frame for new customer acquisition goals can vary depending on your business. If you’re in a service-based industry with long-term contracts, then an annual target might make more sense. For businesses with shorter sales cycles, such as B2C, monthly or quarterly targets may be best.

Reducing Customer Churn

Maintaining your customers is essential for your business’s survival, and if your company’s sales team is also handling account management, as is so often the case nowadays, then reducing churn is another top goal.

A customer’s churn rate is the percentage of customers who abandon your business during a period of time. For instance, a typical sales goal might be to reduce customer churn to 5-10% for the quarter, or year.

Boost Customer Lifetime Value

You should upsell (help your customers upgrade their current deal) and cross-sell (encourage them to invest in another complementary product or service) if your team is targeting a percentage increase in lifetime value. Make sure that reps have access to a sufficient amount of time to interact with existing customers – by sending emails with upgrade information and setting up calls – to determine whether upgrading would be beneficial for them.

If some of this terminology is foreign to you, don’t worry – it’s really simple. If you sold cars, what other services/products can you sell to your customers that would be beneficial?

Wash and Wax?

Tire Rotation?

Detailing?

These are all services that you can upsell and cross-sell to customers who have already purchased a car from you. By doing so, you’re not only providing them with additional services that they may need, but you’re also increasing the customer lifetime value, or CLV.

How Do You Set Goals and Objectives?

Some people struggle to stick to goals since they don’t differentiate between goals and casual, everyday self-improvement efforts. Even though you decide to run every day, that doesn’t mean that’s what you’re trying to accomplish. Let’s talk about what goal setting is.

Identifying a goal is the first step in setting an objective, skill, or project you want to accomplish. Afterward, you work to achieve that goal by devising a plan. 

Let’s consider the steps mentioned below for a better understanding:

Think About the Results You Want to See

Look closely at what you want to accomplish, and then ask yourself these questions before you set a target: 

• Are these things that you truly want? 
• Is it significant enough to invest hours and effort into it? 

Time is often the deciding factor as to whether something is worth pursuing. You may find it hard to accomplish all of your goals if you have a long list to achieve at the same time. Determine which of your goals is most important to you at this time by answering the questions above, and then set your sights on a few of those. Prioritize.

Create SMART goals

Setting SMART goals is crucial to tracking your progress and knowing whether you achieved them. You have a better chance of achieving your goal if you are more specific. We’ll cover more on this a little below.

Write Your Goals Down

Writing down your goals will make them real and tangible instead of just a vague idea you have in your head. Make sure your goals are visible once you’ve written them down–put them on your mirror or near the screen of your computer, post team goals on the walls next to everyone’s desks, and include company goals in presentations internally. 

You will be reminded to keep working on your goals every day. I used to think it was ridiculous to do this – but it helps. The main reason I use a whiteboard nowadays is to keep my goals in front of me, visible, at all times.

Create an Action Plan

There are many people who set goals but do not devise an action plan to determine how exactly they will achieve them. You should include in your action plan the overall goal you wish to achieve as well as all the steps needed to achieve it.

Make your action plan as creative as possible. Remember how you used to do things in elementary school? Make a list of your goals using a crayon, marker, or colored pencil. According to Forbes, this method activates a different part of your brain and helps you stay focused on your goals. Sounds crazy, right? Give it a shot.

Create a Timeline

To help visualize roles, responsibilities, milestones, and deadlines involved in achieving your goal, use a timeline maker. It would be best if you stuck to these dates as closely as possible after you have set them. By setting a timeline, you will feel a sense of urgency which will motivate you to stick to your schedule and complete your tasks.

Take Action

It’s time to put your plans into action after you’ve planned everything. The work you put in wasn’t in vain. Every step you take should be another way that will bring you close to your goal.

Re-Evaluate and Assess Your Progress

In order to achieve your goal, you need to keep your motor running hot. Developing a weekly evaluation could include checking your schedule and evaluating your progress.

By knowing how close you are to the end, you’ll be a lot more inclined to push even harder to cross the finish line. If not, you’ll at least be able to make adjustments.

What Are Smart Sale Goals?

SMART goals are ones that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

When you set a goal, ask yourself these questions to ensure that it meets the criteria:

• Specific: Is your goal defined and clear? When you achieve your goal, what will it look like?
• Measurable: Can you track and measure your progress?
• Attainable: Can you achieve your goal with the resources you have?
• Relevant: Is your goal aligned with your company’s mission and vision?
• Time-Based: Do you have a deadline for achieving your goal?

By setting SMART goals, you will be able to track your progress and ensure that you are on track to achieving your goal. Let’s get a bit more in-depth…

Specific

Make sure you explain how you will increase your customers or increase your sales revenue, not just say you want to do it. Using a consultative sales approach, for example, we will increase the revenue of our core product. OR, you will aim for 17 new clients this quarter. (Specific!)

Measurable

You need to know the exact number you wish to achieve (e.g., $1M increase in revenue) in order to benchmark your performance, and you need the right tools and software in order to track your progress (e.g., new deals closed, repeat purchases, and customer churn).

Personally, I used Google Sheets when I was working in sales, and it worked perfectly well for me.

Achievable

It is important not to set objectives that are impossible to accomplish while setting stretch goals for yourself and your employees. You shouldn’t set a goal of bringing in $5M if you only made $200,000 last year.

Learning how to set achievable, but challenging, goals is an important skill for any sales manager or salesperson.

Realistic

Your sales goals need to match your current sales strategy and current situation. As long as your business has never done social media selling and your customers aren’t interested in Instagram, or LinkedIn, it makes no sense to set a goal to acquire 100 new clients using those channels. Every goal must be contextual.

Time-Based

Make sure your sales goals have a finish line when you set them. In the alternative, you may find yourself plodding along for years without seeing much improvement. It’s easiest to set sales goals based on quarterly and yearly dates since they coincide with the fiscal start and end dates for most businesses. I set goals weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly.

15 Ways to Achieve Your Goals Faster

In life, achieving any goal does not simply mean setting clearly defined ones and wishing for them. Successful achievement of any goal requires deploying the appropriate strategies. In the end, no matter how badly you want something or how you think you want it, things won’t work out if you don’t do it properly.   

There are the following 15 ways to achieve your goals faster:

Set SMARTER goals

Those who are serious about achieving their goals need to understand how important the SMARTER method is. The acronym SMARTER stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed, evaluated, and reassessing goals. This is basically what we discussed above.

You need to be very specific about a SMARTER goal in order to set one. Ensure that the goal is measurable and attainable by detailing it to the finest detail. Lofty long-term goals are fine, but SMARTER ones should be attainable and slightly out of reach.

Create a Plan of Action

The best way to achieve any goal is by planning. But many of us do not make detailed plans to achieve our goals.

If someone wants to achieve their dreams, they must create an action plan, and they must be willing to take action on a daily basis, without fail, in order to attain their goals. Plan out your goals and do everything you can to achieve them, day and night, until you achieve them.

Eliminate Bad Habits

Unfortunately, we can be held back by bad habits. I had a terrible drinking problem and I’ll be the first person to say it. However, as a result of our bad habits, our dreams and hopes are stifled.

A person who desires to achieve anything worthwhile knows that they need to eliminate the bad habits that hinder them.

Instill Self-Discipline

We are able to achieve our goals on cruise control when we maintain self-discipline. Those who are disciplined can accomplish anything.

People who lack self-discipline may start to find any menial task too difficult to accomplish.

Mitigate Your Distractions

Distractions come in all shapes and sizes. It could be the television, your phone, or that person you’ve been dating who isn’t good for you.

The best way to achieve any goal is by identifying and mitigating the distractions in your life. Doing so will allow you to focus more on what’s important, which is achieving your goals.

Leverage Daily Goal Setting

Staying on track to your long-term goals that are years and years away is possible by setting small daily goals. While we’re struggling to balance our day-to-day responsibilities and stay on top of those big goals, it’s easy to lose sight of them.

However, those daily goals can be more easily followed and stayed focused on. As I said, I like to to set weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. I know the big picture, and I know what I need to do, day-to-day, to get there.

Avoid Procrastination

Comfort is the devil when it comes to success. Procrastination will prevent you from taking action on your goals because it’s easier to stay in your comfort zones. And I know – sometimes it feels so damn good to lay in bed with Netflix on.

It takes a strong person with willpower to take action on their goals, especially when they don’t feel like it. However, those who are able to do so are usually the ones who end up achieving their goals.

Manage Your Time Better

A person who is good at managing time will be able to achieve their loftiest goals – despite immense talent. Time management is a skill that few people have, and those who do usually find themselves successful.

Because time management is a skill, it can be learned. And once you know how to manage your time better, you’ll find that you’re able to get so much more done in a day than you ever thought possible.

Chase the Frog

Tackle the most important items on your to-do list, those things that would provide the most significant benefit to your long-term goals. That was Mark Twain’s advice on eating a frog in the morning, by the way. If there are two frogs, eat the bigger one first. It is also called our MIT, or the most important task of the day.

The Pareto Principle

Known also as the 80/20 rule, Pareto Principle indicates that 80 percent of results are achieved by putting forth only 20 percent of our efforts. It means you should focus on scaling up the small actions that are delivering the best results. In order to implement this strategy, you must first determine which measures are generating the majority of your returns. Once you do that, it is only a matter of scaling up.

For me, it meant prospecting a specific group of people more than others.

Welcome Failure

The best path to success in any endeavor is by far by failing. This might seem odd to some, but failure is the surest way to succeed. Failing, and failing fast is the surest way to find success. Because you’ve figured out what DOESN’T work.

In order to fail fast, you have to take action and put yourself out there. The more you do, the more likely you are to fail – but also the more likely you are to succeed.

Success is a result of taking massive action and failing until you find what works. The key is to never give up.

Find Daily Doses of Inspiration

Look at the people around you and find inspiration in their actions. Find people who have achieved what you want to achieve, and study them. See how they did it. Read their story.

You can also find inspiration from books, movies, or anything that gets you excited about achieving your goals.

Find a Mentor

An effective mentor illuminates a pathway to success by shedding light on it. Through the misty fog, they shine brightly under the stars and help us reach our goals. They know which way to travel in and how to navigate through treacherous waters to ensure their survival.

Track Your Progress

  Tracking your progress is vital to achieving anything worthwhile. Tracking your progress allows you to assess and adjust your progress toward reaching your goals. By not following, you’ll never know where you are, what you’ve accomplished, or how much is left.

Welcome Criticism

It’s not uncommon for people to criticize others, especially when they see them succeed. You are attacked by those who do their best to take you down, and when you fail, they point out that you should never have attempted this lofty goal in the first place. That criticism should be welcomed. It should not be ignored. This criticism will act as fuel for your way to success.

What to Do if Sale Goals Are Not Met?

So, let’s say you are doing all of this and working harder than ever, but your sales goals are still not met. What do you do?

The first thing to do is take a step back and assess the situation. There are a few questions you should ask yourself:

• What could I have done differently?
• What went well?
• What didn’t go well?
• What can I change for next time?
• What did I learn from this experience?

After that, you can start to dig a bit deeper. We’ll cover that below.

Find the Root Cause of The Problem

Losing a deal can make you want to shake your head and walk away. As a result, you miss out on a rare opportunity to learn from your mistakes and improve. Losing a deal can provide insight, even if you screwed up.

It can be uncomfortable to undergo this discovery process, as you must correspond with a company that just rejected you as a client. Just act as if you had won the deal. Take notes from the interaction to improve your sales performance in the future.

Make sure your team is aware of the importance of this information and that it will help them develop an effective sales plan. If they lose a deal or miss a sales target, make sure they know that information sharing is a part of their workflow and process.

Run a Deal Retrospective

It’s time to conduct a retrospective once you have determined the cause (or at least tried to).

It’s not a good idea to dwell on the fact that you lost, but letting your team know that you’re open to constructive criticism will show that you’re dedicated to making things better.

A retrospective is a meeting where you discuss what went well, what didn’t go well, and how things could have been done better. This is an important step in the process because it allows everyone to understand the situation and provides insight on how to improve.

The key to an effective retrospective is to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there is no finger-pointing. It’s important to create a safe environment where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.

By understanding the flow and any gaps in the sales process or pipeline, you will be able to monitor other deals more closely.

Ask Questions and Offer Support

Don’t be afraid to ask your team for help. They are the ones who have been through the experience and have the knowledge to help you improve.

If you’re still not sure what went wrong, schedule a meeting with your team to go over the details of the deal.

This is an opportunity to learn from your team and improve your sales process. If you’re not sure what to do, ask for help. There are no stupid questions when it comes to learning from your mistakes.

Conclusion

There’s no sugarcoating it, missing out on your goals sucks. But, if you take the time to understand what went wrong and put in the effort to improve, you will come out stronger in the end. By learning from your mistakes, you will be able to close more deals and absolutely crush your sales goals.