"Other than improving what I say, when I say it etc, what else can I do to improve my chances of hitting my sales quota?"
Answer:
Here are a few things that have helped me personally:
1) Have your quota number where you can constantly see it during work hours.
My two favorite places are a white board in my office. I actually have a section in the top right corner of the white board marked off with the sales number I need / want to hit along with the deals that were closed that month underneath it. And if you use a CRM like SalesForce, you can add a dashboard that has a gauge with a needle that moves from left to right (with left being ZERO and right being your target number) I LOVE the dashboard as it constantly gives me a visual of what I need to focus on… doing the proper steps necessary of hitting that number! I cannot tell you how important it is to constantly have a visual add that keeps you focused on why you are working each day. Salespeople tend to have very short attention spans and we are famous at times for doing non-productive activities (but doing our best to look busy while doing them) Always seeing your number will help you focus on the task at hand.
2) The Countdown!
Having your target sales number highly visible is a great tool to help you stay focused but sometimes it could look like a big mountain to climb and zap some of your motivation... So to keep engines running high, right next to my monthly sales goal number, I have a countdown number. Every time a new deal is closed/won, I subtract it so the number gets smaller with each new deal. As the riddle goes “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time! But seeing your total number and watching your new number get smaller with each new deal, not only do you stay focused, but you want to go hunt that next deal to make the number even smaller. If you have a Dashboard in your CRM, you’ll want it set up with three columns… One for the Gauge, one for the Number to go (Countdown) and a third for…
3) The HOT LIST
This is where you keep your hot pipeline deals that are supposed to close during the month (I’ll even put a date of the next follow-up call next to the Prospect’s Name on the white board) this is an excellent tool because you can at a glance look at it and if its light, you know you’ve got some work to do and you know exactly where to start!
When all three of these simple methods are put to use, it can be a great advantage in helping you hit your sales numbers.
Sometimes it really is just the little things that give you that competitive edge needed to push you across the finish line.
Michael Pedone
CSS: Chief Sales Scientist
SalesBuzz.com (A 2011
Sales Training Company Watch List Award Winner!)
888-264-0562 ext. 1
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