S.M.A.R.T.E.R selling:7 Steps in becoming a high-performing salesperson in 2016 and beyond
As we begin 2016, many of us including salespeople are brimming with resolutions and good intentions. For majority of salespeople, their objective or goal for the year is to sell products and services, and earn as much commission or bonuses as possible.
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Typically, salespeople would create SMART objectives to achieve their desired income. In this article, however, we will be discussing a SMARTER way of selling to ensure that the desired incomes of salespeople are achieved sustainably.
Here are the seven steps in becoming a high-performing salesperson in 2016 and beyond:
Specific
As a salesperson, you must be specific when defining your goals and about what you want to achieve – if they are general, you are less likely to get to your final destination. Specific goals result in specific, focused actions whereas in contrast, vague goals result in vague actions.
Ad hoc ways of doing things lead to random results. “Specific” therefore means setting goals with numbers ad deadlines linked to them. For instance, ‘I want to increase my sales this year’ is not specific; rather choose real numbers that you can work towards. An example of a specific goal will be: By the end of 12 months, I would have sold GH¢5,000,000 worth of product “X” to both existing and new customers. Based on that my quarterly sales target is GH¢1,250,000. Quoting from Zig Ziglar, “You can’t hit a target you can’t see.”
Metrics
It is a method of measuring something, or the results obtained from this. In simple terms, metrics helps in measuring your progress against what you want to accomplish in the year. From the above ‘specific’, you can define a number of metrics as a guide in meeting the stated goal. Examples of metrics a salesperson should consider include:
Tracking the number of leads target per month, and how many of them you can qualify within a week.
Tracking the number of new prospects per month and how many of them you can close within three weeks, as well as how many you need to meet your target.
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Track the number of quarterly sales to achieve in order to meet the target.
Tracking the cumulative sales with a specific target per quarter.
Attainable/Action Plan
A salesperson should set attainable targets and as they say “not to shoot for the moon knowing very well that the moon is farther than they could ever reach”. As a salesperson, your goals must be challenging so that you’ll push yourself to achieve it, but not something that is unachievable. Such a goal will set you up for failure. On the other hand, salespeople should avoid setting targets which are so low that it fails to inspire them to success.
It is not enough to set attainable goals, but in addition every salesperson must document the actions that define how they plan to achieve their goal. It is therefore important to prioritise your actions so that more time and resources are allocated to the most important activities first. For example, you might want to prioritise established customers as your first priority because of the amount of repeat business you will get from them to grow. Your next priority may be prospects who have been referred to you by your established and happy customers.
Realistic
Salespeople should be realistic about the goals that they set which can be achieved. For instance setting a sales target of GH¢50m a year when you don’t have the resources to achieve that, and secondly, where your previous annual sales achieved averages GHS5m in the last two years. Just like any other assignment you set out to do, you want to make sure you’re capable of executing it. Having said that, salespeople are encouraged to set BIG GOALS in situations where they believe that with the right effort and right set of circumstances, their goals could be met. As Zig Ziglar reminds us, “If you can believe it, you can achieve it.”
Time-bound
I don’t know about you, but personally, deadlines are a big motivator for me, and the same may apply to many salespeople. As some said: “A date grounds your goal in reality, and you can look forward to when you will receive the reward that it provides.” For salespeople, each of their goals should have a concrete timeline that they can work towards. However, a word of advice, don't keep changing deadlines for your goals. Just keep to the original one laid down and rather do an assessment of why you were able to achieve or not achieve it.
Ethical
I read an article recently in GRAPHIC BUSINESS about the values of the vast majority of Business Leaders interviewed on the Springboard Radio Show’s Leadership Series hosted by Albert Ocran shared, which is integrity. Ethical issues such as integrity, honesty, truthfulness etc have become very important in selling. So my question is, are you going to achieve your goals for this year in an ethical or unethical way? Therefore in looking at their goals, salespeople must ask whether those goals sit comfortably within their moral values. Goals set for this year must meet very high ethical standard.
Resourced
Salespeople must understand that goals cannot be achieved without adequate resources committed. This may include sales managers, money, time, mentors, coaches, information sources or support from friends and colleagues. To an extent, to achieve some sales goals may require you to make some sacrifices, such as long days away from the family, staying out late to network, investing some of your leisure time to learn and perfect the art of selling.
Conclusion
S.M.A.R.T.E.R Goals help salespeople to stay motivated and committed. They will help you pursue your goals and to a prosperous New Year! Here’s to a transformation year with S.M.A.R.T.E.R goals to reach huge victory! — GB