There is a secret formula to exceed your sales goals consistently, but as you might expect, it takes work. The good news is that most people could do it if they chose to.
Set a High Goal and Truly Commit to It.
It starts with the goals themselves. What are you willing to commit to? Are you ready to commit to execution and drop your excuses? If not…stop reading. If so…let us go through the steps to success. Take a look at your assigned goal and set your target. Do not go for 100%. Stretch yourself to 110% or 120%. If you fall short, you will still hit or exceed your goal.
Focus on Improving Your Real Win Rate.
Most people and organizations have an approximate 25% win rate or less. That means a 75% LOSE rate. We all know the game of not reporting all your sales opportunities to reduce management’s expectations and make your win rate look higher. I am talking about focusing on your real win rate and lose rate. How many do you win or lose once you make a sales presentation or deliver a proposal? You will see tremendous revenue growth if you raise that even 5%.
Disqualify Bad Sales Opportunities Faster.
First—start letting go of some sales opportunities! I know this sounds extreme…but if you only have a 25% win rate, you are chasing too much-unqualified business. This can be painful, but it is important to your success. “When in doubt, throw it out” works very well…do not hang onto things with a low probability of winning. Work smarter and start disqualifying business.
Do Not Count on Others to Fill Your Sales Funnel.
The next step is critical…you have to fill the funnel. Do not rely on Marketing for leads—this must become a personal mission. Marketing may give you some qualified leads, but if you exceed your goal, you must fill your funnel. Start talking to contacts and engage people. Ask for referrals. Target people within your accounts to share ideas. The more you do this, the more opportunity you will create. To be safe, your funnel should have no less than 4x the value of your monthly or quarterly goal. So, gear up and let us hit the sales gym. Pick up the phone, start sending emails, ask for and follow up on referrals. If you follow through, the world can change for you in as little as one month.
Evaluate Your Revenue Pipeline Realistically.
Focus on the reality of what is in your pipeline. Be honest with yourself. Do not count on winning opportunities that have a probability of less than 70%. Evaluate each opportunity as clinically as you can. Use whatever sales intelligence tools you have. Saying you will do something and doing it are two different things, and planning is the biggest key to making your words become a reality. If there are opportunities you are committing to, be sure you invest the time to plan how you will win it.
To be a high performer, year after year:
- Set higher goals for your target.
- Commit to it and plan.
- Focus on improving your win rate.
- Evaluate and disqualify opportunities faster.
- Be honest with yourself.
- Refrain from counting on Marketing to fill your pipeline.
- Use your sales tools to evaluate your pipeline monthly realistically.
Top performers will be top performers—because they are willing to do what others are not—and enjoy what others cannot. The secret formula works, but it is not magic. Transparency, commitment, planning, and discipline are the secrets to your success. Create a list of the five most important metrics you want to improve. Examples could be win rate, new targeted client ideas per month, Reps to plan attainment or forecast accuracy. Once you’ve established the metrics, determine how much you would like to improve and when you would like to improve. A suggestion would be to discuss individually with your team “opinion leaders” to gain buy-in and support. You should answer the questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How to ensure a complete plan for each metric.
Personal Challenge: Review your performance to date and evaluate your win rate. Are you chasing unqualified business? Need help to fill the funnel with new opportunities? Trying to close business that contains obstacles you could have prevented? Narrow down the root cause of why your win rate is not where you want it to be, and pick two things to improve and get started.
