💡 Intro
Here we are in the infamous Q1 where all B2B sales reps run around making calls and setting meetings, willing to reach all decision makers and exceed all quotas.
I’ve been in B2B sales since 2013. At the beginning I was just focusing on whatever target my manager would set, executing on tasks and hoping for the best. I would sell what I’d have to sell to anyone, but myself.
💠A change in perspective
Trying to reach targets others set is not necessarily the most empowering feeling. It is, however, necessary while getting accustomed to the sales game.
After years of operating like this, around 2017 I decided to get a little more intimate with my own goals.
This doesn’t mean I don’t aim to bring the revenue we decide on as a team, it just means I also run a separate revenue forecast. I make up my own story and spend time selling it to myself. In doing so I get more comfortable with the numbers and find it easier to actually reach them.
✅ 7 steps I use to set my own targets and make them happen
1. Adjust expectations by looking at previous performance
I look at what happened in the past to get an accurate depiction of my year to year improvement. This is the starting point for my forecast. It goes like this:
2017 to 2018, my sales revenue increased by 27%
2018 to 2019, I had a 16% increase (and more managerial duties which kept me out of actually selling)
2019 to 2020, the pandemics hit, team got smaller, turnover got to around 40% of its previous year value, and my sales decreased by 50%
2020 to 2021, had a 250% increase compared to 2020. However, I prefer to compare 2021 with 2019 to measure my improvement. 2020 was an exception and shall be treated as such. Therefore, 2019 to 2021, brought a 28% increase in sales.
Looking at the data I find it doable to reach for a 30% increase in the upcoming year and tana…here is my goal.
Now onto making it happen.
2. How close/far is the company target compared to my personal goal?
We sell 8 different type of services and 6 of those are my direct responsibility. Each project has its own target in terms of sales revenue, number of deals and average deal size.
The difference between my target for the sales revenue and the target set by manager, Radu, is around 10%, which is manageable both ways, meaning I’m pretty sure we would both be happy if we’d meet in the middle.
We agreed upon a rise in average deal size, as to reflect the improvements we will bring to our projects, like increases in reach, upgrading production and logistics and expanding on digital components.
Moving forward with this example I shall disclose just the names and number of deals for each of these projects:
| Project name | Deals |
|---|---|
| Chill Pack Office Spring Edition | 10 |
| Chill Pack Office Autumn Edition | 10 |
| Students’ Kit | 13 |
| Summer Chill Pack | 10 |
| Christmas Chill Pack | 10 |
My 30% increase will be built around this 53 deals through a higher average deal size than in 2021.
3. Cleaning pipes
The next step is to check and update the CRM. We use pipedrive.com. Man, do I hate logging stuff in the CRM. I think it’s every sales rep nightmare. But, hey, I can always make up another story and sell it to myself. Which I actually did. It goes like this:
There is magic in the process of keeping track of your every sales activity. You never forget a call, a mail, a meeting or what your client loves to have for lunch. You always know your next steps and can resume any client conversation, even if it happened 6 months ago. If you follow the rules you set in your CRM, results will always follow. Call it something cute and just be friends. Mine is Pipey (short from pipedrive)
Back to reality:
I check to see if there are any deals I closed last year which I forgot to log and add them carefully with their corresponding dates. I clean up all its pipelines to prep them for the many deals to come. Exciting!
4. Know your numbers
CRMs usually have dashboards where you can check your performance through numbers and graphs. The more consistency you have in adding all the data (deals, leads and activities) throughout the year and/or the quarter, the more accurate these numbers will be.
For instance, in 2021, i closed 62 deals out of 148 qualified leads. This roughly translates into 1 won deal out of 2 qualified leads.
If my goal for 2022 is to get 53 deals, as shown in the table from point 2 above, it means I need around 126 qualified leads. I like to have a safety net, especially since I also want an increase in average deal size, therefore I will aim for 160 qualified leads for the whole year.
5. Leads breakdown
I go back to the table and allocate the 160 leads per projects. It looks like this:
| Project name | Deals | Leads |
|---|---|---|
| Chill Pack Office Spring Edition | 10 | 30 |
| Chill Pack Office Autumn Edition | 10 | 30 |
| Students’ Kit | 13 | 40 |
| Summer Chill Pack | 10 | 30 |
| Christmas Chill Pack | 10 | 30 |
| Total | 53 | 160 |
6. Timeline
Now that I have a clear understanding of the effort I need to put in to reach my goals, I go a step further and add everything into a timeline. This helps me in visualising my work load at any given time. Also, it drastically reduces the chances to overlook any of the many campaigns we have going on.
Our campaigns take place on set dates, therefore I focus my sales efforts in precise time slots, before the start of each project. X marks the starting date.
7. Little next steps
I focus on the tasks which are in my control to get things going and gain momentum.
The table above shows that in January I just need to focus on 7 qualified leads – nice and breezy, perfectly suited for the beginning of the year.
💠Final thoughts
- Going through this process every quarter gives me great clarity on all levels:
I define my goals,
I understand the work load,
I know my next steps.
- I’m sure there are plenty of tools which can ease the struggle of thinking through all these steps, however I find it works better for me when I write everything by hand in a physical notebook.
- I am not the type of person who can sell anything to anyone. I sell campaigns I believe in to audiences I resonate with. I perform better after I make up my own story and polish its components. Contemplating on each of the 7 steps is how I perfect that story and bring it to reality.