When salespeople mention why the left their previous job, you often hear complaints of unreasonable budgets. Along the lines of, 'My sales manager was crazy! There was NO WAY that could hit that budget." As a manager, how do you make budgets attainable? And as a salesperson, how do you meet that goal?!
Managers, Break the Budget into Smaller Bites
At the end of the year, most managers sit down with their salespeople to discuss the following year's budget, usually higher than their current budget. A positive, motivated, competitive salesperson looks at it as a challenge and wants to get out there and crush that budget, but other salespeople look at it and their first thought is, "No way, not happening." So how do you help your less enthusiastic salespeople rise to the occasion?
weekly. First, start by breaking that budget down into smaller bites. It’s like the old adage, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite a time." Break the budget down into quarterly increments, then monthly, then daily. Basically you are building a road map for them to follow. Seeing that that smaller goal each week can help them see a way to attain the bigger goal. Give your salespeople a spreadsheet or even poster they can hang on their walls with each week’s goal and big, fat magic marker. When they hit that week’s goal, tell them to cross it out and do a mental happy dance because being able to see their progress will be motivating.
Salespeople, Translate Your Budget into Commission
As a salesperson, look your goal, and translate it into how much commission that will be for you. That got your attention, didn’t it? Now, think about that number and how many sales that translates to. To get to those sales, how many proposals do you need to present? Before you get to the proposal stage, how many initial calls is that? And finally, to get those initial calls, how many contacts are you likely to need to make? Now you have some numbers you can work with.
Ask yourself, how many contacts do I need each week to hit my monetary goal at the end of the year? If you look at from the perspective of a week to week number, it’s not so daunting. And remember your personal commission goal. What are you trying to achieve in your personal life? A new house? A car? A teenager whose college fund needs help? Identify your personal goal, what you are striving to achieve, and put write it down and then post where you will see it each day. Sometimes putting a name on your goal is all you need to motivate yourself.
Map out how you will reach your goal, put a personal spin on it, and then get out there!
