Year after year, you set sales targets for yourself and your team, most of which focus on selling. But what needs to be done to achieve them?
All of your goal planning, action mapping, and commitment will fall short if your salespeople don’t know the clear direction. Just like you cannot send your kids to the grocery shopping without handing over a list of what needs to be bought.
A Dominican University study found professionals with specific goals performed 23% better than those with vague goals like “boost revenue.” Simply put, without a clear goal, you won’t see your progress and may even lose your momentum along the way.
There are a few ways that will help you in sales target achievement with your small sales team. Let’s take a look at what they are.
1. How to Achieve your Sales Goals Faster with your Small Team?
Contrary to the misconception that big sales teams are a prerequisite for success, many companies have proven that efficiency, strategic planning, and a dedicated approach can lead to remarkable results even with limited resources. All it requires is practice and patience to find a method that works the best for them.
To help you achieve your sales goals faster with your small sales team, here we are with a few ways that you can consider.
1.1. Set Achievable Sales Targets
Setting the right goal can be a little tricky. Where you need to set sales targets that are challenging yet achievable, you also want to make sure that they are not easy or difficult to achieve. Knowing how to set sales targets is paramount.
As per Graff Retail, you must follow the 70% rule. The rule says that your team must be able to achieve the targets in sales 70% of the time. If it’s more than that, the targets are too easy and if it’s less than that, the targets are too difficult.
1.2. Manage Sales Targets
Break the annual goal into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Your team will find it less daunting to make a sale of $5,000 than to make a sale of $50,000. So, focusing on achieving smaller targets in shorter periods keeps track of what is happening in your sales team and staying motivated.
Challenge yourself and your team on how to achieve sales targets and when they do, show appreciation for their achievements by giving a weekly prize or a monthly top performer certificate.
1.3. Measure your Sales Activities
As is said, what gets measured can be improved. It fits perfectly when it comes to your sales activities. Consider the important metrics for your business, track them throughout the year, and see how you have been doing.
Consider things like the number of leads coming, leads converting, leads unresponsive, lead requirements met, proposals done, etc. When you have a yearly report of how you have performed, you will be able to find out what you need to do to improve yourself and your team.
1.4. Provide Great Customer Service
Your business will grow and you’ll achieve your sales targets only if you can provide your customers with the best services they need. Don’t just act like a seller but a consultant who knows how to help people with their needs. Develop a script to introduce your product or services to your prospects.
Provide your prospects with undivided attention and help them reach solutions with your services and products. By providing great customer service, you will be able to get repeat customers who may also get you more customers. Who knows, your team might just outperform expectations!
1.5. Make Sales Targets Visible to Your Team
Display your team’s sales targets and what they have achieved in the past somewhere it is visible. Update the sales board every day and ensure that you talk about it with your team. For instance, with Kylas, you can show the targets set for a particular team member.
Once they are achieved, the whole team will know about it. This can help you identify the top-performing sales reps and recognize them. This will further motivate other team members to work better towards their targets.
1.6. Monitor your Pipeline
As a manager or a small business owner, you should not just set the targets for your team but should also ensure that your team is following the pipeline and doing as expected. Check your pipeline every day and if it’s low, talk to your team regarding it.
The pipeline will help you focus on improving by letting you know which areas you need to work on. Make sure that you involve your team in every decision you make and the pipeline you create.
1.7. Prospect Better
Prospecting is the way of getting in touch with and building relationships with the prospects who you think will turn into your customers. You must know how many prospects need to be there in your pipeline to help you reach your sales target.
Consequently, by knowing the percentage of the prospects who buy from you, you will know how many more customers you need to achieve your sales targets. Further, identify potential customers and help them with their purchases to enhance your chances of getting more referrals.
1.8. Invest in Employee Training
There can be times when you feel that your sales team is not reaching the target even after constant reminders and motivation. This might mean that your team needs more training to perform better. Another key point is to tell your team about what to sell and how to sell it.
It’s not right to put them on the battlefield with little knowledge and expect them to get results. Put in some effort and let them know the product or service completely before you expect a transaction from them.
1.9. Remind your Team of the Purpose
A common goal or a shared mission can make a huge difference in your overall sales process. Your team must understand that what they are doing matters and can have a significant impact on the lives of their customers.
Whether you are focused on saving people’s time or providing shelter if someone in their family falls sick, make sure your team is aware of their purpose in the market. Also, recognize that what you sell may make a difference in someone’s life. Ensure that you can effectively convey your purpose to them.
It’s never too late to start something new. There are chances that even your small sales team would be able to convert more.
2. How to Set Smart Sales Targets for Your Team?
Sales targets are not forever. They keep updating and growing with time. Focus on setting targets in areas that will drive business growth. Without meaningful, measurable targets, your sales team will always be missing the boat. Your focus doesn’t have to be solely on the numbers but also on planning how to achieve sales targets.
In the rage of closing more and more deals, your sales reps may approach unnecessary deals that may harm your company’s reputation. Lack of direction and guidance will make the growth slower and there won’t be any bottom-line results you will speak of.
It might be hard to set proper goals for your sales team but try to stay as realistic as you can because you don’t want your team to interview at other jobs than hitting their targets. So, here are a few ways that will help you set realistic sales goals for your team while keeping them motivated and strong to sell better.
2.1. Calculate your Finances
You will be able to set the best sales targets when you know the exact financial situation of your business. Find out which products or services are selling fast and focus on selling more of them. You would want to sell more of your products but when it comes to making money, it works best to focus on your best-selling products while building your financial plan.
Determine all the fixed costs like rent, insurance, electricity, and wages and how much your products or services need to sell to cover these costs. In addition to your salary, your sales must be able to achieve a fair return for everything you are putting into your business.
2.2. Use Past Data
Your past data will prove to be a great guide in setting the right goals for your sales reps. Check the past growth rates and how your team has performed. It will help you plan by the available resources regardless of the size of your team. By considering the capabilities of your available team, you will get a realistic view of the activities you need to perform to achieve the desired results.
Before you start sending specific targets to your team, check if they can be hit. Even if you don’t do this, at least have a plan to achieve it so that you can show your team how it is done. Be the hero of your team and not just a master.
2.3. Educate and Empower your Sales Team
Making sales is like a battle and it is your responsibility to give your team the right weapons to win it. Along with training them, you must make sure that whatever they are doing, is getting results. Don’t just focus on the immediate sales but also on how they are making use of their capabilities to get the best results.
You must not care about the number of calls made or the emails sent. What should matter to you is what percentage is converting into your customers. Give your team the responsibility of introspecting about what they have been doing and what they need to do to stay on track with their goals.
2.4. Calculate the Monthly Sales Goal
It’s necessary to set monthly sales goals to stay on track with your annual sales goals. Regardless of whether your sales are going up or down, you must find out what happened along the way. To determine what went right or wrong during the whole process, you need to keep an eye on your monthly goals.
You won’t hit the stride in the very first go and start knocking the goals. There will be some hits and trials and profits and losses. Try to find answers for everything that goes beyond your knowledge and find ways to deal with them. Don’t be afraid of missing your goals but also, don’t make it a habit.
2.5. Involve your Sales Team
Your sales staff has all the information about how your product or services are doing in the market. So, involve them when you are setting your sales targets and reviewing past sales. When they will be a part of the target setting, they will be curious to achieve them.
Consider questions like who buys your product or service the most, which customers are more likely to keep buying from you, which customers seem like they will stop buying from you, how many customers you need to be coming in so that your sales are maintained throughout the year, etc.
2.6. Support your Team
Simply monitoring how your sales team has been performing won’t get you the anticipated results. While you set sales targets for yourself, make sure that you also set goals around the actions that you would take to empower your team to reach their goals. Help your team realize the importance of their roles in achieving the sales targets.
Consider automating the pipeline with a sales CRM like Kylas so that your team knows when they are required to do a certain thing. This will help all of you track the ongoing events and stay on track with your goals. Set up regular meetings with your team to discuss challenges and celebrate wins.
You may set goals for your team but it’s a good idea to keep encouraging them to exceed expectations and strive for better results.
3. What are the Challenges Faced by Sales Reps?
Where every sales rep wants to end the month celebrating wins, a lot of them end with the disappointment of unfulfilled targets. Because of the challenges they face day in and day out, even the sales results are affected. But as no one is exempted from challenges, sales reps must find ways to overcome these challenges rather than ignoring them.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common challenges faced by sales reps today while struggling to achieve sales targets.
3.1. Fierce Competition
In every field, there are hundreds and thousands of businesses that keep competing against each other to take home the maximum profits. This makes them apply different strategies to attract new customers. Some customers even take advantage of the ongoing competition and try to get services and products at a better price.
In such a case, sales reps must be prepared with reasons why they are better than their competitors and be able to explain that to their potential buyers. Perform in-depth competitor analysis to make maximum transactions.
3.2. Build Online Credibility and Trust
After COVID-19, most sales reps are connecting with their potential customers through phone calls and emails. This requires a sales rep to be able to stand out from the rest of the sales reps trying to sell their services and products in the same way. They need to learn the latest techniques and technology to outrun their competitors.
In such a case, go for personalized interactions. It is crucial to be there for your customers when they need you. Also, ensure that your efforts are relevant and timely so that the prospects know that they are being taken care of.
3.3. Struggle with Productivity and Uncertainty
A lot of sales firms have been operating remotely after COVID-19 hit them. This has also changed buying habits all across the globe and sales reps need to provide their customers with every possible information about their products or services. This requires a constant update in the ways sales are made.
It can be quite a challenge for sales reps to understand the changing buying habits and requirements of the prospects. Managers can help the reps understand the ongoing business changes so that they are able to represent the business perfectly.
3.4. Inefficient Time Management
There is no denying the fact that sales reps have a long list of tasks to perform per day, per week, and per month. After drafting emails for their prospects to obtain information about their replies and making required follow-ups, there is so much that they need to do in a day.
As this often keeps them from strategizing their sales process, it’s best to use an automation tool like Kylas CRM that will provide great features and automation at each step so that they can manage time and focus on other important things too.
3.5. Collect Prospect Responses
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that obtaining a response from your prospects has to be the toughest part of your job as a sales rep. Even if you are using all the latest technology to provide your customers with the best service and products, you have no idea when your prospects will answer you.
This requires the sales reps to move from becoming the sales reps trying to sell their services and products to the consultants who understand their issues and can help resolve them. Offer personalized solutions to their requirements.
Sales is undoubtedly a challenging field but by using the right techniques and technology, you can find solutions for all the upcoming issues. Create sales reports to ensure that you are taking care of everything happening in your business so that you can discover your strong and weak areas and improve well in time.
4. Final Thoughts
Though it may feel at times that it’s impossible to reach your sales targets with a small sales team, it’s not. So, plan and implement your sales strategies to achieve your sales targets faster regardless of your team size. So, hire the right people to find consistent success over time.
Track your sales teams’ performance with Kylas sales CRM and find out areas that you need to work on to reach our sales targets.
