A sales team cannot succeed without setting strong, attainable goals. Goal setting is the first part of sales team planning and plays a huge factor in long-term growth. Meaningful goals will help keep your company on the right track and ensure that your salespeople never fall behind as they continually work toward those goals.
If you're not entirely sure what goals to put into place for your sales team, the following are some ideas to serve as a launching point:
1. Increase Monthly and Annual Revenue
This should be the primary goal of any sales team, as it helps facilitate growth and enables the company to thrive. To get the most from these goals, they should be specific and attainable. Unrealistic revenue targets for the month or year will simply lead your sales teams to overwork without that effort paying off in the end.
Take a look at your current revenue and past performance. You can use these as benchmarks to help you realistically determine the best monthly and annual revenue goals to set.
2. Improve Customer Satisfaction
Another crucial element of any successful business is a happy customer base. The more satisfied your customers are, the more likely they'll be to make repeat purchases and stay loyal to your company. They'll also be more inclined to recommend your products or services to family and friends, along with complete strangers through testimonials and online reviews.
The benefits of keeping your customers happy illustrate why improving customer satisfaction is another vital goal to set. Think of ways to follow up with customers' questions or concerns and maintain good communication to understand customers' needs as you figure out how to meet them. Top-tier customer service will go a long way in keeping customers satisfied.
3. Expand Your Customer Base
If you want to effectively grow your business, you must expand your customer base and reach as many members of your target audience as possible. As your sales team's planning efforts progress, set some specific targets for your sales team that can help identify and acquire new customers.
For instance, you might discover a new audience segment that's in need of your products or services for a particular feature or benefit. You can then adapt your sales strategy to more efficiently move these target audiences along the buyer's journey to close more deals.
4. Improve Product Knowledge
Not only should your sales team be able to maintain exceptional communication with target audiences, but they should also have a deep understanding of exactly what they're selling. It's important for your sales team to understand your products and services, what they're about, and what they're capable of selling to new customers.
Through continual training and education, you can equip your sales team with the necessary knowledge about your offerings to help them highlight many aspects of them when selling to prospects. For instance, a sales team may benefit from learning about marketing services, which is a department they're likely less familiar with as sales experts. By providing them with sufficient education, they can develop expertise in these areas that can supplement their sales expertise.
5. Enhance Sales Skills
Sales staff may also need some further development in their area of expertise to optimize their efficacy. With the rise of social media and technology, sales tactics are constantly evolving. Be sure to set some goals for your sales team that will help them improve their sales skills. These skills could include communication, negotiation, and closing techniques, all of which your sales staff can perfect over time as they gain more experience and knowledge.
6. Increase Sales Efficiency
A winning sales team is also highly efficient in maximizing productivity while minimizing wasted time. You can set some goals for your team that will help them work more efficiently, which could include shortening the sales cycle, increasing the number of leads generated, and reducing the number of administrative tasks. You can use various automation tools to help you achieve these goals, such as time-tracking solutions and other programs that help monitor time spent while finding ways to further boost overall efficiency.
7. Foster Team Collaboration
Goal setting should also encourage more collaboration among sales staff. Set some goals that help put together a more collaborative environment for your sales team, which could include everything from regular team meetings and the sharing of best practices to team-building exercises. The more collaborative your sales team is, the more productive they'll be as each member continues developing and becoming more efficient.
Why is it important to set goals for your sales team?
Setting these goals for your sales team will help motivate your sales staff to do their best and achieve long-term success. Combined with a solid training program and best practices, you'll be able to not only achieve but exceed your goals as your company grows.
To help fuel your company's success and get the best results from your goal-setting efforts, consider enrolling in the Navaquest Sales Training program to develop your sales team's skills. To learn even more about our program and how we can tailor it to your sales team's specific needs, contact us today!