How to use goals to sell more
If you look at goal setting there are so many pieces of information from you to choose from. You have to find what works for you. There isn’t a one size fits all goal-setting process for everyone. It’s ok to try something and if it doesn’t work find something that does. Your job is to find a plan, stick to it and work it. You can always modify as needed, in the end, this is your recipe.
Goal setting and sales
One of the common mistakes salespeople and entrepreneurs make is to think they have to wait until January 1st every year to start with their goals. You will find consistency in sales starts with expectations and tracking. Plenty of salespeople and companies struggle with consistency and tracking.
Goal setting data points
Most stats about goal and goal setting have no attribution. Most studies have too small of sample sizes. It’s tough to judge off success off of 10 people vs 1000 people. The Harvard Study Study has been shown to be fake or nonexistent. Here are the 2 constants you will find when you study goal setting.
- You are 33% – 43% more likely to achieve a goal if it’s written down. 2015 Gail Matthews
- You are 76% – 81% more likely to achieve a goal if it is tracked – No attribution
- Use ranges when setting goals – Particpances averaged 2 pounds per week when they targeted to 1-3 pounds per week. (https://hbr.org/2014/11/when-you-give-your-team-a-goal-make-it-a-range)
- Goal setting success can be linked with motivation, self confidence & autonomy (Locke & Lathan, 2006)
The goal-setting common experience
There are some common traits in goal setting that seem to be a strong constant. These items are mentioned in just about every example, article, podcast, YouTube video as well as goal setting courses:
- Write your goals down
- Review your goals frequently with tracking
Area 1 – You do have to have your foundation (the 4Ds):
- Discipline – How strong is your discipline – do you need someone to monitor you or tell you what to do?
- Devices and Systems – What framework do you have besides your beliefs?
- Dates – What are your timelines: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and yearly
- Data – Where do you put your outcomes – how do you track them?
Area 2 – Reason why
Have a strong reason why to escape from struggling. This concept is the main drive above all and everything else that I see help people propel. There are 4 main topics with plenty of subtopics. 3 of these are common ideas and 1 isnt.
What is the deep-down reason for your goal? Not the reason you tell everyone. If you were to speak to a confidential source what would you tell them? This conversation may be super personal. For others, it can be an open book.
Your desires and personal outcomes matter
- Prove yourself right – It was something I wanted to do, Show others what you can do – I want others to see me and hear me
- Prove others wrong – Everyone said I couldn’t
- Conditions you grew up in – poor or even in wealth
- Phantom – Natural drive – not normal in the distribution of people. Some people just don’t have this, it who they are
Questions to ponder for your reason why
- What does the goal mean to you, how have you attached to the outcome?
- Do you really want the goal or is it a platitude?
- Are you trying to impress someone else?
- What is your level of commitment?
- What are you willing to sacrifice?
- What is in your way to get the goal accomplished?
- Who is in the way of your goal?
- Is the goal worthy of you?
Area 3 – The groupings and explanations
These are typically tied to a date and a sum of money or outcome. You can set a time and date fairly easily. By March 30th I will hit 500k in gross income from all of my businesses. Royalties, equity, mastermind and consulting. You can then add these 14 dimensions or groupings:
- Actions – Things you want to do and or achieve
- Events – Meetings and or groups you would like to be a part of. This could be courses, masterminds, philanthropic
- Locations – Places you want to be, want to go, want to attend. Purchase
- Money – the income you want to achieve, the money you want in savings and or investments
- People – The people you want in your life as well as the people you would like to do business with and connect to
- Philanthropy – the places you want to donate time and energy to
- Physical – How you work out, your weight
- Products – The things you want to purchase or acquire. Cars, watches, houses, businesses, buildings
- Purchases – things you want to buy
- Recreation – what you want to do for fun
- Relationships – How you treat the people in your life and how they treat you. Family, significant others, friends, and colleagues
- Rewards – this is an if-then statement style (when I do this, I will do that) this is the ultimate dopamine rush for your goals
- Spiritual – Your relationship with your creator and your style
- Stretch goals – These are the additions to a goal a “push up” in case you hit something quicker
Area 3 – The underpinnings
What you have as moving parts inside of a goal (here are the elements):
Light version goals vs master planning may be easier. The light version may be how you talk about the goal. Master planning is what will it take for you to get there. What will you need to have to reach your goal? (what framework is needed to make what you want to have happened work out)
- Attention – how much time do you have to put towards the goal?
- Routine – things you are already doing vs new routines
- New skill – this is something you don’t know how to do
- Current skill – this is something you can enhance
- Experience – this can be what you already have (people /courses / classes
- Taking action – your ability to take the first step
- Continuity – What you will do when things don’t work out or you get busy
Bonus area
Adversity map advances planning – this is where I point out what could go wrong and what to do to get back on track. This is not super detailed. This is about saying “___________” could happen. The unexpected is unexpected. This helps with planning. In business, these could be called red team events.
Who you can name in your goal adversity map:
- People – what if the wrong people enter my life, how will I know?
- Economy – this is always a moving target
- Events – these are things that can cause problems
- Government agencies
- Weather / natural disaster
When you look at this preparation you don’t look at it every day. This is just prep for what may be. This is more of a “who is in my way or could get in my way session”
Side notes about goal setting
Pie-in-the-sky goals can be spotted by people who know how to listen and or watch. There are items that can be red flags “I am going to be the top salesperson this year”. You will find that the more steps needed the fewer actions people take. What can you do to streamline your goal-setting process? How can you make your goals stepped up?
You can imagine and “Feel the feeling” with as much imagination as possible. When you think through success, where do you share your wins, who do you share them with?
Things you can do to reach your goals:
- Less can be more when you work on your goals and goal setting. There are multiple ways for you to streamline the sales process.
- You can keep your goals on 3×5 index card and look at them during the day.
- Review your goals frequently, you can record them on audio
- You can share goals with others. You only want to share with the believers and the people you trust. Nonbelievers will tear you down and say horrible things to you.
- Talk about your goals as if they have been accomplished – put a point on the horizon and march towards it. I heard Taylor welch call this directional certainty.
- Ask the right people if they can help you with a goal. You don’t say it this way. You could go to social media and ask for a connection or a collaboration. Speak your goals and to an extent, they will manifest.
- If you work for someone ask them for more. Listen you gave me the goal of $1,000,000 in sales. What would you be willing to pay out if I hit $1,200,000. You need to be able to explain why this helps the person you want the bonus from. And extra 200k on a business not expected is a good thing for most divisions. You just have to know that as you increase your number it will be ratcheted up yearly
Here is where I differ
Once again this is what works for me, you may need to find your own path. You can use an accountability partner – I talk my goals out as a check in with a good friend and they do the same. We poke holes in ideas – not as an aggressive action “have you thought about_________” have you considered __________” and or “could you make this pivot __________” – sometimes these meetings are hard.
I have learned from great marketers around me “everything is a test” I take that for actions I take and don’t really beat myself up when things don’t work right
- Knowledge is power
- Applied knowledge is power
- To learn knowledge is wisdom
- End of the month, quarter, year review
- There will be goals you miss and it may bum you out
- What did you do that increased your skills abilities and knowledge – celebrate all wins, look for where you gained. I didn’t hit all of my goals last year. I didn’t make some huge improvements in my life.
- Look for the areas where you need to do better so you can recalibrate your goals
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