5 Effective Ways on How to Achieve Your Sales Target

Every veteran sales professional will tell you that the sales industry is a numbers game. What this aphorism means is that the world of selling revolves around one key thing: sales figures. The more products and services you sell, the bigger the profit for the company, which translates to bigger commissions for salespeople. However, selling also involves many aspects that go beyond numbers. Learning how to achieve your sales target often takes know-how, skill, and interpersonal nuances.

Through sales targets, organisations can make growth projections, which determine plans moving forward, such as product development and expansion. But to get to those projected numbers, you should be able to read in between the figures and develop effective strategies.

Sales targets can be a motivating force for salespeople. But in times of difficulty, it can also cause anxiety. Not meeting your sales quota can lead to consequences that can affect your bonuses, commissions, or worse, even your employment status. If you are struggling to drive your numbers up, here are some effective strategies to help achieve your sales target.

(Read more: 6 Reasons Why Sales Is A Great Career Choice For You )

Here are Some Effective Strategies on How to Achieve Sales Target

1. Improve your quality of leads

As with any numbers game, selling can tend to focus more on quantity. The same often applies to getting leads, or people who can become prospective buyers. While it is true that you would want to generate as many leads as possible, it is equally important to get high-quality leads.

For instance, anyone can get the contact details of any random set of affluent people who have the purchasing power to buy a condominium unit. But how many of those individuals actually meet your criteria for the ideal client? How many of those are young couples looking for a start-up home? How many of those are professionals who work nearby? How many of those are interested in alternative investment opportunities?

Getting high-quality leads means getting leads that fit your target market. This greatly raises the possibility of a sale and lessens wasted time talking to people who are not likely to be interested in your offer. To hit your sales target, you need to work more efficiently, which requires spending less time on a random set of prospects and spending more time on your ideal client.

2. Improve your pipeline

How do you increase sales? By converting your leads into buying customers. The process in which leads are converted into sales is what is called a “sales pipeline”. This is where the nitty-gritty work of selling occurs. If you are having difficulty achieving your sales target, it may be time to reassess your pipeline and see which parts of it need tweaking.

A sales pipeline is a six-step process that involves the following:

1. Lead generation – getting leads
2. Lead qualification – determining the quality of leads, whether or not they are likely to buy
3. Initiate contact – approaching or contacting the leads
4. Scheduling a meeting – getting the prospective buyer to agree to a presentation
5. Negotiation – making your offer to the client
6. Closing – making the sale

To improve your pipeline, you need to be honest with yourself and determine which of the six steps you have been struggling with. Once you have pinpointed the part of the pipeline that needs fixing, you may want to consider examining the step before it. Sometimes one part of the pipeline is not working because the one before it is also faulty.

For instance, maybe you are struggling to initiate contact (step 3) because you are not doing a thorough lead qualification (step 2). As discussed earlier, getting high-quality leads is as important as getting high-quantity leads. To make yourself a better salesperson, you must check every part of your pipeline for any possible weakness.

3. Use the right metrics

One way to make a numbers game easier is to look at the right numbers and allow them to guide your strategy. Internet-based sales companies use analytics to measure the effectiveness of their sales funnel so that they can see where to make necessary adjustments. Even if you are not selling mainly through the internet, you can also use the same basic principle of measuring your own sales activities in order to see which can help increase sales.

Your number of leads is a figure that you always need to keep an eye on. A good rule of thumb to have is to make sure your leads are at least three times that of your sales target. That means with a roughly 30% conversion rate, you will be able to hit your sales quota. Aside from lead generation metrics, you can also measure other aspects of your pipeline, such as your average time between lead qualification and initiating contact or the time it takes for you to close a sale after making an offer. From there, you can set targets within each step. For example, you could set a goal of decreasing the time between negotiation and closing by half and then make the necessary tweaks in your negotiation tactics.

(Read more: How To Effectively Use Your Employee KPI To Advance Your Career )

4. Present yourself as a consultant or solutions provider rather than just a “salesperson”

Many people have an aversion towards “salesmen”. It is a designation often associated with people who hand leaflets to passers-by or sales agents calling you over the phone to tell you all about their one-time-only offer. To overcome this, you must approach your prospective clients as a consultant, one who has the expertise to help them in a specific aspect of their business or life that needs special attention. This will allow them to see you as equals or partners instead of a nuisance, thereby softening their resistance.

Instead of “selling” them a product or service, you should “provide solutions” for them. Every product or service worth selling is ultimately a solution to a problem. If you frame your offer this way, you are more likely to get more meetings.

5. Don’t let “no” discourage you

The key to achieving your sales target is persistence. You will get more rejections than choruses of “yes”. The difference between one who hits sales targets and one who does not is how one deals with rejection.

Sometimes a “no” can be turned into a yes by simply changing your question. Maybe your initial presentation did not hit a nerve because the person has different needs. Try digging deeper. Ask the prospective client why he or she is not interested. What could be their reservations? How do you address those? What are his or her most immediate goals? What is important to them right now? Don’t be afraid to keep asking questions. You might just get the answer you are looking for.

(Read more: Career Cheat Codes: A Career in Sales )

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