Achieving sales quotas is on the to-do list for every salesperson. It’s the end of the year, and you take a look at your quota, and typically see one of three things. You’re either desperately trying to make up the last little bit of your remaining goal for the year, happy that you’ve made or exceeded your quota, or, if you’re like 53% of salespeople, you haven’t met your quota, and there’s nothing that you can do to get yourself there. Joanne Black, interviewed by John Golden, explores the real factors that can help you achieve your sales quota.
This expert sales interview explores achieving sales quotas, including:
- There reason for not meeting quota
- How technology impacts revenue generation
- Why the shortcut culture has been detrimental
Why aren’t salespeople achieving sales quotas?
With how important it is to meet annual quotas, it’s surprising that so many salespeople don’t achieve that goal. Part of the reason for this is that salespeople wait too long to look at the numbers for this year and next year. Quarter four should ideally be 25% of the time to close business for the current year, and 75% of the time to build business for next year. That’s often not happening. “One of the things that I see reoccurring is that not only are they not making quota this year, but the expectation is increasing for next year. This seems like such a hopeless task. This mindset has to be altered to better prepare salespeople for the year ahead and encouraging them to meet their quota.
Technology:
There are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon of salespeople not achieving their sales quotas. Part of the reason is the technological revolution that has taken over the sales game. Sales leaders are more focused on technology, and they’re losing out on revenue generation because they aren’t coaching their salespeople and encouraging the development of necessary sales skills. “People think, well, get this new technology and everything will be fixed, but that’s not happening,” said Black. It’s easier for sales leaders to buy technology because if it doesn’t work, they can point fingers at the software. If we invest in our people or coach the sales staff, it takes more time, and the leaders are going to be held responsible if the sales team doesn’t perform. “People use technology to solve fundamental problems, but if your salespeople aren’t well trained, or don’t have a defined sales process, technology isn’t going to solve the problem,” said Black. “If you don’t have your processes right, even great technology can’t help you.
The shortcut culture:
In today’s day and age, everything is based on shortcuts. Hard work has taken a backseat in people’s minds. Considering the ease with which you can create tools, people are pumping out numerous different sales software systems. These tools look fantastic and promise great things. But, if you don’t have the fundamental basics down, you’re not going to be successful, regardless of the tools that you have at your disposal. This shortcut culture doesn’t end up putting salespeople ahead of the game. In fact, the techniques and technology they’re using to try and get ahead are holding them back. “Building relationships takes time, but that is how sales are closed,” said Black. Taking shortcuts does not result in a better quota.
To learn more about how to create techniques for achieving sales quotas, watch the expert sales interview!
About our Host:
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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