A Radical New Approach for Setting Sales Goals and Achieving Outrageous Results!
A Radical New Approach for Setting Sales Goals and Achieving Outrageous Results!
Beginning right now… today… stop setting “YES” GOALS… in other words, goals that revolve around results and productivity… and start setting “NO” GOALS instead. What we’re talking about is operating with a failure quota… a quota for the specific number of times you intend to get rejected or hear “NO”… rather than what we think of as a success goal… the number of sales you intend to make or dollars you intend to generate.
The problem with focusing on Yes-Goals is what tends to happen when we reach or even approach them, which is that we slow down or reduce the number of calls or presentations we make.
So, what most people do when they’re successful is they immediately reward themselves for the success. But how do they reward themselves? By slowing down, taking a day off, playing golf, doing paperwork rather than making calls. In other words, once most people begin achieving success and start hitting their yes-goals… they begin to shut down the activities that led to that success. This is where “no” goals come in.
The immediate answer to all this is to stop setting yes goals and to set and focus on NO goals instead. Take “Bill” for example. Bill has had a great Monday. He went on three sales calls and closed them all, going three-for-three. Now, if Bill’s quota is to make three sales for the week, what do you think is going to happen to the number of calls he’s going to make over the next four days? I’ve got twenty bucks that says Bill slows down and significantly reduces the number of calls he makes. In fact, Bill may end the week with exactly the number of sales he had already achieved on Monday afternoon… three! And in the blink of an eye a great day has turned into an average week… all because Bill was operating with YES-goals rather than NO-Goals.
And maybe the worst part of what Bill has done is he’s just ended what is commonly referred to as a “hot streak!” It’s amazing how, when people hit a hot streak and have a string of successes, they immediately slow down their production and stay within their comfort zone. When you’re hot, don’t stop! Keep going! Take advantage of the momentum!
Now, let’s look at what would have happened if Bill were setting NO-Goals rather than yes goals. Let’s say that, traditionally, Bill makes three sales calls a day, four days a week, with the fifth day being spent in the office. Of his 12 sales calls, he typically closes three, or 25%. What we would suggest is that Bill should have started the week with NO-Goal of nine… or, to play it safe, for the total number of calls he planed to make… in this case, twelve. If he had done that, here’s what would have happened:
Monday he would have gone out on three calls… closed all three… and then said to himself: “Let’s see… My NO-Goal for the week is 12… Monday is gone… and I haven’t gotten a single no yet! Wow! I’m behind! I’ve got to step up the number of calls for the next four days if I’m going to get to twelve!” Where, before, Bill’s success would have led to a decreased number of calls, now that same success will lead to an increased number of calls.
And what do you think would happen now? Bill is going to obliterate his goal for the week… and if he keeps it up… for the month, quarter, and the year.
One of the great ironies of business… and life… is that having too great an emphasis on success can lead to failure… while an emphasis on increasing your failure can often lead to massive success! In fact, in many instances, success can become our greatest enemy because with success comes complacency. Or, as Ben Franklin said… Success has ruined many a man!
Are we saying that you should ditch your success quotas entirely? Well, if your fixation on your yes-goals is fooling you into thinking that by merely having the goal you are somehow making progress toward them, then by all means, yes… we suggest that you get rid of the goals and shift your attention exclusively to the behaviors necessary to achieve them… which, in this case, is increasing your NO’s! Because when you focus on going for no the results… the YESSES… will come. They always do!
A Radical New Approach for Setting Sales Goals and Achieving Outrageous Results - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Fenton's Website.
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Everyone has heard that it is important to set goals. We’re going to suggest a somewhat radical change to the way you currently set goals. And that radical change is this:
Beginning right now… today… stop setting “YES” GOALS… in other words, goals that revolve around results and productivity… and start setting “NO” GOALS instead. What we’re talking about is operating with a failure quota… a quota for the specific number of times you intend to get rejected or hear “NO”… rather than what we think of as a success goal… the number of sales you intend to make or dollars you intend to generate.
The problem with focusing on Yes-Goals is what tends to happen when we reach or even approach them, which is that we slow down or reduce the number of calls or presentations we make.
So, what most people do when they’re successful is they immediately reward themselves for the success. But how do they reward themselves? By slowing down, taking a day off, playing golf, doing paperwork rather than making calls. In other words, once most people begin achieving success and start hitting their yes-goals… they begin to shut down the activities that led to that success. This is where “no” goals come in.
The immediate answer to all this is to stop setting yes goals and to set and focus on NO goals instead. Take “Bill” for example. Bill has had a great Monday. He went on three sales calls and closed them all, going three-for-three. Now, if Bill’s quota is to make three sales for the week, what do you think is going to happen to the number of calls he’s going to make over the next four days? I’ve got twenty bucks that says Bill slows down and significantly reduces the number of calls he makes. In fact, Bill may end the week with exactly the number of sales he had already achieved on Monday afternoon… three! And in the blink of an eye a great day has turned into an average week… all because Bill was operating with YES-goals rather than NO-Goals.
And maybe the worst part of what Bill has done is he’s just ended what is commonly referred to as a “hot streak!” It’s amazing how, when people hit a hot streak and have a string of successes, they immediately slow down their production and stay within their comfort zone. When you’re hot, don’t stop! Keep going! Take advantage of the momentum!
Now, let’s look at what would have happened if Bill were setting NO-Goals rather than yes goals. Let’s say that, traditionally, Bill makes three sales calls a day, four days a week, with the fifth day being spent in the office. Of his 12 sales calls, he typically closes three, or 25%. What we would suggest is that Bill should have started the week with NO-Goal of nine… or, to play it safe, for the total number of calls he planed to make… in this case, twelve. If he had done that, here’s what would have happened:
Monday he would have gone out on three calls… closed all three… and then said to himself: “Let’s see… My NO-Goal for the week is 12… Monday is gone… and I haven’t gotten a single no yet! Wow! I’m behind! I’ve got to step up the number of calls for the next four days if I’m going to get to twelve!” Where, before, Bill’s success would have led to a decreased number of calls, now that same success will lead to an increased number of calls.
And what do you think would happen now? Bill is going to obliterate his goal for the week… and if he keeps it up… for the month, quarter, and the year.
One of the great ironies of business… and life… is that having too great an emphasis on success can lead to failure… while an emphasis on increasing your failure can often lead to massive success! In fact, in many instances, success can become our greatest enemy because with success comes complacency. Or, as Ben Franklin said… Success has ruined many a man!
Are we saying that you should ditch your success quotas entirely? Well, if your fixation on your yes-goals is fooling you into thinking that by merely having the goal you are somehow making progress toward them, then by all means, yes… we suggest that you get rid of the goals and shift your attention exclusively to the behaviors necessary to achieve them… which, in this case, is increasing your NO’s! Because when you focus on going for no the results… the YESSES… will come. They always do!
A Radical New Approach for Setting Sales Goals and Achieving Outrageous Results - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Fenton's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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