Selling Power released an archived article titled Four Elements of Excellence. The short article provides a well-thought description so let’s cut right to the chase. Here are the four:
1.) Goal Setting
2.) Commitment
3.) Feedback
4.) Organizational Support
I would say that is a good list. The one that jumps out is goal setting. This is something we see in the sales arena often, but not in a good way. Many sales managers believe an annual quota is all the goal setting a salesperson needs.
But let’s jump back to the article:
Without specific goals, you’ll never know whether you’ve achieved excellence because you’ve never defined it. Hence, the first step is to write clear, specific goals of what you wish to achieve and at what level you wish to achieve these goals.
Here’s the issue – I worked with a fairly strong salesperson who had a golden territory. He had worked hard to develop it and was successful in landing a handful of large accounts. However, he stagnated. The only measurement for success was the annual quota which increased slightly each year.
This salesperson was able to ride his good accounts each year to cover the increased quota responsibility. Yet, his territory contained much higher potential. The goal setting in this instance did not define the right growth for him or the bountiful territory he controlled.
Successful sales is a matter of executing the right behaviors consistently. Goal setting should include prospecting, new customers, retention, product/service mix, industry associations, on-time expense reports, trade shows and many more items. Define success beyond just profitable revenue. Set appropriate goals that stretch the salesperson outside of their comfort zone.