Reaching Sales Goals Each and Every Quarter
Sales professionals are constantly watching their numbers to make sure that they are going to make their quarterly quotas. Some organizations have strict rules that govern what happens to sales professionals who do not make their quotas. In some cases, missing your quota consistently can mean the loss of your job. That is why it is so important that you find ways of making your quota every quarter.
Once you get yourself in the habit of reaching your quota each quarter, you will suddenly find it easier to plan on making bonus every quarter as well. In a profession that is based on numbers and performance, it always helps to have an effective work method that makes sure you generate your basic numbers when you need them.
Get Good with Making Phone Calls
Even in this world of high technology and instant video communication, the sales industry still thrives on phone calls. Instead of making calls unannounced to your clients that are trying to make a buying decision, you should let your customers know when you will call for an answer and then stick to that schedule. After a while, you will develop the habit of making regular phone calls that turn into revenue right when you need it.
Get More Hands On
When you have been selling long enough, you will start to realize that there is a tremendous amount of purchase orders that sit on desks and next to fax machines for days before they are transmitted over to your office. If your quarter reporting period ends on Friday and the purchase order does not get faxed until the following Monday, then that does not help your financial situation. It can get even more frustrating when you find out that the purchase order was cut days before.
When you follow up with your local clients and you find out that the purchase order has been cut, then tell your customer that you are coming to pick it up. Do not allow it to be put in the mail and do not wait to fax it. If your customer is out of town, then make a courtesy call every day to remind the customer about the purchase order until it is in your hands.
Work Your Sales Funnel
Sales professionals often get so wrapped up in their existing customer base that they forget to add to their sales funnel every day. The sales funnel is the list of opportunities that you are working on with new and existing customers. This sales funnel is a direct reflection of how much prospecting work you are doing and how much work you are doing with your existing customers to find new opportunities within their organization.
The formula here is extremely simple: a more active sales funnel means more orders. If you want to make sure that you have a chance at reaching your quota every quarter, then start analyzing how full your sale funnel needs to be to start generating the quota numbers you need. As long as you continue to work hard to maintain that sales funnel, then you will see a rise in your quarterly production that will put you that much closer to reaching your quota.