When working within a sales environment, one of the most important thing you will need to have is goals. However, goal-setting can often be easier said than done, as there are many factors that come into play when setting these.

Keep in mind the acronym ‘SMART’ to give you and your team the direction you need:

1. Specific

Goals are hard to achieve when they are vague. It is much easier to lose motivation with a vague and flimsy goal. By making it specific, you are getting right to the point of what you want. For example, rather than having your goal as “I want to encourage my team to perform well”, it should be “I want to set my team targets which are reasonable and encourage them to meet and exceed them”.

2. Measurable

Having a goal which is measurable is crucial. Being able to measure your progress will also indicate how far you are from achieving your goal. A goal which you cannot measure will not motivate you, as you will have no way of seeing how much you have achieved and how close you are to reaching your goal. By having targets and KPIs, it is a very easy way of measuring sales targets and performance, which will highlight any troubling areas.

3. Attainable

Attainability is important when setting a goal. If you cannot possibly achieve your goal, what motivation will you have for pursuing it? This is the side of you which can aim high but needs to also be realistic. You have the best understanding of your business, and what is achievable for your team. For example, within a sales role, it would be unrealistic to set a goal to overcome all objections.

4. Relevant

Many businesses have many different goals, so making sure that the goals you set are relevant to your business is vital. For example, if your sales team needs to build rapport with clients before making a sale, setting a goal in regards to first contact sales would have very little point. Alternatively, if your sales team are encouraged to make a sale as quickly as possible, then you would want to monitor the team’s conversion rates.

5. Time

Working out the time frame in which you will achieve your goal is one of the most important things you can do, as this will dictate how long you measure your success. It is often recommended to have a few short-term goals, and one or two long-term goals, so you can stay motivated on the present as well as the future.

Keep reading Commissionly’s blog posts to find out more about making the most of your sales team.