Do you have a goal? I usually have a list of them. I am a sales professional, and I always have a sales goal. Sales has taught me nothing happens by accident. A significant sales goal will require a sales strategy. Creating the right sales strategy always helps me reach goals in several areas of my life.
In 1996 Earl and I were practically newlyweds, but the three years we had been married seemed like a lifetime. We had been high school sweethearts and felt like well-seasoned married people. Thinking about it now, it seems ridiculous how old I felt. Earl was just turning twenty-four, and I was turning twenty-three, anything but mature. Our marriage had included a half dozen moves, times with enough money and times with no money. Now we had found ourselves in careers we never even imagined possible. By 1996, we were happily living back in our hometown with friends and family.
Now I was comfortable, and I decided I wanted a house. It was a joy to buy the latest home decorating magazines and dream of making a home for us. I was convinced we had to have a house. I knew it was a long shot. We didn’t have a down payment for a house, but that didn’t stop me from daydreaming and wishing.
Define the Sales Goal
I told Earl we needed our very own home. He agreed he’d like us to have our own home too. He said without a smile in his usual no-nonsense kind of way, “We should start saving, and in a few years, we can start looking for a house.” I was not happy with his response. I thought then his low energy, no-nonsense response was a lack of caring about what I wanted. I realize now, after many more years of living together he is a thinker. Earl doesn’t rush into things due to emotion. What may give me energy gives him reason to pause.
His agreement but lack of enthusiasm did me no good. I didn’t want to hear, “In a few years.” I wanted a house now.
The next few days, I spent lots of time huffing and puffing silently. I felt if I had to wait a few years, I might as well wait forever. Now I see how I was being pretty impatient and immature. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I called a realtor as though I had a down payment in hand. I scheduled three showings for the end of the week, one on Thursday evening and the other two on Friday.
Early in the week, I received what seemed like an ordinary piece of mail from Toshiba, the brand of copiers I sold. The letter announced the latest incentive for active sales representatives. We were given a credit card, and for each machine sold, the rep would receive a specified point amount, depending on the model. Every point equaled one dollar. The machines sold earned a range of fifteen points for small machines up to 150 points for really large models. I rarely sold the large models in my rural territory. My average sale earned around fifty points. This letter contained a special offer. A common middle-of-the-road model would be paying out 250 points ($250) for each machine sold in the next thirty days.
Make the Plan
I sat down at our tiny kitchen table and thought about the possibilities. If I could sell ten of these models, I could use the $2500 of credit to pay my portion of the monthly expenses. I could then use all of my commission and bonuses for the month to pay a down payment on a house. Selling ten machines in a month would earn a much better than average bonus. I turned over the white #10 envelope I had just opened and started to write down the names of businesses in my area that were a good fit for this model. I had a sales strategy in the making.
Define What You Need/Make a List
The first ten or twelve names came easily. It took some time as I stopped and thought through business after business. A name would come up with one, and I would think, “No, they need another model.” If a name came to mind that wasn’t a good fit, I wouldn’t put it on my list. There was no room for wasting time. I had around ten models I could quote, depending upon the needs of the customers. The list didn’t need to be clouded with other names and get my focus lost on other models or possibilities. I also didn’t want to approach a business or organization with a machine that wasn’t a good fit for them.
It took maybe an hour in total to come up with forty business names to go on my final list. I transferred the list to a legal pad I carried with me daily. My legal pad had pages that were covered with random figures, phone numbers, and names written sideways and upside down. The page with names got a brand new page and would serve as a reminder for me where my focus would need to remain until I closed the sale on ten #4550 Toshiba copiers over the next thirty days. Everything about this goal was a bit of a stretch. It was a stretch because ten machines were double the volume of a usual good month. The ten machines represented triple my quota for a month.
Don’t Wait to Get Started
The next day I went right to work, visiting the first of the names on my list. The list was important, and I had arranged it by city and in order of who I believed was the most likely to need a new machine. The first few on the list, I was easily able to get a response but only got a time to come back. I didn’t get discouraged. I knew it would take work. A call or more, a visit, scheduling appointments, and yes I knew I would get some no’s and a lot of “not right nows.” I just kept my eye on the prize those first few days.
Thursday came, and we met the realtor at the first of the three houses. The house was listed at $75,000, and it was a wreck. It had been empty for several years. It was old and needed so much work. I hated it the moment I entered. It had a musky smell, bad carpet, and oddly painted walls. I shook my head in disbelief and was ready to pack it up and move on. But Earl was a bit more interested. The realtor had already gotten into her car after we said our goodbyes.
We sat in our car, and I said to Earl “This was so bad!” He said, “I don’t know. I liked it. It just needs some work.” I said “Work! It needs torn down.” The realtor had agreed with me. She didn’t say it, but I could tell. She had suggested a couple of other homes in the area to add to our list. I was also still excited to see the other two houses I had arranged to see the next day.
Listen to Other Points of View
Later that night Earl and I talked about the house we had seen. Again, his serious face with no smile appeared. He started pointing out all the good. The yard was over two acres. The location was great, and within a mile of each of our parents. The other two houses were on the other side of the county. The bad carpet had hardwood underneath. Later that night laying in bed couldn’t sleep. I kept imagining what we could do to make that house a home. The next morning we talked about the house. I said “Let’s go look again.” Earl said he also wanted to look again.
Share Your Goal with Others
Earl listened as I shared how I planned to earn the down payment. I told him my sales goal for the thirty days. I don’t recall him showing doubt. This time he didn’t have a serious face as he smiled and said, “Sounds good.” He has always been my biggest fan. My plan was pretty simple but not easy. I called the realtor the next morning, one of the houses we were supposed to see was already pending, and we had decided against the other one. I asked if she could show us the one from the night before again.
We made our way through the house, this time with a different view. I had been the one the day before with a lack of imagination. On this second trip through, I saw it a bit differently. Earl had already decided what he wanted to do. He asked if she felt the seller was willing to negotiate. She said, “I can take them an offer, but they already turned down several.” Earl said, “I want to offer $60,000.” She said, “They have already turned that offer down once. Earl said, “Let’s try it again.”
Make a Commitment
Earl and I had agreed we would offer $60,000, and if they took that, we could make the housework. We filled out the paperwork and wrote a $100 check to put with the offer, the only $100 we had toward the down payment. The agent would be present our offer. She told us it was an estate and that it would take some time for them to get back to her. We really didn’t expect the owners to accept, but we weren’t ready to keep looking until we knew.
Things Will Get in the Way
In the meantime, I stuck with the plan. The list was my anchor, and I didn’t wavier my focus from it unless I got a call from a customer not on the list. Carefully I would redirect my thoughts each time a worry came up about the coming months, and if I closed these now what would be left to close. I just stuck to the list. I sold a couple of 4550’s the first ten days of the thirty-day goal. Two toward the ten was slow progress. I lost a school deal to a competitor that would have been four of the machines I needed, and that was tough.
After two weeks passed, I was about to lose heart. I didn’t know if it was going to work. Earl got a call from the realtor. Surprisingly, they accepted the offer. Earl again showed no signs of doubt. I don’t think I voiced it, but excitement quickly turned to a sick stomach as I heard the news. I felt fear and doubt, thinking to myself “What in the world have I committed to? Every prospect is saying, “Not right now.”
Focus
I spent the evening listening to a Zig Ziglar audiobook and then writing down my thoughts. I can always see things more clearly if I have some quiet time to write out the best-case scenario. The audiobooks were one of my secret weapons. I am a worrier by nature. My first sales manager gave me my first audiobook on positive thinking. He said, “Listen to this. It will change your life.” He was right. Motivational speakers aren’t magic. Listening to them is a way of bringing your mind back to what is important and possible. It counteracts what a mind can do if left alone, which is to think about the worst of possibilities instead of the best. The accepted offer, the evening of positive thinking, and the time to think gave me a boost of renewed energy.
Over the next two weeks, I kept with the list, eliminating the names that had either been closed by a competitor or me and then moving anyone who was a “not now” to another list to be visited later in the year. Yes, I had days that were hard. On occasion, I came home and cried with frustration, ready to quit. I had shared my sales goal with my sales manager and the office administration, and a couple of my close co-workers. They all knew my goal. When I heard from them, they were very good about asking me how it was going. Staying on track, I never lost focus, and one here, another there, and an order for four more came within the next week. I was down to needing just two more orders. I felt determined and full of energy.
Don’t Give Up
Hope was still alive and well. There was lots of work to be done. I had a secured meeting with a school that if closed would bring me to goal. The bookkeeper in a school and I had reviewed my proposal, and she asked me to come back the next day to go over it with the principal. Seeing him as I walked in made me nervous, and I was glad the nice bookkeeper was sitting in the chair right next to me. We were on one side of the desk, and he was on the other. He was stern and very serious. I was quiet and attentive. My approach was to address need rather than boast about features.
Don’t Let Emotions Defeat You
He had been a customer of my boss, Bob, in previous years. My boss was an outgoing outdoorsman. He would have been talkative and confident during this same meeting. I presented the proposal as I always do, and he looked up from the paper and said in a booming voice, “This is too much money, and you tell Bob I’m not sending him on another vacation!”
I replied, “This is the best price, it is state contract pricing, and you wouldn’t be sending Bob, you would be sending me.” Then I smiled. When he signed the proposal, I hit my sales goal.
The bookkeeper walked back down to her office together. She said, “I’m sorry for how he talked to you, but you held your own. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to him like that.” I smiled and thanked her, and turned to leave.
I’ve often thought about what she said. It really never crossed my mind to consider how he was talking to me. I just listened and responded. The deal was going to help me reach my goal, and the school needed the equipment. If I had taken what the principal said personally or felt as if I didn’t deserve a vacation, or in this case a house, as much as Bob, the results could have been much different.
Goal Met with Time
I finished the month meeting my sales goal. I completed the sale on the specified ten machines. We eventually ended up with the house. It wasn’t automatic and not within the normal 30-60 day range.
The house had lots of complicated ownership issues, and the next four months after the sales goal was met had their own set of challenges. But it eventually had a happy ending.
Why It Worked
I met my goal and completed the sales because for those thirty days, I had a simple but extremely effective sales strategy. I have used this same process hundreds of times since that month twenty-three years ago. It always works if I follow the steps with intent focus.
How to set a Sales Goal
- Define the sales goal. It should be specific. In this case, sell ten Toshiba 4550s.
- Define the ending date. This is important. It is easier to push through if you know the end is in sight. When you know there is a limited amount of time it’s easier to stay focused.
- Define elements that the prospects you want to call on will have in common.
- Create of list of best fit prospects. It doesn’t have to be hundreds, but it should be more than ten.
- Map out a plan to reach out to each of those prospects. Are you going to call, visit, or email? When will you do this?
- Focus and limit distractions during specified hours. I spent around seven hours of every workday focused on this sales goal.
I now have the opportunity to coach other salespeople to become more comfortable and successful in sales. Do you have a product or service and need help making it simple and easy to reach your sales goals? I’d love to talk with you. Reach out to me through Direct Message or email me at Reena@ReenaPhilpot.com if you would like more information on spots and programs available to work with me.
Reena, I’m proud to know you and Earl. You influenced my life for the good more times than you know. Your example has been better than great. I love to hear you speak simple wisdom. Your words are not dificult to understand, the task are completely doable, if you pay attention.
I have a great sales career, atained by listening to you and acting upon the advise. Many thanks to two of my hero’s.
Your lives are to be admired as Christian’s, Parents, Motivators, Models and best of all unwavering friends.
Sincerely,
Kenton Vaughn