Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching
Aim for your Goal (not just your quota).
It's more than just semantics; these words have very different meanings yet are often confused in the sales world.
"Quota" is basically what the sales plan calls for a company (or a salesperson) to attain or reach a certain level of profitability. Essentially, this is the number that salespeople need to hit to keep their jobs. Another word that can be used in this scenario is "Expectation."
A "Goal" in the sales context is the number people should aspire to reach. It should be greater than the quota. As an example, a sales "quota" could be $1 Million - while the "goal" could be $1.2 Million.
Using the numbers above, a person could attain 98% of their "goal" ($1.18M), yet they still exceed their "quota" and finish the year at 118%. If a person uses the term "goal" in place of the word "expectation," it would be like receiving a kickoff at your own goal line and running it all the way to the other team's 2-yard line as the game clock expired – you didn't score (you were short by 2 yards).
Many years ago, I coached Girl's Softball. A challenge we faced was that the girls were getting thrown out frequently at first base. They seemed to slow down as they approached first base. So, I ran a drill that Softball and Baseball coaches everywhere probably run their teams through. I used my shoe to draw a line in the dirt about 10 feet past first base. This line was the point that I asked the girls to run to (and then look at the base coach to see if they should head towards second base or hold up at first by turning out). The result was that the girls were running at "full steam" when they hit first base. The goal was now a point beyond first base.
Your sales goal in 2023 should be a number greater than your sales quota/expectation. Blow through your quota – and shoot to exceed your goal!
Happy New Year & have a great sales week!