It’s true. As of June 6, when we post this blog, there will be 29 weeks until the end of 2021. That’s hard to believe.
This is almost mid-year for many of you. And definitely, an ideal time to look at your sales performance and make any necessary adjustments.
There’s an easy formula you can use to quickly gain insights into how you’ve done so far, your distance from your goal, and immediate actions you can take to celebrate your sought-after achievement on December 31.
What is this easy formula? And how does it help you align your actions with your year-end goal?
Calculate your goal.
Step #1: What are your gross sales (pre-tax for those of us who still get gross and net mixed up) so far for 2021?
Step #2: Subtract this number from the total revenue you want to generate this year. Whatever your answer, you now have 29 weeks to reach this goal. Actually, that’s not accurate. While there are 29 working weeks left, many of us will take some holidays. And there are a few long weekends to consider plus the Christmas season so … you may want to work with 26 weeks left. Or even 25 weeks.
Step #3: How many individual clients have you billed so far this year?
Step #4: Take your answer from Question #1 (the amount of revenue you’ve generated this year) and divide it by your answer to Step #3 (the number of individual clients you’ve billed so far this year). Now you have your current average worth of one client.
Step #5: Divide this average worth into the amount of revenue you still want to generate this year (the answer from Step #2) and this is, roughly, the number of clients you need to close – and invoice – before December 31, 2021.
Set aside any emotion these numbers inspire.
Numbers aren’t emotional. They are logical and that’s their magic. It’s been a tough year for everyone and, if your numbers indicate you have a lot of work to do to reach this year’s goal, that’s okay. You’ve got time to make it happen and, hopefully, a less pandemic-influenced world in which to do it.
It’s incredibly valuable to track even more numbers such as:
- How many potential clients have you spoken with/met so far this year?
- How many have accepted a proposal or participated in a demonstration or agreed to a discovery meeting?
- How many of these have become clients?
Knowing your numbers – and looking at them regularly – is the foundation of every successful sales process. The more you crunch your numbers, the more you’ll know about what’s working, what’s improving, and what you need to change.
Adjust your sales process to marketplace changes.
My numbers have always told me when it’s time to adjust. How I reached and sold my target market three years ago is not how I reach and sell them today. And I’ve had to make further alterations throughout this pandemic. A successful sales process must always be adapting, evolving and embracing new methods and skills.
This is what I love about sales, this element of change and creativity. My ability to know what changes are necessary and to put them into action quickly make me a successful sales coach. I’m honoured to have clients that, even in the midst of this past year’s upheaval, have seen 2x, 3x and even 10x revenue growth. Looking at these numbers made me realize, “I should be doing more of this!”
So I am.
If you are serious about improving your sales results, and willing to invest both time and money, please click here to learn more. This is not a free course. It’s not about signing up and watching a recording someday. This is about commitment, discipline, practice and … immediately generating more revenue.