Quota, quota, quota. Ever feel like that’s the first thing you think about when you wake up and the last thing on your mind before bed? It’s a big one. What’s the secret to killing sales quota? It’s not more calls, more activity, or a better product. It’s not better coaching or hiring the best sales team. These things are all important but they’re not the MOST important.
The most important part of quota attainment is monitoring. Ideas, strategies, goals, and objectives are all necessary but they’re nothing without monitoring.
What is monitoring?
It’s the deliberate, ongoing assessment of what you’re doing and the results you are getting. Monitoring is a form of learning. It’s the ability of salespeople to reflect on what they’ve been doing in order to inform them of future possibilities and objectives. It’s how we make the adjustments and pivots required to achieve our goals.
Plans Are Never permanent
When we set out to attain quota, we have an idea of what it will take and how we’ll get it done. Or we should. Typically, it’s in some sort of plan. Regardless of this plan’s existence, when we set out to accomplish something, things will change.
We learn new things, things that weren’t anticipated. We learn what is working. We learn what isn’t working. It’s these learnings that have the greatest impact on our ability to hit our number.
Why a Plan isn’t Enough on it’s Own
It’s really easy to say you’re going to make quota. It’s really easy to run out and start doing shit. And, that’s what most salespeople do. New year, new quarter, new month, we’re amped up, and we just go. But, maybe a few months or quarters in, things look very different than they did when we started. We aren’t at our goals, or if we are, we have no idea how we can maintain our current pace.
What happened? We forgot that shit happens. Life, politics, competition, etc. all get in the way. They screw with the plan. As John Steinbeck said:
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
Adjusting Quota Plans
We’ll never be able to predict what gets in our way when we start. The best plans are still just plans. Because of this, the wins happen in our ability to adjust. To make changes, to pivot our approach to account for these unforeseen circumstances.
It’s like halftime during a football game. We’ve seen the first half, we understand what has changed, what pieces of our plan haven’t work, what has worked, what assumptions were wrong, and what changes need to be made.
Monitoring and Learning
Our ability to monitor, observe, track, and adjust to the environment we’re in is what drives wins. Saying you’re going to get something done is great. Creating plans that meticulously outline how you’re going to win is even better. But, without a robust monitoring system that allows you to be nimble, learn from failures, validate assumptions, and redirect your efforts, reaching the finish line is going to be a nightmare.
Sales Quotas Need Ongoing Monitoring
Neglecting monitoring means we keep pushing forward with outdated plans, wasting time and resources on an ineffective strategy. Think about the Titanic sinking for a second. The captain and crew were unaware of the mass of icebergs below the surface of the water. Unfortunately, you know the rest of the story. Had the boating industry not adjusted to the knowledge that came out of that disaster there’d be hundred of ships
hitting icebergs every year.
From a selling perspective, think about this:
- What happens if the market shifts suddenly? Better be ready to pivot.
- What happens if your top competitors launches a new exciting product? Time to reassess our value proposition.
- Conversion rates start to tank? We better figure out why and quick!
Monitor, Adjust, Win
I’ll repeat, the best plans are still just plans. Winning is about execution, and execution requires constant monitoring and adjusting. We must:
- Understand the constant changes in the sales environment
- Identify what’s not working and what assumptions were wrong
- Redirect efforts based on real-time data
- Be quick to abandon a fail strategy and double down on what’s working
If we’re not monitoring and reacting to the results, we won’t win. Period
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