What to Do When You Miss Your Sales Target
Do You Know What to Do When You Miss Your Sales Target?
The quarter has closed and you have to face the fact that you are going to miss your sales target. The immediate effect is that you won’t get that quartely sales bonus that you wanted. But what about the longer-term effect? What does it mean when you miss your sales target in terms of for your stature on the sales team and your standing with sales leadership?
What to Do When You Miss Your Sales Target
When you miss your sales target, it’s is definitely not time to make excuses. When you miss your sales target, it’s time to figure out what went wrong and do something about it – hopefully in time to positively impact next quarter. Based upon 25+ years of solution selling training, missed sales targets usually point to a few common issues – some in your control and some out of your control. Do any of them fit your situation and are any of them legitimate reasons for your lack of performance?
- You can’t get meetings with decision makers or prospects are not returning your calls.
Many sales reps blame this phenomena on not enough marketing qualified leads (i.e., MQLs), weak product and solution offerings, or a lack of new and innovative solutions from Product Development. Before you identify this as the root cause to what ails you:- Determine if a competitor has launched a newer solution that offers additional benefits that are important to your ideal target client.
- Understand if your unique value proposition resonates enough with your target buyers in a way that is sets you apart from the competition.
- Ask for feedback on how you are communicating what your firm has to offer. Are your sales presentions compelling enough? Are you reaching the right level of buyer? Do you have case studies to back up your claims? Are you taking a customer-centric approach to selling by putting the needs of your clients first?
- The original sales target was unrealistic.
While many outside factors influence a sales reps ability to meet sales quota, top solution sellers consistently make their number – even in the face of internal and external obstacles. Before you identify this as the root cause to why you missed your sales target:- Find out if others on your team were able to meet their sales targets. What did they do differently that you?
- Research how your competition is doing to see if the whole industry is down and what is happening to your share of the market.
- Identify a list of acceptable excuses that were out of your control that impacted your ability to succeed. For example, a recent client missed their sales targets due to a severe drop in oil prices that was beyond their control. Be careful with this one as it is the job of an effective consultative sales person to find viable opportunities in any circumstance.
- Your offerings are too expensive.
Before you use price as an excuse, realize that unless you do not have a true solution to sell, price is rarely the problem when it comes to selling solutions. Solution selling is all about proving the value of solving the problem or achieving a result so that the value clearly outweighs the price. In fact, if you can frame your customer’s goals, problems, and needs in terms of personal and professional value, you shoudl be able to show that NOT solving the problem is far more expensive to the organization than your proposed remedy.
The Bottom Line
When you miss your sales targets, you need to be honest, curious, and open to change. Take the initiative to identify what you have learned, get some sales coaching, and develop a clear plan that outlines what you are going to do differently going forward. The best managers understand that sometimes targets are not met. What they care about is your response.
To learn more about what to do when you miss sales targets, download Are Your Sales Reps Leaving Money on the Table?