How do you set SMART goals for sales reps with different skills, experience, and personalities?

Most companies set a quota for sales reps. Unfortunately, many times these quotas are set based on manufacturing output while ignoring the reps’ input regarding conditions in their territories. Apparently Management take the stance that their Reps will under estimate the coming year’s potential. Good Management should know their Reps, their Territory potential, and base the quota on a manageable level. Reps are usually NOT sandbaggers and will give feedback that is obtainable. The new year starts off on the wrong foot when the Rep knows the quote is unobtainable; no matter how much effort is exerted. Give them a challenge that will require work, but can be obtained. Keep your salesforce with positive morale.

Role-playing with your sales reps is the best way to see their skill level in action. Once you have that data, you can train up each rep, so a uniform sales goal doesn't seem out of reach for some of the reps. You can also set goals based on tenure. You can give a higher goal to a sales rep who has been at the company longer than a newer employee.

Setting SMART goals for sales reps with varying skills, experience, and personalities requires a tailored approach. Firstly, assess each individual's strengths and weaknesses to identify areas for improvement. Then, establish specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals that align with their abilities and role expectations. Provide support, training, and resources to bridge skill gaps. Consider their unique personalities when setting goals, ensuring they are motivated and engaged. Regularly track progress, provide feedback, and make adjustments as needed. Ultimately, the key is to strike a balance between challenging sales reps while setting realistic goals that drive their growth and maximize their potential.

Consider the following approach: 1-Specific: Clearly define the goals, tailoring them to each individual's strengths and areas for improvement. 2-Measurable: Establish concrete metrics to track progress. This could include a specific sales target, the number of successful client meetings, or the conversion rate. 3-Achievable: Ensure that the goals are realistic and attainable for each sales representative based on their skills and experience. 4-Relevant: Align the goals with both the individual sales rep's strengths and the overall objectives of the sales team or company. 5-Time-Bound: Set specific timeframes for achieving the goals. This could be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the nature of the objectives.

Situational goals that are jointly developed with each salesperson tend to have the most ownership and eventual results. This approach is more time consuming for sales managers but well worth it.

Several of my clients include an alignment exercise when working with their salespeople to craft their goals. The exercise helps the salesperson connect their individual efforts and results to the larger objectives of the organization. They also use this exercise across all disciplines such as Marketing and Manufacturing which really connects all the employees.

Definir los objetivos SMART para cada representante de ventas, basándose en el análisis previo y en la estrategia comercial de la empresa. Comunicar los objetivos SMART a los representantes de ventas, explicando el porqué, el cómo y el cuándo de cada meta.

While reps care about the company strategy, they won't care about it much if its in conflict with their compensation plan. In a perfect world, the comp plan and the company strategy perfectly align. But we don't live in a perfect world. This is where the challenge for the manager lies. You have to first show them what is in it for THEM by hitting these goals, and then tie it to the overall strategy. If people aren't making money or hitting their goals, they're going to ignore what the company needs.

Gisela- Suppose you are stuck in a middle of a desert 🏜️ and thirsty, needing water badly. Here keeping just a glass of water with yourself would work as a smart achievement but keeping lime water would work as a smart and strategic achievement keeping you dehydrated as well. Because, here, your goal is not just to quenching your thrust, but, most importantly keeping dehydrated. Same goes with sales and many other depts. Just a goal and/or achievement doesn’t serve the purpose of the organisation. It may/may not develop the organisation. Whereas being them strategic would help the org align them with the mission and/or vision of the organisation. Not sure if this of help. The space is too short to write essays and stories. 😁

You should never set goals for your reps. They’re their goals not yours Encourage them to set their own goals (by all means show them what good goals look like) Ensure you have an environment where goals are celebrated and supported. Then get out of the way

The biggest mistake that new sales managers make is that they try to motivate everyone the same way. Usually through ways they themselves would be motivated. You need to find what motivates the rep, and then help set goals around those things. Set goals that are realistic, and double down on their strengths. If someone is amazing at cold calls, but inexperienced at cold email, perhaps you set prospecting goals around calls not emails. Play to their strengths and interests, and set the goals accordingly.

Great advice! One on one meetings are a good time to assess strengths and areas needing improvement. Team leads also need to share their success stories so the new employees know that goals are attainable.

Involving sales reps in the goal-setting process increases their buy-in and commitment to achieve their goals. Organizations can leverage reps' insights to make goals more relevant and achievable, using techniques such as brainstorming, negotiation, and coaching. Providing resources such as training, data, and ongoing coaching, and tracking progress helps reps stay motivated. Involving reps and providing support sets teams up for success and drives growth for the organization.

It is difficult to get buy-in for any goals that are set by the company. It's been our experience that when sales professionals set their own personal goals they always add up to more than the company wants to begin with.

Sales Managers should also be aware of the change management path when working with their salespeople on individual goals. Many times goal achievement is dependent on the salesperson making changes in their selling approach. Sales Managers can impact the desire for change, make resources available for learning and growth, and reinforce the big and small victories that lead to goal success.

When you set goals with people on your team, you should set expectations that you are going to: 1.) Help them achieve these goals 2.) Hold them accountable Ask the rep questions that help you help them such as: "What can I do to help you achieve this goal?" "How would you like me to hold you accountable" This gives the rep control, and freedom. They don't feel micromanaged, and you get to set expectations with each other.

I agree. This is especially important for senior salespeople who have goals associated with large, complex account/prospect opportunities. Strong opportunity teams that meet regularly can keep account goals front and center and adjust along the way. In my experience, this will lead to account/prospect advancement and success.

Hacer un seguimiento periódico de los objetivos SMART, dando feedback, reconociendo los logros y corrigiendo los desvíos y adapatndo los objetivos si es necesario, es decir, ser flexible.

The biggest trap when setting goals is most people aren't clear with the difference between a goal & lifestyle. GOAL: A specific, measurable outcome to achieve by a deadline. LIFESTYLE: A specific, measurable outcome/activity you maintain & engage in consistently with no deadline. Ex: LIFESTYLE: To maintain good physical shape-that's not something you do for a month, then stop. It's part of your routine & lifestyle-forever. GOAL: Finish remodeling project by X. LIFESTYLE: Maintain a healthy relationship with family, customers, coworkers & friends-forever. GOAL: Make a certain amount of money by X. Look at your goals. If the activity/result doesn't have an endpoint-it's a lifestyle. If you can put a deadline on the result-it's a goal.

Set Monthly goal and keep reviewing it on weekly basis for initial six months. This gives a better understanding of the alignment of goals with individual. Six months assessment is enough to decide and set long term goals. Now it is important to make a little adjustment for that candidate by ensuring the strategic alignment remains balanced.

Ensure that the goal setting process isn't used as a stick if someone misses their goals. The goals of their job should be outlined in the job description. So, if you're setting goals around money or bonuses, understand that if you punish them for missing, they'll start setting low, hittable goals, and they'll never grow.

There is no one size fits all! That's where we should always start. There is nothing that is 100% appropriate for 100% of the population 100% of the time. Development and implementation of goals should follows this assertion. What is needed is a unique and personalized exercise of developing targeted objectives for the individual person in order for them to be really, truly bought in and feel motivated to act and follow through over time. Of course this can be a challenge to build in conjunction with the heavy demands of an organization, but if we desire for the outcomes to be achieved, there has to be this individual investment exercise so that there is a genuine belief that outcomes are possible.