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I have no annual gols at all, all what I have is a revenue that I need to achieve. what make it wort, is that I did not propose that revenue figure. The figures was decided from our GM without discussing that with me.

I need an advise to what can I do in this situation.

jhack's picture

Sounds like an annual goal to me.

Have you listened to the podcast on annual goals? http://www.manager-tools.com/2007/12/how-to-set-annual-goals-part-1-of-3/ In addition to the goal setting process, there is a useful discussion on how to back into goal acheivement.

Break down the big goal into pieces that can be approached individually. Monthly and quarterly pipeline and revenue, for example. You'll know quickly if you are on track, and if not, you can have the hard conversations early with your leadership, suggesting ways you can work together to get to the goal.

John

amn2000's picture

jhack

Thanks for your reply, I tried to get into discussion with my leader, however, I just new about the goal on April!. and I don't know exactly what I should do.
According to me it will take great resources to get near to it. the figure is too high to be reach by this year.

Appreciate your adcice.

jhack's picture

I think the key is to break it down by month, align it with your pipeline (salespeople are notoriously optimistic about pipeline and forecast!), and then present it to your boss as a 'plan.'

If your sales manager won't go through your pipeline with you, well, you may have a deeper issue.

John

HMac's picture

amn2000-

Since you have a revenue goal, I'm going to guess that you're in a sales or business development role...

In my experience, a key to working with sales goals is to distinguish between [i]activity [/i]goals and [i]outcome [/i]goals.

Revenue is an outcome goal - it's the outcome of the sales process. It's hard for you to control directly - because sales revenues are ultimately the result of someone deciding to buy. Bad news: you have no control over the buyer's decision. Good news: you have lots of control over the steps leading to that decision (from prospecting and qualifying, to presenting and negotiating).

So you CAN set up activity goals for the key activities - that are within your control - which lead to the buying decision.

The "right" activity goals vary greatly, depending on the industry, service or product being offered, price and terms of the sale, and a lot of other factors. Your goals will make sense for your circumstances. Here are some questions to consider when you're goal setting in a sales or business development role:

What's the "average sale" (revenue) for your company, or for someone in your role?

How many average sales will it take to make revenue? Per year? Per quarter? Per month? Per week? Per day? (take it down to the applicable level)

How many presentations convert into sales?

How many contacts convert into presentations?

That's a very broad outline - but it can be fit to your circumstances with a little help from within your company.

If this sounds like a "numbers game" - yeah, it is. Numbers aren't everything - but they're a great way for you to get a handle on tracking your progress. Plus - they give you a lot of little places to try to improve on: so you can get better in the areas that provide the most impact.

Good luck!

US41's picture

You have a goal - it has been set. My advice:

* Accept it
* Show some enthusiasm
* Try your best to reach it

Delegate portions of it amongst your staff. Set their goals too high also so that if they achieve them, you will surpass the goal. Set the bar high. Do not forget Shamu the Whale in the podcast on MT goals.

Here's more advice:

* Set two more goals for your department that are your idea
* Ask your boss for his objectives and make those your goals too.

Your invented goals should probably plow into the revenue goal. What are activities that will directly impact making revenue go up beyond just having lots of sales? What makes sales go up? Those are your goals.

AManagerTool's picture

I'll echo US41 and add that Drucker himself said that more than 3 real goals for an executive is a circus act. Dont' feel bad that you only have one. Do that one...to extremes! If you have the ability to do more...do them as well but that one revenue goal should be what makes you get up in the morning and loose sleep at night over.

amn2000's picture

Thanks to all of you.

I'm breaking the target into monthly targets over 6 months. I hope it works..