Rhonda from Michigan says her sales targets are unrealistic. Ryan Dohrn recommends talking to her manager about how the goal was set and the forecast behind it, then proposing adjustments together. If that fails, intensify pipeline activity, use your CRM, or consider finding a new manager.
What's going on, friends and fans? Ryan Dohrn here, your friendly neighborhood sales coach. And this week we're talking about goals and maybe some goals that might be just a little bit too high. This next listener question came from Rhonda up in Michigan. Hey, Rhonda from Michigan! I've got family up in Michigan, so we're big fans of Michigan. My goals, Ryan, are way too high. They are unrealistic. I'm not gonna meet them. I am very, very discouraged. What do I do? So Rhonda, first There's a lot of things that all of us have in common as salespeople. First, most of us have goals. Most of the time, those goals are typically set by somebody else. So if we don't get involved in the process, we're always going to just be delivered those goals and then we just kind of have to run with it. And it can be a little bit frustrating and discouraging. A lot of times what I like to do, if I feel that the goal is just basically unattainable, is I like to take a more positive approach When I'm sitting and meeting with my boss. I think the worst thing you can do is kind of stamp your feet or whatever and say, this is unrealistic, it's just not going to work for me. I think I would take more of an approach like this. Maybe you talk to your supervisor and say, first and foremost, I really like working here. Secondly, I enjoy working for you, even if you don't. I enjoy working for you, but I have a concern. And my concern is my goal is so high that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to reach it based on what I'm seeing in my forecast. And so if I keep missing my goal, not only are you going to be upset with me, but it's also real discouraging to me. Is there something we can do? Could we talk about where the goal came from? Can we look at my forecast? Can we just— can we kind of talk about it? Because I want to create a winning scenario for me, which ultimately means a winning scenario for you and the company as well. A lot of times there's just not enough dialogue with salespeople. So those of you that are in sales leadership, they might be listening to this tip. Get your salespeople involved. Get your team involved in the setting of goals. See, when I'm managing sales teams, I usually let them set their own goals because a lot of times they come in too high and I gotta adjust them back down. Typically, salespeople are kind of overly ambitious with their goals, but then sometimes we're just realistic people. We look at those goals and say, you know what, this goal isn't going to help me. This goal is actually going to discourage me. Now, some of you that write me, you're like, hey, I don't want a goal. I don't need a goal. And I would say that almost everybody needs a goal and goals in their sales life because there's nothing worse than running a race with absolutely no finish line in place. So my thought would be on this, Rhonda from Michigan, talk to somebody about it. Just have an open dialogue about it. And, and if they won't change their mind, then just really work hard at it. Really amp your efforts up, add more people to your pipeline. Just do your best to really get out there and slay it. And in the end, at the end of the year, if you just feel like, I just can't do it, it's just, it's not possible, I've tried everything, then maybe it's time to be— look, you know, look for somebody else that maybe might be a better manager or something like that. But my encouragement would be try to have an open dialogue with a supervisor that you have currently right now. And then also, don't forget, Rhonda, use all the tools that are there. Watch all these videos, use your CRM, make sure your patterns are really great. I mean, because you never know, you might just blow the doors off your goal, Rhonda. You just never know. I hope that's helpful to you, Rhonda. And for all the folks who are listening out there, keep your questions coming. I love them. Send them to ryan@ryandohrn.com. Love to motivate your sales team. Love to come to your sales conference. Reach out to me. Always happy to help. See you next week.
