Setting Realistic Sales Goals

CEO: I'm firing our VP Sales. ME: How long have they been there? CEO: Almost 90 days. No major sales impact - it’s driving me crazy. ME: How long is your average sales cycle? CEO: Around 100 days. But they had a big pipeline... ME: Got it. And your SDRs and Marketing? CEO: We have one junior marketer running our blog/social. Occasional inbound demos, but our VP Sales hired first outbound SDRs. Also replaced 3 of 5 AEs. ME: Can I be direct with you? CEO: I can take it. ME: So your VP inherited a struggling team, replaced most AEs (so pipeline's probably weak), built outbound from scratch, had no marketing support—and you expected revenue impact faster than your sales cycle? CEO: Well, when you put it like that… —— I wish this was rare. It isn’t. Why? Because we keep expecting VPs to be magicians. To instantly ‘save the day’. Then blame them for results they had no time or tools to achieve. Realistically, here's what your VP can do in 90 days: 1. Assess and restructure your sales team 2. Hire stronger talent (3 AEs & SDRs is a lot) 3. Align sales targets realistically (to #1) 4. Deeply learn your market & product 5. Co-sell -> grab quick wins (if the pipeline is real!) 6. Coach team -> improve deal velocity (next Qtr) 7. Build internal alliances -> improve collaboration 8. Build better tools & processes -> save time, reduce friction But the board expects immediate revenue?... That's exactly the issue: Expectations. YOU hired them. Set realistic expectations. Protect your leaders. Firing too soon destroys confidence, morale, and leaves chaos behind. Thinking of firing after 90 days? Stop. Reflect. Yes, great VPs must create immediate IMPACT. But immediate REVENUE depends entirely on what they inherit: Outbound from scratch? Takes ~6mo. No marketing? Even slower. Replacing half your team? Expect delays. Weak pipeline? No quick wins. Revenue requires foundations. VPs aren't miracle workers. Give them a foundation—or the time to build it.

Why Your Sales Team Isn't Hitting Targets and HOW TO FIX IT 📊Today many businesses struggle with declining sales performance, and one of my clients - a mid-sized tech firm, faced this very issue. Despite having a talented team, they consistently missed their sales targets, leading to frustration and dwindling morale. They started sales coaching with me, and here's how we started and turned things around. Conducting Diagnosis: Understanding the Core Issues through a sales audit, and after an initial assessment, it became evident that several factors contributed to the poor performance. These are listed broadly as follows: 🚫Lack of Clear Goals: The sales team didn’t have well-defined, achievable targets. They were chasing numbers without a strategic plan. 🌀Inadequate Training: Despite their talent, the team lacked training in the latest sales techniques and tools. There was also an inefficient sales process at play. 🗯Poor Communication: There was a significant disconnect between the sales team and other departments, leading to missed opportunities and misunderstandings. 📌Low Motivation: Constant failure to meet targets had demoralized the team, impacting their productivity and drive. To address these issues, we implemented a comprehensive coaching and facilitation program focusing on well executed strategies: 🎯 Setting SMART Goals - to give the team clear direction and purpose. Fine tuning the sales process also contributed to efficiency. 💪Enhanced Training - on advanced sales techniques, product knowledge, and customer engagement strategies. 🧲Optimizing the Sales Process - by identify the bottlenecks and making necessary adjustments, we ensure that the process is customer-focused and aligns with their buying journey. 🎎Improving Communication - by establishing regular cross-departmental meetings and open communication channels to ensure everyone was on the same page. 👊Motivation and Incentives - by introducing a reward system to recognize and celebrate achievements, boosting morale and encouraging a healthy competitive spirit. Within three months, there was a complete transformation - the team had a high morale and camaraderie. Soon, they not only met but also exceeded their sales targets, achieving a 30% increase in sales. The clear goals, enhanced skills, and improved communication fostered a collaborative and motivated environment. The client’s sales performance skyrocketed, and the once-struggling team became a powerhouse of productivity and success. ✨✨ Need help identifying and fixing the issues in your sales team? Contact me for expert guidance and tailored solutions! 📌https://lnkd.in/dGGM5vCK #sonniasingh #sonniasinghleadershipcoach #salescoaching #salesoptimization #businessresults #SalesPerformance #SalesTargets #TeamMotivation #SalesTraining #SalesProcess #SalesLeadership

Yesterday I took the entire revenue team (sales, cs, marketing) off the floor for out for a very specific training. Goal Setting. Yep. The entire org for over 60 min together learning how to set and achieve goals. I do this 2x a year with my teams. Why? Because most people never accomplish their goals because they never actually set them and never actually create a plan to achieve them. I've gotten pretty dang good at setting goals. I've gotten pretty dang good at achieving goals. It makes life so much more fun. So here are the key concepts I teach in goal settting. 1. Set a goal in each of the 5 buckets. Self. Health. Wealth. Proffessional. Experience. 2. Identify the Keystone Goal - Which goal if achieved will have the biggest impact on all the rest. 3. Who do you need to BE in order to achieve this goal - How would this person act, work, communicate, behave, etc 4. What do you need to BELIEVE to achieve this goal - this combined with number 3 is where we create our affirmations. 5. Why do you want this goal - aka what will change in your world when you achieve it - If nothing changes... nothing changes. 6. What are you done dealing with now/whats the negative of NOT achieving your goal - Having a negative is important when things get hard. 7. Why you Why Now - Why are you capable of achieving this goal, what traits, resources, etc do you have that allow you to believe you can do this. 8. What are your 3x3s - 3 things daily, weekly, and monthly that if done will give you your best shot at achieving - Example - Put workout clothes out the night before with the alarm across the room - that would be a good daily for health 9. Make it visual - Vision boards (we will be doing this in a couple weeks as a team) - but also visualize it each morning, each evening, not just the accomplishing of the goal, but the process to achieve it. 10. Accountability - Share it with people that not only want to see you win, but also with people that won't allow you to lose/will hold you to the fire. --- All written out by each individual and then my challenge to them is to read it every morning and every night for 60 days. Watch what happens when you do. A team that sets goals together, wins together. I can't wait to see so many of theirs goals, so many of their affirmations, and so many of their achievements. This is going to be good ya'll. Just wait and see. PS - this is one of the most popular modules in the Sales Leadership Accelerator in fact it's unlocked right out the gate for all members. PPS - I'll be doing this workshop at Pavilion GTM in a few weeks as well here in Austin. Lets set and smash some goals ya'll!

People are often shocked when I tell them that at Enjay, my sales team has ZERO financial incentives. No commissions. No "deal closing" bonuses. "Limesh, how does the team function? What drives them?" सच बात ये है, I used to think incentives were the only fuel. But over 20+ years, I realised something uncomfortable. 👉 When business owners rely solely on financial incentives to drive sales, they are being lazy. It is their way of saying: "I don't want to teach you.  I don't want to build a process.  I don't want to create sales material.  Just take this money and bring me results." It is a shortcut. And shortcuts kill "Dhandha" in the long run. 👉 Here is the reality of our office:  We hire freshers.  If I dangle a carrot in front of a fresher who doesn't know how to sell, it’s not motivation.  It’s cruelty.  They need training, not pressure. 👉 Also, heavy incentives often breed "Toxic High Performers"—people who hit targets but destroy the company culture. 👍 So, how do we hit our numbers without the greed factor? 1. We Plan Together. Marketing, Support, Dev, and Sales sit together. We decide the goal. It is not dictated from the top; it is agreed upon mutually by the team members. 2. We Predict the Roadblocks. We ask, "What will stop us from hitting this goal?" We identify the bottlenecks before they happen. 3. We Monitor Execution, Not Just Results. We don't wait for the 30th of the month to scream at people. We watch the daily inputs. 4. We Focus on Potential. Incentives reward performance. Systems nurture potential. 👍 Business is an Infinite Game.  We aren't running a sprint to hit a quarter-end number.  We are running a marathon to stay relevant for decades. 🌹 Stop trying to bribe your team to work.  Build a system that makes their success inevitable. Thoughts?

I’ve been called the “SDR Team Turnaround” guy. When a company needs a boost or a revamp, they call me (AltiSales). It’s never easy, it’s never smooth, but here’s the step by step on how to completely turn around a struggling team. 1. Assess what’s wrong using data, not opinions. Every SDR will say “no one answers the phone” and “inboxes are crowded”… regardless of the connect rate being 1% or 8%. They’re right, 8% is still 92% no answer. Still, opinions don’t matter 2. Set up your North Star vision of revenue. Say you want SDRs to get $500K in revenue per year, your ACV is $70K, you need 7.2 deals. Imagine SDR meetings convert to revenue at 10%, then you need 72 meetings held per year or 6 per month. Now your team has to have a 10% connect to meeting on the phone, with 1500 dials and a 3.5% connect rate, you get ~5.2 meetings via phone every month. Email and LinkedIn are valid channels too but conversions vary widely. 3. Track TRENDING data. Cohorts matter. Week over week, and month over month across every micro-step. Phone, email LinkedIn. Phone —> dials. connects. Pitch. Conversation. Ask. Meeting set. Email / LinkedIn —> messages sent. Replied. Sentiment. Positive outcome (referrals count!) Now optimize conversions from step to step. 4. Align the team. You NEED a great leader. Struggling teams have a broken culture. Ghost dials happen sometimes. Excuses become the norm. To turn it around, you have to have a leader that has a RELENTLESS winning mentality and does not tolerate mediocrity. Your team needs to understand that revenue is the end goal, but if we did not hit revenue goals last month / quarter, we inspect the next best metric: MEETINGS HELD. Didn’t hit that? We inspect Meetings Set. Didn’t hit that? Conversations No? Connections / email opens / profile views Also not? Activity (calls + emails). I will NEVER ask a rep that has hit revenue quota, how many dials they made. I will ALWAYS demand that a rep on a PIP send me a daily report of the total calls made that day, and a summary of conversations w/ links. Act as a coach, get the best of your team by managing each rep differently. If they want to win, they’ll love you for it. If they’re here to just get by and get a base pay, they’ll quit quickly. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT! In any case, as you all start your 2026, I know many leaders are being asked to turn around a struggling team. I hope this helps. Hit the 🔔 on my profile to get notified of my posts. If you need more advice, hit my DMs. Remember I always share how to go from #SDRLeaderToCRO Have a FANTASTIC 2026 people 🚀

This is the most underrated problem I've seen when trying to build or expand partnership GTM: Leadership is initially fully behind a new partnership, excited about its potential, but that enthusiasm never makes its way down to the sales teams who are expected to execute. Without alignment, even the best partnership can stall before it has a chance to succeed. Why does this happen? Sales teams are often focused on their core products, and if a partnership doesn’t clearly benefit them or fit into their day-to-day operations, it becomes an afterthought. To turn things around, you need to make sure your partnership incentives, compensation, and training are in lockstep with the teams that will be selling your product. Here’s how to align incentives and drive results: 1. Ensure your incentives are compelling enough for frontline teams. It’s not enough to excite leadership—sales teams need a clear, tangible reason to sell your product. - Introduce a financial incentive or bonus structure that’s competitive with what reps earn on their core products. This could be a one-time bonus for the first sale, or an ongoing commission that rewards consistent effort. -Tie the incentive to their existing sales goals. If your product helps them hit their targets more easily, they’ll naturally prioritize it. 2. Structure partner compensation to motivate co-selling. If your partner compensation doesn’t align with their core goals, they won’t push your product. - Design a compensation plan that aligns with both the partner’s and your business objectives. For instance, if your partner’s core offering is hardware, incentivize bundling your software as part of the sale to create a win-win situation. - Offer performance-based incentives that reward partners for hitting key milestones—whether that’s a certain number of units sold, a specific revenue target, or even customer engagement metrics. Keep it simple and measurable. 3. Provide consistent training and engagement so your product isn’t just another checkbox. Sales teams won’t advocate for your product if they don’t fully understand its value or how to sell it. - Develop ongoing, bite-sized training sessions that fit into their schedules. Instead of overwhelming them with lengthy sessions, focus on 15-minute, high-impact trainings that teach them how to identify the right opportunities. -Pair training with real-time support. Join sales calls, offer one-pagers, and provide direct assistance during key customer engagements. When they feel supported, they’re more likely to feel confident pushing your product. This kind of alignment can make the difference between a stalled partnership and a thriving one. When sales teams are motivated, equipped, and incentivized to sell your product, the partnership stops being just another checkbox—it becomes a key driver of growth.

Bad goal setting can cripple your business (I know from firsthand experience). Here's how to set goals that propel your business forward. Step 1: Analyze last year’s performance. You can’t set the right goals without the correct information. So, take some time to gather data from the previous year to find areas of strength and weakness. Look at your: Revenue streams — what are your most profitable areas? Your biggest cost centers? Sales & marketing — can you spot trends in customer acquisition or marketing ROI? Operations — where is your business bottlenecked? Where might you be overstaffed? Employee performance — look at productivity and churn. Which direction are things going? — Step 2: Brainstorm areas for improvement. Write down all the possible things you could work on. This is a great group activity for your leadership team or even the whole company (depending on your size). The data you’ve collected in step 1 should give you some idea of opportunity areas. One tip: don’t discount an idea just because it’s hard. Often the biggest impact things are hard to do. But you should be realistic about the effort required to get something done, and its chances of success. — Step 3: Set SMART goals Specific: Define clear and precise goals. Instead of saying "increase sales," say "increase sales by 12% in the next 6 months." Measurable: Ensure each goal has quantifiable metrics. E.g. "Reduce customer acquisition costs by 15% by the end of the year." Achievable: Set realistic goals based on your resources, budget and other constraints. E.g. if you have limited cash, avoid goals that would severely impact your monthly cash flow. Relevant: Align goals with your overall business objectives. Ensure they address the key areas for improvement identified earlier. Time-bound: Set deadlines for each goal. E.g. "launch a new service by Q3." — Step 4: Develop an Action Plan For each goal, create an action plan that outlines: Steps and Milestones: Break down each goal into smaller, manageable tasks. Set milestones to track progress. Resources: Identify the resources needed (time, money, personnel) and ensure they are available. Responsibilities: Assign tasks to specific employees. Ensure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Timeline: Establish a timeline with deadlines for each task and milestone. Doubling down on one point there: always assign tasks to a single person. They can still bring in other people to contribute, but it’s one person’s responsibility to get it across the finish line. — Step 5: Monitor and Adjust Goals are not static. Regularly check your progress, and adjust based on new insights or changing circumstances. Schedule monthly and/or quarterly reviews to keep everything on track. Having a simple KPI tracker is a good way to keep tabs on things. Make sure you’re regularly checking in, and ask people to flag any roadblocks or necessary adjustments as soon as they identify them.

🌱 Why Ethical and Reasonable Goals Matter When setting goals, it's easy to focus solely on ambition and outcomes, but have you considered the impact of how you achieve them? Adding Ethical and Reasonable to your goal-setting framework ensures you’re not just chasing results but doing so in a way that builds trust, protects integrity, and drives sustainable success. Ethical goals align with your core values, fostering fairness and long-term credibility with stakeholders. Reasonable goals ensure your ambitions are grounded in reality, preventing burnout, resource waste, or unattainable expectations. That’s where SMARTER's goals come in, building upon the traditional SMART framework by adding ethical and reasonable elements to the mix. Here’s how it works: ☑ Specific Clearly define what you want to achieve. Example: "Increase customer retention by 10% over the next quarter." ☑ Measurable Track progress with clear metrics. Example: "Monitor customer retention rates using our CRM system and aim for a 10% improvement." ☑ Achievable Set realistic goals, given your resources and constraints. Example: "Train the customer service team to improve communication skills within the next two months." ☑ Relevant Ensure the goal aligns with broader organizational objectives. Example: "This retention improvement supports our larger goal of boosting annual revenue by 15%." ☑ Time-bound Define a clear deadline for achieving the goal. Example: "Achieve the target by March 31, 2025." ☑ Ethical Uphold fairness and integrity in your approach. Example: "Improve retention rates without misleading marketing or unfair pricing tactics." ☑ Reasonable Balance ambition with feasibility, considering constraints and risks. Example: "Set a 10% improvement target instead of an unrealistic 30%, given the current team size and budget." Incorporating Ethical and Reasonable into your goals ensures that your strategy supports sustainable growth while aligning with your values and resources. It’s about achieving meaningful results in a way that benefits everyone involved. If this resonates with you, follow me for more practical insights like this 🙌

Two recent tragic events highlight a crucial issue in the sales profession: the extreme pressure to achieve targets can have severe consequences on the well-being of salespeople. As a Sales Head or Business Head, it is essential to create an environment where targets drive motivation, not distress. Here are some strategies to help salespeople manage pressure and perform better: 1. Set Realistic and Achievable Targets: • Data-Driven Goals: Use historical data and market analysis to set realistic sales targets. This ensures that goals are challenging but attainable. • Input-Based Targets: Focus on activities that drive results (calls made, meetings set) rather than just output (sales numbers). This allows salespeople to focus on what they can control. 2. Promote a Culture of Support and Transparency: • Regular One-on-One Check-ins: Encourage managers to hold regular check-ins with their team members to understand their struggles and offer support. • Open Communication: Foster a culture where salespeople feel comfortable discussing the pressure they face. This can help address issues before they escalate. 3. Offer Training and Skill Development: • Stress Management Training: Conduct workshops on managing stress, time management, and productivity. • Sales Skill Training: Improving their skills can make it easier for them to close deals, reducing the stress that comes from feeling unprepared. 4. Incentivize the Process, Not Just the Outcome: • Recognize Effort: Acknowledge and reward the efforts that salespeople put in, even if they fall short of targets. Celebrating progress boosts morale. • Non-Monetary Rewards: Recognize achievements with time off, public recognition, or career growth opportunities. 5. Ensure a Work-Life Balance: • Encourage Breaks: Ensure that salespeople take time off to recharge, especially after high-pressure periods. • Limit After-Hours Work: Discourage work outside of office hours unless absolutely necessary, allowing them to maintain personal time and reduce burnout. 6. Provide Mental Health Support: • Access to Counseling: Offer access to mental health support, such as counseling services or stress management resources. • Create a Safe Space: Make it clear that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and ensure that employees know how to access support. 7. Review and Adjust KPIs Regularly: • Dynamic Targets: Be open to adjusting targets when market conditions change significantly. This demonstrates empathy and a commitment to supporting your team through challenges. • Solicit Feedback: Regularly gather feedback from the sales team on the feasibility of targets and use this input to make adjustments. By focusing on these strategies, you can help create a healthier and more productive sales environment. The aim should be to transform pressure into a motivating challenge rather than a source of anxiety, ultimately leading to better performance and well-being for your team.

"We need bigger deals to hit our revenue targets." Every VP of Sales says this. Then they discover what sucks about enterprise sales: As deal size goes up, win rates go down. Dramatically. Let's look at some super fun data to set the stage: - SMB ($5K-$25K): 35-45% win rate, 30-60 day cycle. - MM ($25K-$100K): 22-28% win rate, 90-120 day cycle. - ENT ($100K-$500K): 12-18% win rate, 180-270 day cycle - Strategic ($500K+): 8-12% win rate, 300+ day cycle. Now, the math gets fugly quickly: - SMB Rep: 40% win rate x 24 deals/year = 9.6 wins x $15K = $144K. - ENT Rep: 15% win rate x 8 deals/year = 1.2 wins x $250K = $300K. Sure, the ENT rep makes 2x the revenue. But look a tiny bit closer, starting with the risk analysis: - SMB rep: Predictable $144K +/- 20%. - ENT rep: Volatile $300K +/- 80%. And pair that with an ENT rep's reality: - Great year: $500K (2 big wins). - Average year: $300K (1-2 wins). - Bad year: $75K (zero wins). Versus a SMB rep's reality: - Great year: $175K (11 wins). - Average year: $144K (9-10 wins). - Bad year: $115K (7-8 wins). Which would you rather forecast? lol exactly. Look, we all know this, but worth repeating that as deal size increases, complexity explodes: - 4x more decision makers. - 5x longer cycles. - Higher budget scrutiny. - More competitors. Each factor multiplies the others. A $500K deal isn't 10x harder than $50K. It's 50x harder. Soooo what's a leader to do? Try building portfolios following the 60/30/10 rule: - 60% pipeline in reliable $25-75K deals (bread and butter). - 30% in growth $75-200K deals (stretch but achievable). - 10% in moonshot $200K+ deals (lottery tickets). You get base revenue from reliable deals, growth from MM expansion, AND upside from enterprise wins. Of course, be sure to build a specialized team. SMB reps need speed, process discipline, and volume management. Meanwhile, ENT reps need patience, relationship building, and the ability to navigate complexity. Don't try to have the same reps execute both motions...you'll just have a team that's mediocre at everything. tl;dr = bigger deals aren't better deals. They're different deals. Higher risk, higher reward, higher unpredictability. Before chasing ENT logos, ask yourself: - Can your team handle 85% rejection rates? - Can your forecast handle massive quarterly swings? - Can your pipeline handle 9-month cycles? If not, stay in your lane until you can. Because there's nothing wrong with winning consistently at $50K deals. But there's EVERYTHING wrong with losing consistently at $500K deals.