Success is not the same for everyone, how do you define it?

I overheard this between a sales manager and one of our coaches.

"My team aren't motivated to put in the effort to achieve their goals"

"What do you mean by their goals"

"You know, their targets"

"What makes you think these are their goals"

The manager had fallen into the trap of assuming things about his team (don't assume as it will make an ass of u and me). The incorrect assumption is that sales people are driven and know what they want. Whilst this is true of the best sales people, the majority just come into work to do as they are told.

Visualise the rewards of success
Anyone, in any area of life, who is successful, can clearly articulate what they are driving towards. They know what success looks like and how to get there. Key to their success is they have a plan - a personal business plan - and they use this to drive the actions and activities. They are therefore not only able to visualise what success looks like but they can explain how they are going to get there.

How can you use a Personal Business Plan
If you were investing in something with a view to generating a return, you would expect to see a business plan which defines what success looks like (targets), how this will be achieved (activities) and what support they require (investment). You use this plan to decide if you can justify the investment, and if you do not believe in the plan you make suggestions as to what could be done to improve the likelihood of success.

As both individuals and managers we should be able to do the same.

• As an individual - I should be able to build my own plan for the coming year covering:
• What I want to achieve - Earning, promotion, etc.
• What I need to do to achieve it 
• A sales plan for the next 12 months - aligned to my revenue targets. This should include my own personal KPIs that I can use to track success
• An achievements plan - what must I do to achieve my promotion/skills targets
• What investment do I need
• What support do I need from my manager/organisation
• As a manager - I should review the individual plans and align them against my plan. I can then make the decision "is the plan worth investing in?"
• Are the target achievements in line with my organisation targets
• Do I believe the plans.
• Can I provide the investment

So where should we start
As part of the planning process for next year we should ask everyone in our teams to build their own personal business plans (even if we have not finalised the sales targets). This way we will hear from everyone what their aspirations are and how they intend to achieve them.

If you want to see an example personal business plan please contact me (mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com)

Next week we will look at how we review the personal business plan.

To find out more about how Accredit can help you and your sales teams contact me (mark.savinson@sales-accredit.com) or visit our website (www.sales-accredit.com)