It’s often been said that “it’s not about how you start; it’s about how you finish.” While that certainly sounds encouraging, it can be stress inducing when you’re discussing end of the year sales goals within your company. Undoubtedly you began the fiscal year with a certain number in mind, and if you’re like most companies you find yourself making an end of the year push to get to that number. While you may be stressing out trying to figure out a way to get your balance sheet to look the way you want it to, there are some steps you can take to meet those goals before you start the whole process over next year.
Know Your Team
Finding a way to effectively motivate your team may seem easier said than done, but it’s probably what matters the most when making the push to hit those sales goals. Instead of simply calling them all together to tell them what number they need to reach so they can be a part of the operation next year, find out what really matters to them. There’s nothing wrong with creating a bonus plan that incentivizes a strong showing when it comes to sells. Establishing bonuses of some sort, employee rewards programs or something else that goes beyond their typical paycheck can flip the switch on getting your crew to take the next step in their sales.
Knowing Your Customer Base
Unless you’re in your first year of business, you should already have something in place that tracks your client base’s spending habits. Knowing when and where they typically spend the most money puts you in the driver’s seat in pursuit of your sales goals. Studying the past behavior of your customers can tell you who to expend the most amount of energy and resources on as the year comes to a close. There’s a better chance than not that the same customers who had money to spend at the end of the year last year, will have money to spend at the end of this year as well.
Change Some Habits
Depending on how far away you are from your sales goals at this point, you may want to change some of the things you’ve been doing. If you’re on track, you may be able to maintain the status quo and still hit the mark, but it’s never too late in the year to call an audible, change things up and make a push in the same direction through a new method.