Secret Formula for Sales Success Part III

I / $S= #S
#S X #P/S = #P
#P X #C /P = #C
#C X #A /C= #A 
#A / WORKING DAYS = #A/DAY
I / #A = VALUE OF EACH A

The next step is calculating the $S in order to determine the #S.  You must know your average commission or earnings per sale ($S).  If this is a varying number, in other words you are paid a commission and the amount of the sale is different from customer to customer then you need to do at least a 90 day look back and come up with your average earnings per sale. The best way to do this is to take your total earnings over the last 90 days.  Include commission, bonuses, renewal income and any other income generated by selling your product. Divide this total income number by the total number of sales made during this 90 day period.  This gives you your true average earnings per sale.  If you are paid a flat amount for every new sale then this calculation is easy.  If you are new to the profession of selling or you are new to your current position, ask management to give you a average earnings per sale for the entire sales staff for the last 90 days. I'm fact, this is a good number to have even if you are not  new to the profession or have been in your position for awhile. It would allow you to compare and gauge how you are doing against "average".   Do you need to step it up? Are you under achieving? 

Your average earnings per sale or $S then allows you to determine in your formula how many sales you need to make in order to achieve your income goal.  Take your income goal and divide it by the $S and that will give you the number of sales you need in order to reach your income goal (#S).

Once you have the #S (number of sales needed to reach your income goal) you can move on to the next step.

Expect to win!

--Jim

Secret Formula for Sales Success Part II

I / $S= #S
#S X #P/S = #P
#P X #C /P = #C
#C X #A /C= #A
#A / WORKING DAYS = #A/DAY
I / #A = VALUE OF EACH A

Let's begin at the beginning. Your Income Goal is where the formula starts.  Establishing your income goal is not a thoughtless task done with little planning.  I have witnessed many sales people just throw a figure out there in order to complete the formula.  I feel strongly that if your attitude towards the profession of selling is that flippant you should find something else to do.  Your income goal is the fuel behind your self motivation, self discipline and enthusiasm.
It is vital to your sales success to follow these 3 principles when setting your income goal.
1.  Include everything and everybody
     Consider all aspects of your financial life.  Your monthly bills, your               investment plan, your dreams and all that is involved in these areas should be considered when establishing your income goal.
Who is effected or involved in your financial life? Some of you have spouses or partners in life, others are single and it will not be necessary to communicate with anyone during this process.  However, if you do have someone that is effected by your income goal, you should at the very minimum explain the process and what is involved in the goal. It is very important that you allow this person to also use your income goal as their fuel for motivation and enthusiasm for your success.
2.  Stretch yourself
      It is extremely important that your income goal be exciting to consider.  It may be an amount that you have never considered to be possible.  It should be a goal that you will have to work hard for.  That you will have to grow and intentionally get better to achieve.  It should give you pride in what you do, your business, your profession.  Scare yourself, stretch yourself, make a statement to yourself, make a forever impact on your financial future.
3.  Take ownership of YOUR income goal
       This is your goal.  This is your income and your financial plan.  You say I just want to get by.  I say look at principles 1 and 2 and if you can't embrace those... never mind.  This is a goal that you never never never give up on.  If life happens and challenges come your way, you adjust and do whatever necessary but you never never never give up on achieving this goal.  The income goal is the fuel that gets you up early and stay late.  It is the motivation to do what others won't!  It is the discipline to hit your numbers.  But you have to take ownership of it first.
Embrace these 3 principles and go to work to establish your income goal.  Set it annually or monthly it doesn't matter.  Once you finish this vital first step then you can move onto step 2.

Expect to win!
--Jim

Life is good ... Live it up!

Secret Formula for Sales Success Part I

When you ask a typical salesperson what there plan is today ... The answer usually is "sell something, duh". Its amazing that they cannot give you a formula or plan to get that done.

Here is the secret formula to sales success:

I / $ PER SALE = # SALES
# SALES X # P/WU PER SALE = # P/WU
# P/WU X #C PER P/WU = #C
#C X #A PER C = #A
#A / WORKING DAYS = #A PER DAY
I / #A = VALUE OF EACH A

It doesn't appear to be simple but I assure you it is very simple.  It allows you to boil your success down to a very simple and basic formula.  It helps you to devise a very simple daily game plan to achieve whatever level of success you desire.
Here is the detailed description of this formula:

Income goal / $$ earned per sale = # of sales needed
# sales needed x # presentations / write ups needed to make 1 sale = # presentations / write ups required to reach income goal
# presentations/ write ups  required x contacts required to make 1 presentation / writeup = # of contacts needed to reach income goal
# of contacts needed x # attempts to contact needed to make a contact = # attempts needed to reach income goal
If your income goal is annual!, monthly or weekly - determine how many working days are that time frame.  Divide the total number of attempts by working days.  Also, take your income goal & divide it by the total number of required attempts. That gives you 1) how many attempts to contact you should make EVERY working day 2) how much each attempt is worth to you.

The first step is to determine your Income Goal. Annual, monthly or weekly it doesn't matter.  What do you need, want and desire?  How much do you want to give or invest? How much are your bills each month?  You do the calculation.  Spend the time and make sure you take ownership of this number and commit to your income goal.  We will then plug it in and get started on your formula.

Expect to Win!

--JW

Never Forget

God Bless Us All!!

I WILL hit my number!

Following up on yesterday's post about decisions ... Salespeople make many each day. The 1st is the most important.  I learned and now teach the sales process that doesn't begin with a greeting but with prospecting. Before making a first impression you have got to go and get a prospect. 

The decision that needs to be made involves determining how many people you need to talk to about your product or service to meet your goals.  The strategy should involve a daily number of contacts needed.  The decision then is moment to moment taking actions that lead to reaching that daily contact number.  You must determine what things you do during the day that help you hit the number and the things you do that keep your from hitting your number.  In sales we deal with rejection every day which we don't like.  The fact about our dislike for rejection leads to inaction in many cases.  That inaction comes from a decision to avoid rejection rather than make a decision to hit our number.  This decision comes about moment to moment throughout every day of every week of the month and year.  The habit of making the right decision to take action to hit your number every day is the catalyst behind success in sales.

Expect to Win!

--JW

Decisions & Consequences

I have felt the immersion of the news about Former Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice over the last 24 hours.  I had always believed that Rice was an upstanding individual and a guy that young boys can look up to.  However, what he did is disgusting.

 Is there anything for us to take from this other than a renewed sense of disdain for men that hit women?  He may be a good guy but he made a very bad decision to react to whatever was going on to brutally punch his wife.  Now, due to that decision, the consequences are that he has lost his once in a lifetime job and commentators are discussing whether or not he will ever play again.  I make many decisions every day and each one has consequences. Good decisions gain momentum and allow us to easily make more good decisions resulting in favorable consequences.  Developing the habit of continually making good decisions is like working a muscle to strengthen it to lift or run etc.  if you work the muscle you get stronger and faster but if you get out of the habit of strengthening that muscle you slow down and get weak.  You can not ride the fence when making decisions.  You either develop the muscle or habit to make good decisions or you let the muscle get lax and you develop the habit of making bad decisions. 

Life in business is controlled daily by the decisions we make no matter how small or monumental.  Therefore, it is vital to success that we develop the habit of making good decisions.

Expect to win!!

JW