How to Set and Achieve Business Goals

Derek — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:05:06 +0000

Do you want to know what makes a business successful? It’s not profit, reputation, or impact. It’s not marketing or finance. It’s not whether you’re sitting in a Herman Miller chair or on a park bench. It is when you set business goals and achieve them.

Without business goals, you will never know “What’s Important Now?” You can work on anything you want and never hold your business accountable. If you don’t set business goals, success will remain intangible and impossible to find. After all, how can you reach for what you can’t see?

So how do you set business goals and achieve them?

One or Two Goals, Max

We have enough going on with just “living” our lives. We have to shower, eat, work, clean, and the list goes on and on. You need to set one or two goals, max, because you won’t have time for anything else. You need to put all of your eggs in one basket and devote your time to fortifying that basket. You’re a business person and your time is limited. You simply won’t have time for more than one or two goals.

Command Your Ship

The leadership expert John C. Maxwell said, “A Pessimist complains about the wind. An optimist expects it to change. A leader adjusts the sails.” And that my friends, is how you create a business goal. You need to look at something you control and aim to control it. Don’t focus on the weather, focus on what you can do to change the weather.

Two Versions Of Your Goal

You need to have two versions of your goals. You need to have one goal that you think you can achieve and then one goal that is much higher than the first. You never know what you might accomplish and you don’t want to sell yourself short by setting your goals too low.

Make Your Goals Public

When I started this “Success Factors” series I committed to one article per day. Let me tell you, it’s hard. It’s real hard to find one unique article per day to write about. Yet, here I am, staying up all hours of the night and losing sleep to make sure I get one article up per day. My goal is public and I don’t want to fail.

Do Something Today

I just launched Prevential.com and I kept asking myself, “What can I do right now to grow my audience?” So I started a blog series. Instead of trying to optimize my website for search engines, I focused on what I did best and started writing immediately.

Forget Effort. Manage Activity

It doesn’t matter how hard you work. What matters is how much you do while you work hard. So, if you’re trying to sell shower doors, you should contact 500 people instead of 400 people. Don’t work on improving your conversion ratio because that could take a lifetime of practice. Instead, focus on what you control and that’s how many people you talk to.

Now, how about you join the conversation?

Who Else Wants To Sell Like Gary Vaynerchuk?

Derek — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:51:59 +0000

This article is the 5th article in the Sales Training 101 article series.

Photo Courtesy of Brian Solis

I know I do. So, let me explain.

First, have you heard of Gary Vaynerchuk (@Garyvee) yet? He’s the brash, animated guy behind Wine Library TV, a video blog that sells wine, and GaryVaynerchuk.com, a video blog that helps entrepreneurs become successful.

But why does he matter to you?

Gary Vaynerchuk is an expert salesman. He makes a ton of money selling wine on the internet and now selling his ideas and advice on new media. He’s been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, and tons of other media outlets (check his About Page).

But how can he help you sell?

I came across Gary Vaynerchuk over at Technosailor, and I was hooked on his videos. I watched every video on his entrepreneur video blog and then went to Wine Library TV, and watched a ton of videos about wine.

Did I mention I hate wine? I absolutely hate the taste of wine, and Gary had me so curious that I went out and had a glass of wine with dinner. I still hated it, but I had it because of Gary.

Just like you, I was left wondering how he managed to convince me to have wine, so I watched his videos again and now, without further ado, here are five ways you can sell like Vaynerchuk:

Embrace Yourself

In a world where nothing is private, you need to embrace yourself. Everything you do is on display somewhere, so you might as well show your true colors to keep the message clear and consistent.

As a new or experienced salesman, your clients and prospects will find out your true intentions. So, you might as well show them. If you’re trying to help, great. Help them. Unfortunately, if you’re selling for the wrong reasons, you better find the right reasons or else you won’t be successful.

Here is Gary stressing the importance of embracing yourself (source):

Go and Get It

It seems simple right? Yet, so many people stand around waiting for success to be handed to them on a silver platter. It just doesn’t make sense.

Successful sales people put themselves in the line of fire (the most crowded places) with a bullet proof vest (a plan) and emerge victorious on all occasions. You can’t sit around waiting for clients to find you, you need to find them and show them why you’re the salesman for the job.

Check out Gary proving this point to the max (source):

Work The Room

Fifty years ago corporations controlled what consumers read and saw about their products. Their job was to present the products to the masses so they would buy them.

Not anymore.

With the internet taking the power away from the gatekeepers (newspapers, television, and radio), everyone has a voice and the corporation who fosters that conversation will be successful.

Not only does this affect corporations, it affects salesmen.

Fifty years ago, when someone wanted to buy a new car, they want to their local dealership because they did not have a choice. They dealt with the people and bought the cars.

Not anymore.

Today, people have the choice of buying local or across the world. If you wanted to buy a car, you could buy it in Texas and have it shipped. If you wanted to buy a computer, you could skip Best Buy and order it on the internet.

The times have changed.

Salesmen are no longer speaking at a set local audience. They need to communicate with their local audience to ensure they don’t go elsewhere. So, work the room, Gary style.

Gary Vaynerchuk Working the Room (source):

Word of Mouth

We all know the importance of word of mouth. If you make people feel great, they will talk about you and your business to their friends.

Master car salesman Joe Girard would regularly take out the car service staff to lunch. As a result, Girard’s clients would get preferential treatment and would rarely wait on line to have their car serviced.

Guess what happened? All of the car buyers talked about it and everyone wanted to deal with Joe Girard.

Now, people today are much more popular than they were twenty years ago. They have hundreds or thousands of friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. They have hundreds or thousands of loyal readers on their blogs and forums. One huge supporter can be the difference between success and failure.

So, salesmen, not only do you need to keep the client happy with their purchase, you need to get your client talking about you. You need to make sure you take those extra steps and devote more time and resources to making your clients feel great.

Here is Gary on Word of Mouth and Brand Equity(source):

Better Than Zero

When people start a business, they talk about their dreams and where they can end up if they’re successful. They relish in their small victories by posting money on the wall, and celebrating every win.

When people become successful, they forget about their small victories. They forget about their first sale, first account, and their grand-opening. They become focused on their biggest clients and they forget the rest.

Salesmen should never forget their small clients. Sure, they may not be as valuable, but they were there when you first started. They were there keeping you afloat while you built your business.

Here is Gary talking about his theory “Better Than Zero” (source):

Sell Like Vaynerchuk

Are you ready to start selling like Gary Vaynerchuk? Leave a comment.

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