During the month of December, I will be delivering five half-day VIP Synchronize Sessions with clients who are ready to double or triple their sales in 2015. I get to spend four hours diving deep into the numbers, dissecting exactly what my clients need to do to reach their 2015 sales goals. We will determine their stretch sales goal for next year and then chunk it down to a monthly, weekly and daily sales goal so they can get there easily and with less stress.
Sound like fun?
Most people respond with a resounding, “No!”
“No, Ursula, that doesn’t sound like fun! In fact, I’d rather spend the day in a snowstorm in Minnesota in sub-zero weather than work on my numbers all day!”
I hear you. I understand that to most folks, this doesn’t sound like fun at all. It’s painful. I get it. But, it’s like most things: It’s only painful for a little while and then it gets easier…and actually FUN. Yes, working on your numbers eventually becomes fun. Why? Because it leads to more sales. When people have more sales and more money in their bank accounts, they suddenly begin to have more fun.
Are you convinced yet? It’s okay if you aren’t. I still want you to stick with me as we dive into the 5 reasons why knowing your sales numbers really matters and how it can also be a gift to you. Yes, a gift.
Give yourself the gift of numbers this holiday season and I promise you 2015 will be beyond your wildest expectations.
You have a special sales formula that is yours and only yours. If you don’t know your formula, it’s pretty tough to get there . Now, when I show you the sales formula, you might say, “I know that!” But the true test of knowing it, is whether or not you are actually doing it. There’s a big difference. Let’s say you want to make $120,000 per year (that number comes up often). That would mean you want to sell $10,000 per month, right? Let’s imagine that your average sale is $1,000 per month and your closing ratio is 50%. So, for every two prospects you meet with, you close one. When you put all of that together, you need to have 20 qualified appointments per month to reach your sales goal (so you can close 10 of those at $1,000 each for a total of $10,000). Now, let’s do the math and figure out your unique sales formula:
- Write down your annual sales goal: $___________
- Now, divide that number by twelve to figure out your monthly sales goal: $___________
- Next, write down your average sale: $___________
- Let’s imagine that your closing ratio is 50% (might be less, might be more, but let’s go with an average). So that means you will need to divide your monthly sale goal by your average sale to figure out how many new clients you need each month to reach your goal: $___________
- Finally, multiply that number by two (50% closing ratio) to determine the amount of qualified prospects you need to meet with every month to reach your goal: ___________
Excellent! You now have your initial sales numbers to reach your goal!
The numbers are where your successful sales plan begins. The reason I am so adamant about having my clients get clear on their numbers is because the numbers tell me everything. The numbers tell me where you want to end your year and then we can work backwards from the end result. All successful people have a clear vision and goal in mind before they get started. That is their map—their guide—to getting what they want. When you have a clear goal, the steps to get there start to show up pretty quickly. When I am working with a client and we are going over their projections for the following year, I can see pretty quickly the steps they need to take—and they can, too!
Stretch sales projections create massive action. As I mentioned above, a successful sales plan is the basis for everything you do during your year to make it successful. Plus, when you create STRETCH sales projections, you will be moved into massive action. Why? Because when you create mediocre projections (meaning, “I’ve reached this sales goal before so I can probably do it again”) you get mediocre results. When you create a stretch goal, you begin to get inspired ideas for massive action that will get you where you want to go. In fact, you will often go way outside of your comfort zone but into your money zone. Tony Robbins always talks about the power of taking massive action in your life and business. I know that in my own business and in my clients’ businesses, massive action got them where they wanted to go—FAST!
You can’t receive if you don’t ask. The Bible tells us that to receive, we must ask. Many spiritual AND business texts tell us the same. In sales, asking begins with your numbers. By putting a sales projection plan together, you are literally asking the Universe to help you reach those goals. I can’t explain it, but I can tell you that my clients who take the time to put their projections together often reach them—and they forget that they’ve even put them in writing. I’ve had many meetings where my clients pull out their projections from the year before and they are shocked to see that they’ve achieved their goals! So do it . You might just be pleasantly surprised at the end of 2015.
On average, you will only close 25% of your pipeline. The numbers tell a story. All of my clients track their pipeline on a Work in Progress excel spreadsheet. It shows me who their prospects are, what is 99% closed and what is closed. If you know that only 25% of your pipeline closes on average, then you know exactly how many appointments you need to have with prospects to build that pipeline. Tracking your activity might feel like an arduous, boring task, but when you build that habit over time, it will pay you huge dividends.
As the year ends, it is not a time to despair. It is time to hope and to take massive action! Now is the time to plan for a 2015 that lights you up, lifts you up, and takes you exactly where you desire to go. I have had the pleasure of watching countless clients reach their greatest goals this year. Some of them have come out of VERY difficult situations where they were making low five figures and they jumped into solid six figures before the year was up. If they can do it, I know you can, too!
Sometimes you just have to believe.
