How is 2017 closing out for you?  Hopefully strong but it’s almost 2018 and 2017 isn’t going to matter in a few days so I hope you can find some downtime and get to relax before it starts all over again on January 1st. This what-have-you-done-for-me-lately profession and I’m guessing your quota will go up, your territory will get smaller and the challenges to succeed will continue to grow. If those things worry or frighten you then you’re either brand new to Sales or you need to find another profession, this one is not for you. Those who excel in Sales see them as positives that keep pushing them in the right direction and they welcome those challenges. Get used to it.

In order to tackle these challenges, the best sales reps go in with a plan and know what they need to do to be successful. And the plan can’t be to just work harder and hope for the best. We need to be SMART about our approach and figure out exactly what we need to do to crush our number in 2018 which is what this post is all about. I’ll walk you through a quick exercise you can do to figure out your own equation that will drive your daily and weekly activity levels this year.

Calculating Your 2018 Goals

I’ve included two different tabs on this worksheet. Each tab has a different equation depending on your role. If you’re an inside rep (SDR, BDR, etc) with the focus of setting up meetings use Tab 1. If your focus is closing revenue and you get most of your meetings set for you then use Tab 2.

Start with inputting your main goal (highlighted in green). I recommend doubling whatever that number is. For example, if your goal is $1M/year in revenue then make it $2M/year. It’s what most of the top sales do to help them consistently exceed quota.

Next, if you’re measured on revenue then you need to input your average deal size (highlighted in orange). Then estimate the conversion ratios between each stage of your sales process. For example, if you made 100 calls how many times would you get to speak with someone other than a gatekeeper? If you’re a closing rep then what percent of your meetings turn into proposals? You can usually get these baseline metrics by looking back at the past few months to see how many calls, meetings, proposals and closed deals you had and then figuring out the ratios from there.

If you plug these numbers into the spreadsheet it will auto-calculate to show the exact activities you need to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to hit your target. From there you can set goals and measure against these metrics every day or week depending on how closely you want to manage yourself. Make sure you write these goals down and make them visible to remind yourself every day what needs to get done.

Lastly, choose a reward you’re going to give yourself when you hit your goal at the end of the year regardless of what your company will do for you. Find a picture of it, print it out, and stick it up next to your goals as a reminder of what you’re working for.

One of Morgan’s goals is to buy a Masaratti in the next few years. Let me know some of your bigger goals in the comments and Make it Happen!