Why Salespeople Don't Hit Their Sales Goals? [Academy]

Did You Ever Wonder Why Salespeople Don’t Hit Their Sales Goals?

Robert Brault said, “We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”

When I ask seed sellers what their primary goal is, they always say the same thing, “to reach my sales goal.” Then I ask them what that means and they always look at me funny and say, “It means to sell more seed”, as if I don’t get it.  To them, that is their primary goal when in fact, as Robert Brault says, it’s actually the lesser goal.

How can achieving a sales goal be a lesser goal when that’s what your company needs to have you do?  After all, it’s the reason seed sellers exist, to achieve their seed sales goal, isn’t it? But that kind of thinking is the reason seed sellers don’t make their goals. They don’t understand the difference between their real primary goal and what is really the lesser goal which they too often focused on.

What sales reps consider their primary goal of achieving their sales goal is not the end goal but their lesser goal. Instead, their primary goal is to fully execute the process that takes them to their sales goal. Without working the processes, the sales goal can never be achieved. That’s where most salespeople fail. They set a sales goal, then focus on that number instead of focusing on perfect execution of the steps to achieving that number.  

For example, if your goal is to increase seed sales by 5000 units, that’s not your primary goal. Your primary goal is how many new prospects you will need to call on to get the number of new customers you need to sell at a given order size to get your increase and achieve your sales goal. Your primary goal is always the critical element that ends up determining whether or not you make your sales goal. 

Do you see how your so-called primary goal of getting 5000 units of increase becomes your lesser goal because you can’t achieve it without your primary goal of contacting the number of prospects needed?

Are you focused on lesser goals that are keeping you from achieving your primary goal? For example, do you have a primary goal of getting customers to order their seed before harvest but it’s not happening? That’s because you’re avoiding your real primary goal of setting the date with each grower to do their cropping plan prior to harvest when you’re visiting their planter in the spring, or during the post planting report card visit or during a summer field visit.  Getting them to order their seed before harvest is your lesser goal because it won’t happen unless your primary goal of setting the date for summer development of the seed plan is in place. That’s your primary goal.

There are so many examples of seed sellers who confuse primary goals and lesser goals. Discover which one you’re actually focusing on, then spend your time and effort in the right place. I bet you’re like 98% of all seed sellers. They don’t think about the difference between a primary goal and a lesser goal, therefore, they’re spinning their wheels, not making the progress they need and want. 

My primary goal is not to do this podcast every week. That’s my lesser goal. My primary goal is to come up with a topic and write the podcast so I can achieve my lesser goal of recording it. 

Happy Selling,

Rod Osthus