Setting Realistic Sales Goals Each Month

Here’s an example of a simple formula I use to reverse engineer my quota. Step 1: Start with your annual target → Break it down by quarter and month. Step 2: Apply pipeline coverage → Based on your average win rate (let’s say it's about 30%), you’ll need 3-4x pipeline coverage. → Example: If your target is $1M, you’ll need about $3M in active pipeline. Step 3: Know your average deal size & sales cycle → Let’s say your average deal size is $50K and your sales cycle is about 65 days. That gives you a sense of how many deals you need and when you need to start working them. Step 4: Do the math → $1M ÷ $50K = 20 deals needed → 20 ÷ 30% win rate = about 67 qualified opps → Divide that by months and quarters to set activity targets → Example: about 6 closed-won deals per month = about 20 opps in pipeline per month at a 30% close rate. Step 5: Adjust early → Run this every quarter (or month). Don’t wait until Q4 to do the math. This takes the guesswork out of quota. If you’re a rep and haven’t done this math yet, I highly suggest doing it today. It will change how you plan, how you prospect, and how confident you feel going into every quarter. If you’re a leader, please teach this! It’s one of the best ways to set your team up to win before the scoreboard even starts.

Your revenue goals shouldn't be random numbers you hope to hit. You have to break things down with numbers you can actually use. No one ever plans a road trip by just jumping in the car and driving off. If your revenue goal for the month is $250k, you'll have to do a quick reality check: • Only 70% of invoiced money typically comes in on time. The "real" cash on its way in? Probably closer to $175k. • If each client is worth $5,000, you'll need 50 new clients monthly. That's 2-3 new clients a day. • With the average close rate around 25%, you'll need 200 or so sales conversations--that means up to 10 meaningful conversations daily. • With monthly ad spend around $40,000 and a customer acquisition target at $800, you'll need $1,300 for your daily marketing alone. Your daily checklist is going to have to look something like this: • Have 10 sales conversations • Convert 2-3 into clients • Monitor $1,300 in daily ad spend • Track actual vs. projected numbers Which brings us to the part most owners miss: These aren't just numbers - they're daily actions. If you're not having 10 sales conversations today, you won't hit your monthly goal. It's that simple. So start backwards. Look at today's calendar. Do you have 10 sales conversations scheduled? If not, that's your real problem - not your revenue goal. Need help sorting out your finances? DM and let's talk about ways to turn random numbers into an actual strategy.

As a sales leader, I’ve almost never missed goal. Once I figured out this method, I never missed as a rep, either. The start of a new quarter is the perfect time to implement this change. Here’s what I did: 1) Write down your quota/company goal 2) Add 20% 3) Get ahold of your conversion metrics for the last 2 sales cycles 4) Work the math backwards from the 120% goal 5) Identify what volume metrics you need to hit that goal 6) Identify your daily and weekly activities that drive those metrics 7) Identify the 1-2 (never more, unless you’re brand new) conversion metrics that have the most room for growth 8) Decide the steps you can take to improve those conversions Now, your daily and weekly focus is: -hit those activities -improve your conversion Avoid getting caught up in vanity metrics. If you need to hit a call goal, don’t make calls that you know won’t go anywhere, for example. #sales #salesmanagment #goals