Igniting Energy into Sales Goals

I know its finish strong time for those in sales. But I'm staring at a fridge full of cheese (which will be my entire diet over the next two weeks), presents under the tree, and a two week gap in the calendar where it just looks like an opportunity to pause and plan.

A sales leader's role - and any leader's role - is to be a catalyst that ignites sales performance. This time of year, and this time in any quarter, is a time to balance the goals of the current period with the goals in the next one. And while there is still a LOT of time left in the quarter and year to accomplish anything, sales leaders would benefit from forward-thinking about goals for 2025. (And helping your team do the same.)

Isn't it funny how most sales leaders aren't given direction on how to give their teams direction on goal setting? Most sales leaders are in that position because they knew how to set a goal for themselves and became a high achiever. But 80% of sales leaders told us they received zero training once they got promoted. And through working with sales leaders over the past 25 years, I've found a few things that help them focus in the right direction can make all the difference. Sales leaders need to know they are the ones who provide the energy and bring out the energy in their teams.

There are some people who just intuitively know that they need to be the ones to drive the energy they need to achieve a great goal. And others rely on the people around them to supply that energy. The truth is that the energy needs to come from within, but you can rely on those around you to help you when your energy is depleted. Big goals call for big energy, which comes from a big purpose. And sales leaders need to understand how they will not only provide themselves with the energy needed to lead their team, but also help unleash energy and potential in their salespeople.

I have a model that I use when training sales leaders: and it's a 3-step process: Understand, Model, Coach. In this scenario it is understand how you can ignite high-frequency energy in yourself, model that to your team, and then you can coach them how to do the same.

How do you ignite the energy in salespeople to accomplish their goals? Like, really ignite it? Not just for a week because you provided a carrot of an incentive, but in the long-run? Align their purpose to the team's. Where do you start with that? Ask them.

Most leaders don't know why someone is working. I attended a conference recently, and the consensus was that salespeople work for the money...which is partly true, but not the whole story. Most salespeople never grew up wanting to be in sales. I ended up in sales in college due to desperation and needing money to pay for school. I stayed because I realized I loved it, loved training others, leading others, and honestly, where else would I find the flexibility I had been given? I share this in my latest book, Leaderboard to Leadership, but I didn't achieve real success until I found a purpose that was beyond myself. That took time to think through. And you have some time in the next few weeks to think about your own. Then do the same for your team.

To truly ignite energy into goal setting and attainment, you must ask each sales person on your team why their goals are important. And then ask them, "Why" again, and again, and again. The real reasons are usually buried deeper within them, and once they get emotional about it, you know you've found something in them.

The next step after helping them find their purpose (their why) is to align that to the team. Gen Z and millennials are adamant on having a deeper purpose behind their work. If you as the sales leader can show them how they can fulfill their purpose by working with you and the company, they will not only be more likely to stay, but produce more.

This is a topic that can't be fully answered in a short newsletter, but I want to provide some additional resources to those sales leaders serious about making 2025 the best year ever - for themselves AND their teams:

• Design Your Destiny Goal Setting Workbook. We recently re-released a free, 40+ page workbook to help individuals achieve their goals. It is based on my first book, Beyond the Board, and you can find a free copy here.
• For additional information on vision casting and goal setting, you can check out my author page on Amazon, where both of my books dive into this. (Leaderboard to Leadership also has a free book club guide to read along with other sales leaders.)
• Lastly, I am launching a brand-new, 3 week accelerator called Igniting Sales Performance: The Catalyst Leader on January 16th! This is an on-demand program with instructional videos combined with live group (virtual) coaching for 90 minutes over the 3 sessions. We will be discussing the top ways sales leaders can elevate themselves to provide the energy that brings out the best in those they lead. This is brand new content and for sales leaders at all experience levels. Check it out!

Take some time over the next few weeks to really dive into your values, vision, and purpose. What is your plan to track your progress towards your goals? How can you then guide and coach each member of your team to do the same?