I know what you’re thinking: “This guy is making big promises right off the bat. Suuure, buddy.” And, yes, saying that you can “double your quota” might seem like a stretch. But, over time, you can do much more than that.
How’s that for a big promise?
If you’re still with me, you likely fall into one of three groups. Maybe you:
- had a great month and want more.
- didn’t have the month you wanted and want to bounce back.
- want to make sure you’re always crushing it.
There is a way to do that. A way to keep your results climbing. To keep beating your past performance.
This isn’t for everyone, though. If you’re satisfied with your last few months, you should skip this. Some people are ok with comparing themselves to others, or just hitting OTE, or even being a little up and down. That’s ok.
But I’m not one of those people. If you’re not, either, you’ll want to read on for my system of getting consistently better.
This is the system I’ve used with my team for over 3 years to take people from having never sold anything to six figures and promoted in 8-12 months.
Step 1: Set aside enough time for this exercise.
Most likely about 2-3 hours. It will be worth it.
In the sales world, it often feels like we have to go go GO all the time. But hitting huge goals is a journey. And like any other journey, the fastest way to move can feel really slow.
If you had to travel from LA to NYC, you could start walking–you’d feel forward movement the whole time. OR you could sit on your couch and look for a direct flight. It might not feel like action, but it’s way faster.
This plan helps you find that plane ticket for your career.
Step 2: Look at the levers you have the ability to pull.
Focus on ratios.
What does that mean? It means you’re going to look at ALL the ways you can get better. Write them down so you can make an objective decision about where to focus.
Here are the main ones:
- Lead to demo scheduled–How many leads did you have to work last month or last quarter in order to book a meeting?
- Calls to demo scheduled–how many calls did you have to make to book one?
- Demo scheduled to demo performed
- Performed to proposal (or POC)
- Proposal to win
- Win to seats/revenue
You’ll want to be careful to ensure you’re working leads of similar or better quality this period than last. If the leads are supposed to be better, use the numbers from the worse leads and you’ll create some margin of error that works in your favor. (This is called a “cushion,” and I recommend you build it into every plan–but that’s a whole other article.)
Step 3: Identify which ratio gives you the most bang for your buck.
Start from the top and work your way down. The mistake I see the most is, “I want to close better. Can you listen to my demo and tell me how to do that?” from a person who does 2 demos a month. If you’re not getting enough at bats, it doesn’t matter how good your swing is.
So how do you figure out which number you should focus on? Compare your numbers to your peers. If your lead to demo is 2%, but the best reps are doing 8%, you can get up to 4X growth on this metric, which follows you all the way down the funnel (meaning you can get 4X the number of wins without getting better at the demo). You won’t need to 4X your close rate to 4X your closes (that’s way harder, anyway). Do this comparison for each ratio.
Step 4: Figure out WHY the best people are over performing.
Learn why they think they are, then dive into the metrics. Listen to calls. Practice with them. Ask their manager and peers what they think.
Step 5: Think about how to apply this to yourself.
Ask yourself questions like:
- How could I get some or all of this to work for me?
- What would I have to do differently?
- Is there anything that’s an easy change?
- How much of this is skill? How can I learn the skills?
Step 6: Write out what you’re going to do differently
Pick 1-2 things at a time). Decide how you’re going to do it and how you’re going to remember to do it.
Choosing what to work on is easy. Even knowing how to work on that isn’t that hard. Most people get stuck on the remembering to change stage–what you’re really doing here is changing a habit. When you end up in a situation you’ve been in before, you’re going to default to doing what you’ve always done. Which means you’ll get the same results.
Examples of how to remember:
- Practice this change and get feedback.
- Write it on a post it note so you remember it on your calls.
- Commit to this change to your manager, and ask her to hold you accountable in your one on ones and in call reviews.
Step 7: Execute on your plan.
Do the things, and make sure someone is holding you accountable. The whirlwind of your job (and life!) are going to distract you from your plan. Coming back to it, even after that happens, is crucial.
Step 8: Get paaaiddd.
Do it all again–find the next thing and keep the cycle going.
No plan is perfect. You’ll experience setbacks and plans that don’t go as expected. But if you do this consistently for a few quarters, you WILL make more. You’ll probably get promoted faster. And you’ll start to become the go-to person in your org for becoming great.
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