Setting Goals to Increase Productivity - Assignment Example

Got to Have a Goal The assignment was divided into two parts. The first part concentrated on discussing the three techniques of goal settingin sales. Accordingly, it was ascertained from the discussion that setting sales goals is imperative for increasing productivity and performance. Besides, it was also found that the sales goals need to be specific, realistic and set by the individuals themselves. The second part reflected upon exploring three sales incentive plans. In this regard, customer satisfaction-based incentive, performance-based incentive and team- based incentive plan were identified to have widespread implications in the organizations worldwide. Got to Have a Goal Sales and compensation are integral to modern business organizations. These aspects are ascertained to impose paramount impact on the overall performance of the businesses in the contemporary world. Thus, this assignment intends to address these two major aspects. Correspondingly, the assignment is segregated into two parts. The first part reflects upon the three major techniques of goal setting in sales and provides a case study of a company, which exemplifies best practices in establishing sales goals. Similarly, the second part of the assignment considers the discussion made about three major sales incentives along with elaborating a case study on a company, exemplifying best practices in sales incentives. Part 1: Sales Goals Three Techniques for Goal-Setting in Sales It is claimed that before striving any kind of business success, it is crucial for an individual to remain much aware about what he/she is striving for. The substantial knowledge regarding the aspects for which the individual is striving enable in directing efforts towards specific directions that result in attaining the best outcomes. Correspondingly, goal setting is advocated to be vital. It is essential for every individual to understand the prominence of goal setting in pursuit of certain aspects. Same rule is identified to be relevant for sales professionals in order to gain personal and organizational success. Notably, it has been argued that there are certain specific goal setting techniques in sales that required to be followed by sales professionals for gaining greater success. Failure to incorporate appropriate goal-setting techniques is observed to cause financial loss and in certain circumstances, it may also result in job loss. Most importantly, the failure may sabotage the chances of sales professionals to succeed. Thus, it is decisive for sales professionals to apply effective goal setting techniques frequently. The three basic goal-setting techniques that can be used by sales professionals have been explained below. Set Specific Goals. Sales professionals are required to set clear and specific goals. Goals that are clear and specific are advocated to increase the chances for sales professionals to attain the same within a specified time frame. Simply stating that what an individual desire to achieve is argued to be less effective. Correspondingly, sales professionals are required to possess positive mind-setting, which exactly reflects what they want. For example, ‘I want to attain 20% more sales by this month’ and ‘I want to cross sales mark of US$25000 a year” are certain specific goals of the sales professionals (Hanlon, 2001). Goals Needs To Be Realistic and Attainable. After successfully setting goals, it is important to exert efforts on attaining the same. Notably, before a sales person asserts that he/she want to surpass sales by 20% within this month, it is extremely crucial to measure whether the specified goal is attainable. Thus, it is crucial for sales professionals to make extensive use of relevant information such as market trends, customers’ purchasing behaviors and past sales figures in order to make their respective goals realistic and most vitally attainable (Hanlon, 2001). Set Goals for Yourself. It is often viewed that goals, which are to be achieved by sales professionals are generally set by bosses or co-workers. However, this creates a feeling of reluctance to achieve the goals set by others and exerts less effort. Notably, desire to attain goals often come when an individual works towards the goals set by him/herself. Thus, it is crucial for sales professionals to restate goals by themselves. Restating goals by sales professionals will certainly motivate them to exert more effort and pursue the goals effectively (Hanlon, 2001). Case Study on a Company That Exemplifies Best Practices in Establishing Sales Goals Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is one of the largest retail chains, which performs its operational functions. The company is committed to provide sustainable products to diverse customers spread worldwide. The mission of the company is to save customers’ money and provide quality products to them. The company over the years has developed forward looking sales strategies and goals, which has facilitated it to emerge as one of the most successful retail chains in the world. The sales goal-setting process within the company starts with examining prevailing trends, uncertainties as well as company’s prospect in upcoming period. The company sets monthly, quarterly, yearly along with seasonal sales targets that are communicated across all the departments in order to ensure that the predetermined goals are achieved effectively. In terms of technology, the company uses multimedia presentations to brief its sales personnel regarding the past sales trends and goals that are set for achievement. After the completion of the specified period, these goals are compared and contrasted with the past sales figures and records in order to measure the performance gaps and formulate necessary strategies to eliminate any flaw if there exist any case of sales deviation (Business Wire, 2012). Part 2: Sales Incentives Three Sales Incentive Plans That Work It has been apparently observed that millions of people are directly associated with the sales process. Besides, it has been claimed that improving sales performance is extremely important for businesses that are engaged in the sales process. Effective sales incentives package at work place is considered crucial, however, at the same time, it is often argued that designing sales incentive programs is quite a challenging task (Liana, 2006). It is important for organizations to design an attractive sales incentive plan to boost the motivation level of the sales professionals. The three sales incentive plans that work have been portrayed in the following discussion. Customer Satisfaction Based Incentive Plans. Customer satisfaction is one of the imperative factors, which need to be taken into concern for long-term sustainability of a sales organization. Customer satisfaction based incentive plan is projected to remove the discrepancies caused by incentive scheme based on sales volume. Accordingly, customer satisfaction based incentive plan is widely advocated in the domain of sales and rest on the assumption that compensation schemes based on sales volume may become inconsistent with the goals of attaining increased level of customer satisfaction. This sales incentive plan places significant importance on customer-salesperson relationships (Sharma & Sarel,1995). Performance Based Incentive Plan. Performance based sales incentive is the most popular incentive scheme followed by different organizations throughout the globe. This type of incentive plan involves rewarding salesperson based on individual efforts and performance. The performance of salesperson is taken into concern for the calculation of incentives. It is argued that this type of incentive plan motivates salesperson to contribute their best to the organizations and also ensure enhancing their performance (Bayo-Moriones & Huerta-Arribas, 2002). Team Based Incentive Plan. Another important sales incentive plan is predominately related with group functioning. This type of sales incentive plan is also known as team-based incentive plan. It is advocated that organizations embracing team-based incentive plan can attain remarkable results particularly for those companies struggling with decreased sales turnover. Specially mentioning, team based incentive plans are claimed to promote teamwork and reduce the training needs of the sales professionals (Auchterlonie, 2009). A Case Study on a Company That Exemplifies Best Practices in Sales Incentives International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation is a leader in global IT services and products. Sales personnel are ascertained to play imperative role towards the growth as well as the prosperity of the company. IBM is aware of the importance of retaining employees for attaining greater competitive position in the current fiercely competitive business environment. Notably, the company employs effective sales incentive plan for its sales personnel in order to boost its sales turnover and most vitally to motivate its employees to enhance their performance. The company undertakes training and development programs for its salesperson directed towards their respective personal along with professional development. One of the primary objectives of the company behind arranging regular training and development programs is to boost the morale of the sales personnel. At the same time, the company offers both monetary along with non-monetary incentives to salesperson that are based on the level of customer satisfaction. IBM considers monitoring customer satisfaction regularly to determine sales incentives. The company is constantly engaged in convincing the sales personnel to build greater communication with the customers so that customers’ satisfaction level is attained at large. Notably, customers are at the centre of the incentive plan of IBM (Sharma & Sarel, 1995). Conclusion Based on the above analysis and discussion, it can be ascertained that goals are strong determinant actions. It is argued that without setting goals, it is quite difficult to accomplish anything. Setting positive and realistic sales goals are ascertained to serve as a motivational force for sales professionals. Goals are also considered to serve as a benchmark for sales professionals that assist in evaluating progress. Goal setting is ascertained to enhance productivity and thus permits the sales professionals to become more successful in their efforts. On the other hand, designing sales incentive is quite important for sales professionals towards developing their individual performance. Three major sales incentive plans are being identified that are applied across various domains of business including sales. These sales incentive plans include customer satisfaction based incentive plan, professional based incentive plan and team based incentive plan. References Auchterlonie, D. L. (2009). Team-based incentive compensation is vital to successful operating turnarounds. The Journal of Private Equity, 12(3), 81-88. Allen, S. (2006). Setting goals to increase productivity & increase your sales. The American Salesman, 8-13. Bayo-Moriones, A., & Huerta-Arribas, E. (2002). Organizational incentive plans in Spanish manufacturing industry. Personnel Review, 31(1/2), 128-142. Business Wire. (2012). Walmart reports Q4 EPS from continuing operations of $1.51; Walmart U.S. delivers positive traffic and positive comp sales in Q4. Business and Economics. Hanlon, P. (2001). Goal-setting techniques. Agency Sales Magazine, 38-39. Liana, C. (2006). Enhancing sales performance with effective incentive plans. Trade Journal, 13(1), 2-4. Sharma, A., & Sarel, D. (1995). The impact of customer satisfaction based incentive systems on salespeoples customer service response: an empirical study. Journal of Personal selling and Sales Management, XV(3), 17-29. Read More