By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Representative
Goals are very important to a small company like Induron. In our previous two blogs, you can read Linc York’s thoughts on making SMART goals and celebrating successes as well as how goal-setting has fueled Tex Enoch’s career. Today, I’ll discuss how goal-setting can help your company compete with others.
In my opinion, the key to beating big companies that tend to have rigid goals (quotas) for sales is to aim high and have “the long game” in mind.
The small companies I’ve worked for do well by keeping good people for decades while the bigger companies tend to “churn through” people to reach corporate short-term goals. For instance, I know a guy who was “salesman of the year” for one of the big companies, and the next year he was forced out because his sales were “flat.” Small companies can beat the Goliaths in this area by staying focused, but flexible.
Small companies can’t afford to make strategic mistakes, like trying to compete against the big guys where they can’t be easily defeated. For example, a small company trying to sell bridges by “giving product away” may make the top line look good, while making no money at all.
Additionally, I think salespeople should aim to cultivate “back-up markets” and customers just in case the market they rely on goes soft for a few years. These backup markets may not be the same for each sales area. In small companies, it’s OK to aim high.
Here are a few quotes that inspire my goal-making:
“We aim above the mark to hit the mark.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Goals help you channel your energy into action.” Les Brown
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” J. P. Morgan