Most business and sales leaders are focused on finishing the year strong. Some are just focused on finishing the year without being in the tank. Regardless of where you fall, you can look to your sales leadership and your sales team for the answer.

If your team is not positioned to finish the year above plan, the reason may be one of these:

1. The excuse many are quick to express: I never really bought into our team goal, it was unrealistic. You don’t want this to be the reason because it is essentially saying that you have little control over your ability to come in at or over plan.
2. You’ve been able to overachieve in the past by winging it. Who needs a plan? If you’re not where you want to be, the answer is you do! Successful sales reps and teams start with the end in mind and work backwards to define the plan down to daily activity goals.
3. You have a plan and it’s dependent on each member of the team performing at their peak. If this didn’t happen, you’ll be able to identify the weak link(s). When you do, ask yourself if you contributed to their low performance by not setting them up for success, failing to provide them with the right tools and training, or not being available for improvement coaching, encouragement, or recognition of small wins.
4. You failed to effectively lead your team. While this is a tough reason to acknowledge, the good news is it puts the solution under your control.
5. Finally, you may not have the right team in place. While the talent market is tight, especially for top sales talent, we know how and continue to place great additions to our clients’ sales teams.

If you’re looking for different results in the upcoming selling year, JESSI Search is here to partner with you to find and hire strong sales reps and sales leaders. We are connected to some of the best and brightest sales training and consulting resources, if that’s where your needs fall. Check in and tell us how you’re ending your year and how we might assist you with an “out of the park” 2018 selling year!