Outperforming your target

Target setting in business

As business owners, we set targets to grow our business.

This may be monthly sales, number of leads per week, number of orders dispatched per day or annual profit.

This video explains how a client exceeded their six-figure sum sales target over the past two months.

Target setting in business: The Desai Despatch – Episode 23

(JK) We have heard a lot of fantastic tips about how to organise the process and manage over the last few weeks.

Do you have what you might call the big success story based on all those tips from a client that you have worked with maybe over a little while and some kind of success that came out of it?

(FD) I do. I’ve been working with this client for over two and a half years, and it is a large business with 30+ employees.

When we started, a lot of time was spent on identifying key performance indicators for each department, like the sales, the marketing, the operations and finance.

Then a lot of work went into writing processes for the warehouse because it is an online business and there was a lot of work done on vision and mission.

We did some work on really trying to get the teams to work together as opposed to in their individual departments.

Then for the last few months, we have been working on sales and marketing.

What has happened over the past two months is that they have exceeded their sales targets for the last two months continuously.

They had set six-figure sums for the sales target and they have gone above this target for both months, which is really exciting, especially, as it has happened during lockdown during May and June.

All the things that they have put in place and implemented have started working, such as really having a laser focus on tracking, testing and measuring everything they are doing.

So, for example, on the marketing side,

  • monitoring the quality of the leads,
  • monitoring the percentage of conversions,
  • what people spend on average,
  • how often people are spending
  • and their margins.

So that’s really now taken into detail, and really had an effect.

They have also, over the last few months, kept in constant contact with their existing customers just to make sure that they are happy.

They can see if their stock levels are low, asking them if they would like to replace them.

So just making sure that the customers get what they want and fantastic customer service.

Really making sure that if an item is returned or somebody rings up with a query, everything is dealt with, with the same standard, which is was a very high standard.

Their customer service is excellent.

All those continuous tweaks, if you want to call them, have started now having an impact.

Business was always good, it was steady, but now we can see the curve, the growth curve going up.

Really exploring what is working and what is not working is so, so important for every single business.

Obviously, some of these things are working and we will continue to do them and see where that takes the sales for the next few months.

(JK) So this is what you might call moving into the sort of mature phase of the relationship, if you like, with your client.

What sort of things are you saying to this kind of client or them now to move them forward?

(FD) It is an exciting time really getting them to think now that they have done so much work on really fine-tuning each department.

If this effort continues, they can really, really grow their business. So it’s getting them to really look long term, next one year, two years, three years. And set a very ambitious target.

If all of these things are in place, there is no reason why they can’t achieve those targets.

It is very motivating for the employees because they can now see all their efforts together have resulted in the success of this business.

Every week the key performance indicators for each department are shared company-wide. And I think all of that is now really coming together. And I think the future is really exciting for them.

 

Does this resonate with you? If you would like to book a complimentary, no-obligation, coaching session to discuss this further, please email me at falgunidesai@actioncoach.com