Setting realistic sales goals

Many times, when we try to come up with a sales goal for our small business, we’re just thinking about a number to cover our salary. We think that if we’re able to pay ourselves a little bit, we’re doing OK. (“If I make $1,000 a month, I can live on $400.”) And is that $1,000 net or gross by the way? 

Here are the 4 steps:

1. Plan sales conservatively. I just didn’t know starting out how many people would show up at my shop so I underestimated. It worked to my advantage later on. 

2. Include all your expenses. So many little things seem to creep up that first year. It’s important to accurately calculate all that you spend, even if it’s part of your one-time startup costs. 

3. Set a stretch goal. The famous GE CEO Jack Welch coined this term to get his team to aim high. Today, many big companies set two different goals – a sales goal and a stretch goal. That’s the feel-good number you’d love to hit. 

4. Now find the realistic sales goal for a month. What can you really make happen? Divide that now by week and again by the number of days per week you will work. This breaks it all down into a daily to-do so you can quickly track your progress.

By Tierra Destiny Reid, CEO, Stylish Consignments; President, TDR Brands