Many times in life, people choose from what’s listed on the menu, not knowing that you can usually order from what’s not on the menu. Similarly, in goal-setting, many people choose from options they’re familiar with rather than considering anything that’s possible. So as you begin to set goals, first you must dream. And dream big.

When you approach your life like a blank canvas, without the confines of a menu (where your options
are predetermined), that’s when you can truly begin to set your sights high. The problem with dreamers is they often don’t take action and choose to stay in their dream world. The converse of that are those who never dream at all and simply want a newer car, a bigger house or a higher salary. If you need motivation for your goal, then recognize you’re probably not meant to have it.

Typically, motivation to accomplish goals comes from an external source imposed by someone else in order to get someone to do something. Different from motivation is inspiration, which God puts in each person and has been there all along. It’s much like your vocation or calling in life—it’s revealed to you. When you’re truly inspired, you don’t need anyone to motivate you, you find others who are also inspired, and together you go the extra mile on life’s journey. One of the hidden secrets in life is not to waste time in areas where you require motivation, but set your goals in accordance with your vision—who you are, who you want to become—and your mission—what you want to achieve.

When you’re setting goals for your sales, recognize what comes naturally to you. Some sales folks are really good at networking and building relationships, while others are phenomenal at setting appointments. Neither of those is my forte. People I work with often tell me I’m a great presenter and closer. You need to find out what your strengths are and supplement your weaknesses, so they don’t hinder you in achieving your goals. In other words, focus on your strengths. Your personal greatness does not and never will lie in your weaknesses. The joy in the journey is the discovery of your strengths and attributes, which leads to your life’s purpose. This you are inspired to do, and the greatest reward and personal satisfaction come from these areas.

We began this series asking a list of questions: 1) what do you want, and 2) why do you want it? That led us to 3) why don’t you already have it? From there we examined our vision—who you are and who you want to become—as well as your mission: what do you want to accomplish? And how do you be a good steward of the things you already have? With this foundational framework in mind, you are now ready to set goals that don’t require motivation and because they’re aligned with your life’s purpose and you’re inspired by them and equipped to achieve them. When you finally reach those goals, don’t thank me. Thank God, because He’s the one who inspired you in the first place. Okay, you can thank me too, if you want, but just recognize that He’s the one who inspired me to write this series in the first place.

In our last column, we discussed that goal-setting begins with the art of understanding paradox. The question is the answer, and the answer is the question. Now uncross your eyes for a second and ask yourself, “What do I want?” And hopefully you’ll begin to realize that why you want it (whatever “it” may be) is the answer.

Goal-setting is not just putting numbers on a page to make more money or satisfy your boss. It is about deciding who you want to be and what the vision for your life is.

So let’s start by dividing your life into categories. What do you want for your physical health? Most people realize that the answer to this question has more to do about providing and taking care of others than just taking care of themselves. That would be an example of why you want to be healthy. Along with health, other categories can include relational health, emotional health, spiritual growth, and, since this is a business publication, your business goals and finances, as well.

There’s a timeless wisdom found in the scriptures where God says, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” In other words, before we can begin to receive all that our goals would produce, we need to make sure that we’re good stewards of what we already have. Setting a goal of 10 gallons of water with a five-gallon container is an example of stewardship that needs tweaking. All too often, people rush to put numbers on a page and dream of what their life will be like if they hit those goals. The step before that should be, “What do I need to work on in myself, so I can become the person to achieve those goals?” With me, I struggle with living in the moment and being patient. More times than not, I can be impatient and forget to stop and enjoy life’s little pleasures.

What do you need to change in yourself? You don’t have to write us back. But being honest with yourself is a must.

We started with the question “what do you want?” That led us to “why do you want it?” What we’re discussing now is “Why don’t you have it?” This begs two questions: your vision (who do you need to become?) and your mission (what do you need to do to get what you want?). More often than not, effective goal-setting lies in identifying our character flaws and what inside us needs to change, as well as being honest with ourselves so that what our heart truly yearns for is crystal clear.

So, your homework assignment is to make at least five categories (some of which were referenced earlier) of what you want your life to look like, what it would mean to you if your life actually looked that way, and what about you needs to change in order to not only get it, but also be a good steward of it.

This will get us ready for the last column in this series, which will include the final step of putting pen to paper with actual goals and an action plan to get us there.

If you knew that by reading this article, you could reach any goal that you set, would you read it?

Reaching any goal is possible­—the key lies not in setting that goal but in the step before it, which is found in the questions, “What do you want?” and then “Why?”

So many people in sales (although this applies to every area of life) want to jump straight to putting numbers on a page: “I’m going to book this many appointments, sell this many contracts or make this much money.” They set some tangible goal. But these goals become nothing more than numbers on a page unless they become internalized. Each person needs to consider what it would mean to reach them and why reaching them is important.

In planning your goals for 2010 and beyond, you need to start with the “What?” and “Why?”

So, first, ask yourself: “What do I want?”

You may remember reading a poll asking the American people “What do you want?” The number one answer? “I don’t know.” Number two? “To be happy.” And number three? “Money.”
So what’s your answer? Do you truly know what you want?

Consider your definition of happiness. What is your definition of “enough” money? If you don’t set a goal that reflects what you truly want, you’ll always strive for more, which can ultimately leads to burnout, addiction or worse.

But even once you know what you want, you’re still not ready to put numbers on a page yet. Your next step is to run those desires and wants by the five people closest to you to see if they’re consistent with who you are and what truly makes you happy. If you’re not honest with yourself (even if you don’t realize it), they will be.

After internalizing what you want, the next step is to ask yourself: “Why do I want this?”

The tricky part here is that the answer is the question, and the question is the answer: “What do you want?” is the question; the answer is “Why do you want it?” So why do you want to make that much money or book that many appointments?
Here’s the key to asking yourself “Why?” If your why doesn’t really mean something to you, you’ll never achieve it because it’s not really worth making the effort to you.

This is the reason why this series is entitled “The Art of Goal-Setting.” The “what” and “why” are your art. The science, or numbers on a page, only comes after the art is complete. You get to put the colors on the canvas and be the artist of your life. Once you’ve internalized that, then there truly isn’t any goal you can’t reach or anyone or anything that can stop you.

In preparation for this coming year, begin planning around what you truly want to accomplish in life and why you want it. If you plan your goals around those two factors, you’ll set yourself up for success and be pleased with the outcome.

In my first column we discussed your Unique Value Proposition, which can be defined as “what sets you apart from the competition.” We also discussed the principles of Brand, which simply put is “who knows you,” as well your Position, which can be defined as “what people know you for.”

In my second column, we discussed the principle of Consistently Communicating to build relationships. Above all else, make sure your communication is Valuable and interesting to your Target Market. Use that communication to pull them in, never push on them to meet or make a decision.

So, if you can’t remember these last two articles, the “cliff notes” above are your cheat sheets for now.

We start this column on the heels of consistent communication, in order to generate sales appointments. Now let’s discuss the best way to land an actual sales appointment.

By sending marketing materials in advance, you can pique the interest potential clients by letting them evaluate your information on their schedule. After sending your materials, follow up to confirm they received them and make sure you remind them of the person who referred you to them to solidify the relationship. At that point, if they blow you off, they’re really blowing off the friend that referred you.
During your follow up conversation, ask them if they like to meet during the morning or afternoon (rather than whether or not they’d like to meet at all), and let them know in advance how long the meeting will take. This lets the potential client feel like he or she is in control and prevents you from receiving a “no” right off the bat.

You can control the outcome of many situations by giving contacts an “either/or” option rather than a “yes or no.” And this way they feel like they’re in control of the situation.

When you arrive for the appointment, don’t “show up and throw up.” Ask questions to uncover needs; don’t promote your product or service. Remember, your job is to help uncover and solve problems people may or may not be aware and solve them with your product or service. Make sure you’ve done your homework by researching their company. Remember: “He who talks least is in control of the conversation.” Also, be sure to use the words “you” and “your” twice for every time you use the words “I” or “me.” By using these principles and knowing your product  or service as well as knowing potential clients and their organization, your odds of doing business with them increase dramatically.

We can summarize this column like the previous two columns with three main points: 1) Convert follow up phone calls and/or referrals into appointments, 2) Uncover needs to solve problems in order to gain market share, and 3) Provide lifelong follow up service to gain lifelong respect and more referrals.

Congratulations, with the implementation of these three columns, you’ve successfully completed the sales cycle.

See you in 2010.

In my last column we touched on three major points necessary to complete the sales cycle. They were: being able to clearly articulate your “Unique Value Proposition;” establishing a brand that supports and communicates that value proposition; and carving out a position in the marketplace where consumers find your product or services uniquely valuable.

Those three key items must be crystal clear in your mind before you can begin to consistently communicate them to your target market, let alone go on any sales calls. This is where many sales people make their lives more difficult—by trying to get sales appointments before addressing those three items.

Consistent communication to your target market can include television commercials, radio spots, magazine ads, or direct mail. However, the most effective method is to build relationships (personal wherever possible). Remember, people do business with people, not organizations. And the most powerful force in the business community is always a personal relationship.

Once you’ve identified your target market, how often do they hear from you? And is what they’re hearing from you valuable to them?

The first facet of consistent communication is making sure it’s actually consistent. Is it monthly? Weekly? Quarterly? Annually? Most sales people are hard-working and honest—the problem is they tend to be undisciplined. Consistent communication of your “Unique Value Proposition” means taking a disciplined approach to defining your brand in the minds of a specific target market. If your brand and the quality of and frequency of your communication are consistent, you will be viewed as a professional in your field.

Slightly more important than consistency is making sure that the message you’re communicating is valuable to your target audience. The only way to know this is by either picking up the phone and asking them or meeting with them and asking in person. For example, most people who buy a Volvo don’t ask about the horsepower—they’re interested in safety ratings. The question is this: are you marketing your “horsepower” to a client base who’s primarily interested in your “safety rating?”

The difference between deleted spam and an email you read (or if you’re old school like me, deleted junk mail versus an envelope you open) is either knowing the sender or believing the content to be valuable. So communicating valuable information about your product or service to your target market whom you have a personal relationship with almost guarantees that your information will be read, unlike the messages from a sales person whom they may find annoying. This concept is called PUSH versus PULL: consistent communication to a target market that finds your information valuable pulls them in, and makes them want to do business with you. Unfortunately, all too often, sales people simply cold-call and push for an outcome and wind up pushing potential clients or potential additions to a referral base away (because if you establish a relationship, those people who don’t buy may still refer you to others).

The Sales Cycle has three phases: Phase 1 has three steps, which were addressed in my last column and are listed above. Phase 2 also has three steps: Consistently communicate to build relationships, make sure your message is valuable to your target market, and pull—never push.

Notice I haven’t mentioned a sales appointment yet— that will be the focal point of my next column.

When you read the title of this column, what thoughts immediately pop into your mind? The first question should be, “If I read this article, will it help me in my sales career?”

The answer is “yes.”

Most sales people see making sales as an event instead of a cycle with a process. This column is one in a series that will complete the “Sales Cycle.” So let’s begin.

What separates high school athletes from professional athletes is the ability to consistently execute the fundamentals of their sport at a very high level. Sales is much the same. The main problem is most sales folks were never taught the fundamentals, let alone the skills used to master them.

If someone were to walk up to you and ask you why he or she should do business with you, you would more than likely have an answer. And the problem begins right there. Instead of answering to promote your product or services, you should immediately begin asking questions to uncover what prompted the conversation in the first place.

Sales is not about selling yourself or your company; sales is about getting to know people and uncovering their needs, that, if met, would be beneficial to them or their organization.

So how do you meet those needs? How do you uncover them?

First, you need to know what your “Unique Value Proposition” is, so you can be sure that you can meet those needs. You can’t be all things to all people, and this is why you need to establish your own “Unique Value Proposition.” For example, if you wanted to enjoy a quality Italian meal and saw burritos on the menu at a local Italian restaurant, you might question whether or not you’re being served truly authentic Italian cuisine.

Your “Unique Value Proposition” is incomplete without your brand and your position in the marketplace working together. By brand I mean something very simple. Your brand is defined by three words: “Who knows you?” Many people argue over “It’s not who you know, it’s what you know,” or vice versa. Unfortunately, both are wrong. It’s “Who knows you?” For example, we all know the brand Coca-Cola, primarily because it’s the No. 1 brand in the world. So in the same way that everyone knows Coca-Cola, does your target market of potential clients know you?

The second and equally important question is “What position do you occupy in their mind?” An example of this would be a contrast between Porsche and Volvo. Both are European car manufacturers that have carved out completely different positions in the marketplace. Volvo is synonymous with safety, while Porsche is all about speed, handling, and performance. The brand names of each conjure up different positions in your mind with different segments of the population as consumers.

Those respective brands are there to occupy a position in the mind of consumers who find their unique proposition as valuable, such as safety or performance. Can you as a sales professional clearly articulate your brand and position as well as who will find it valuable? You need to be able to do this before you attempt to answer anyone’s questions, let alone, begin selling.

In my next column, I’ll be discussing with you the next step in completing the “Sales Cycle.”

Written by Todd Korahais. Todd currently serves as Operating Partner for Keller Williams Realty. He has successfully built three different businesses and at age 31 sold his first business to a publicly traded company. His community involvement includes several board positions and leadership roles in civic, business, and philanthropic organizations—most specifically, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and Clemson University.