Herb Brooks, the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey coach, was considered a maverick for setting the expectation of a gold medal for a group of 18 to 21 year old amateur and collegiate players. Team USA went on to reach his audacious goal with a crushing 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union, and an equally impressive come from behind victory against Finland in the championship game.

Moral of the story: As a leader, don’t be afraid to set stretch goals for your management and frontline teams. You will never have an opportunity to attain what some may say are “impossible” goals if you do not aspire to them and believe in your ability to achieve them.

Ken Stellon - Senior Vice President, Frontline Performance Group

In the 10 years I have been with FPG, I have conducted monthly goal setting sessions with thousands of salespeople across numerous industries. One of the key insights I have gained from these sessions is the importance of seeing the potential fruits of your labor before you move forward with achieving your goals.

What do I mean by this? Salespeople need something tangible, something they can visualize, to help them achieve their goals. As a result, when setting goals it is critical that sales leaders ask their frontline employees what they would like to do with the extra incentive money earned when (not if) their sales goals are met. When salespeople are asked this question their answer is often a halfhearted “put it in the bank.” While putting it in the bank sounds and is noble, I have learned that saving more money is simply not compelling enough for the average employee to push through the additional efforts and rejection required to achieve the highest levels of sales performance.

This is because saving more does not elicit emotion. Having an extra $100 in your bank account is nice, but it doesn’t drive behavior consistently – it does not cause acute pain when it isn’t achieved. Conversely, when you are staring at a picture of a sunset on Waikiki Beach, a cherry red Ford Mustang, a pair of deep blue Gucci jeans, or a new home with a swing set and a photo of your children alongside, it hurts when you fail. It sears and it disappoints. But best of all, it angers. This type of pain is a good pain, a valuable pain because it focuses your energies, resolve and concentration to achieve something of worth…and of difficulty.

Salespeople should be encouraged to choose tangible personal rewards as part of the goal setting process, and to use pictures to remind them of their goals. However, as I always tell our clients, make sure the images placed on your refrigerator or in your work space are a true representation of what you desire most – because what you constantly think about, you become.

Albert Einstein said it best, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

What are you imagining?

Chris Brown - Senior Vice President, Frontline Performance Group

Implementing monthly goal setting sessions and staying consistent with them will help your team stay motivated and focused on every sales opportunity. The most effective managers utilize the following techniques when setting goals.

1. Make it conversational and collaborative. Involving your sales associates in the goal setting process is critical. Goals that are handed to your team without their input or belief are not worth the paper they are written on. Schedule half-hour meetings with each team member the last week of every month to discuss and set goals.

2. Set the target goal, then discuss the correct dialogues and techniques that will help your sales associates achieve the goal. Allocating enough time during monthly meetings for practice sessions will help your team focus on the appropriate dialogues and build confidence.

3. Set goals in accordance with each individual team member’s motivational driver. In a professional setting people are motivated by one of three things – recognition, incentive, or accountability. Knowing your team members’ drivers will help you steer the conversation more effectively.

4. If possible, base goals on sales conversions and sales per day. This will allow your discussions to be centered on achievable goals and questions. Breaking the stretch goal down on a time basis will also help your team members stay focused.

5. Write it down! Studies have shown written goals always have a higher success rate.

2010 is right around the corner, which means now is a great time to reflect on the success your business has experienced and the challenges you have faced throughout the year.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a sound business plan and vision?
• Are your products and services appealing to consumers?
• What do you want to be remembered for?
• What are your customers saying about you?
• Are you capitalizing on all of your business opportunities?
• What image do you want your frontline sales team to project and are they succeeding at this?
• What were your biggest successes in 2009?
• What did you learn from the challenges you faced in 2009?
• Do you have clearly defined goals for 2010 and beyond?

If you believe in your vision and you really want to achieve it, the best time to step up and take a leadership role in making it happen is now. By evaluating your business in an objective fashion and identifying what your customers really want, and not what you think they want, great things will be within your reach!

Ziad Khoury, Founder and President, Frontline Performance Group