It’s never too early to start planning how to reach your quota in the next year. Preparing now to improve your process, and yourself, will help you hit those future numbers.

Prepare now to reach your quota next year 

S. Anthony Iannarino, sales author and entrepreneur, shares that a shockingly low number of sellers actually attain their quota: only 27%. He stresses that in order to hit quota in the next year, sellers need to focus on specific skills.

“It may not be easy to reach your quota, but by prioritizing sales effectiveness, training, and your development, you can stay focused on winning deals,” he explains in a post for his blog. 

Adjust your prospecting

One of Iannarino’s suggestions involves how to approach prospecting. According to SalesFuel research, nearly a quarter of sellers say prospecting is a top weakness of theirs. Considering the challenge prospecting presents, it may be time to adjust your strategy now to reach your next quota. And Iannarino has some advice. 

“To build your pipeline, prospect for 90 minutes every day, or longer if you need more meetings,” he writes. “This discipline will do much to ensure your pipeline has the integrity that will allow you to reach your goals.”

Dedicating a large portion of your day to prospecting may seem daunting. But he assures sellers it will be time well spent. Blocking out time for this activity keeps it a priority, allowing you time to pursue opportunities and keep you from falling behind. 

 One way to make the best use of your prospecting time is to integrate tools. A variety of digital tools exist that can streamline the process and increase productivity, pushing you closer to reach your quota. 

Salesfuel points out specific ways a prospecting tool can help:

• Segmenting lead lists and focusing on the most promising prospects
• Streamlining communications for maximum efficiency and engagement
• Collecting and analyzing data to guide outreach efforts
• Tracking activity and goal progress

And Hubspot reports that integrating AI can be especially helpful. Jenny Romanchuk shares that according to their research, 85% of sales professionals “claim their prospecting efforts have become more effective with AI.”

If you aren’t familiar at all with digital tools, take a look at some professional insights. 

Embrace coaching

Another tip from Iannarino to consider for the new year is to take advantage of training, especially coaching. As he points out, “It's difficult to recognize what you need to change, and coaching can speed your development and improve your effectiveness.” 

This can be especially helpful if you’ve had trouble reaching your quota in the past or expect a higher one in the new year. A coach can take an unbiased look at your process and numbers and can likely uncover issues and opportunities you hadn’t considered.

And there’s research to backup coaching’s effectiveness. “Businesses with a formal coaching process attain 91.2% of the overall quota attainment as opposed to companies without a coaching program,” according to Avina.  

If you take Iannarino’s advice and reach out for coaching, make sure that you make the best use of your time. Take a look at these tips to maximize your time spent being coached and why consistency is key to improvement.

Reach next year’s quota by preparing today

It can be difficult to think ahead, especially if you are still working to reach this year’s goals. But taking time to plan for the next year will always be time well spent. Even if you only focus on the two areas mentioned here, you can still have enough of an improvement to make an impact. 

As Iannarino explains in his article, it will take some discipline and perhaps even tackling the unfamiliar. But these efforts can be enough to position you to develop professionally, reach your quota, and stay ahead of the competition.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska