Are You a Shipping Expert
When you buy a logistics franchise, sales is at the heart of your business. The right strategies can really take your sales savvy to the next level. You know you need to build relationships, but how? You know you need to generate leads, but where? Don’t stress! We’re here to help with a two-part series on must-have sales strategies, so this year is your best yet. In this section, we’ll focus on:
- How to Set Goals
- How to Stay Motivated to Achieve Them
In Part Two, we’ll revisit strategies for how to get–and keep–customers
Let’s get started!
When setting sales goals, keep these strategies in mind:
- Do your homework. Make sure your goal-setting is informed. Just as you did when it was time to buy your franchise, do some research and set your goals according to:
- Logistics trends from the previous year
- The needs of your target market (small-to-medium-sized business owners who outsource their shipping needs)
- What has–or hasn’t–worked for franchisees in the past (Don’t be afraid to try new things, but don’t reinvent the wheel on every goal.)
- Your “Buyer’s Journey”: Set goals that will meet their needs at every stage. That way you’ll be getting new customers, and keeping the ones that are already loyal to you.
Knowing the industry, your ideal customer, and some best practices will lay a great foundation for the sales strategies guiding your logistics franchise.
- Set SMART Goals: When it comes to goal-setting, the right framework can make all the difference. We like the SMART framework, adapted by business writer and leadership expert Michael Hyatt. SMART goals are:
- Specific: If possible, state exactly what you want to accomplish. If you’re not sure, be as specific as you can. Instead of saying “get more customers”, state how many more customers you want, and by when you want to have them.
- Measurable: Having specific goals means you can quantify the result (so you know for sure whether you have achieved your goal or not).
- Actionable: Use action words whenever possible. Instead of “be better at calling prospects”, try “call ___ prospects per week.”
- Realistic: There’s nothing wrong with stretching yourself a bit, but there’s no need to be pie-in-the-sky. Instead of “Be the top franchise in my territory”, a good strategy for goal-setting might be “Increase revenue by __% each year for the first __ years.
- Time-Sensitive: Give yourself a deadline. This is a great motivator because if you have a limited timeframe in which to achieve the goal, you’ll have to work harder–and smarter–to achieve it.
- Set Activity Goals (Not Sales Goals): When setting the goals behind your sales strategies, try to make them activity-based (not outcome-based). For example, instead of selling $1000 worth of shipping solutions in a day, make it your goal to talk to 10 people a day about which services to buy from your logistics franchise. This way, you can stay motivated, regardless of individual responses, and develop the great habit of connecting with new prospects regularly– no matter what!
- Use Disappointments to Improve and Refine Goals: No sales strategies work perfectly 100% of the time. The key when something doesn’t work is to figure out the why behind it, and adjust your goals accordingly. This is where mentorship and accountability with your fellow franchisees really come in handy. A bird’s eye view from someone not as “close to the project” can be a great way to set goals that push you– while playing to your strengths.
You’ll be amazed how often the right goals lead to the right outcomes for your logistics franchise. With sales and marketing integrated to drive your goal-setting (and vice versa), this year can be your best–and most profitable–year yet!