How to Meet Your Federal Sales Goals
Written By: Dr. Zamora Crawford Olin, GovCon Expert
STEP 1: Set a "SMART" goal
The #1 reason we go into business is to make money! But many of us don't know how to make money repeatably, especially in an industry like Government Contracting (GovCon). Some of us get lucky, and we may earn a sale here or there; but, most of us struggle month after month (or year after year) try to get government sales.
We've all heard about "SMART" goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely); yet, most times, we set "stupid, unrealistic" expectations related to the growth of our business. If you are going to set a goal for your business, set a SMART goal. Don't set goals for the sake of setting goals; especially if you have no clue as to how you are going to meet that goal!
For starters, each year, you should set a sales goal for your business that you can break down into quarterly or monthly goals! For example, if you have an annual sales goal of $100k, breaking this goal down into $25k a quarter or $8.3k a month makes it easier to meet your annual sales goal.
The other part is; you must make sure you are setting the right goals for your business. When growing your business, you can't go wrong if you set a SMART goal!
So, let's turn our example of a $100k annual goal into a SMART goal.
GOAL: $100k in Annual Sales
S = Specific: You must be specific about your annual sales goal! Be clear as to what you need to accomplish in your business. For example:
"For fiscal year (FY) 2021, my goal is to earn $100k in subcontracts opportunities."
M = Measurable: To make this goal measurable, you need to identify the level of action you must take that will allow you to track your progress in reaching your goal. For example: "I will develop a sales pipeline with over $500k in viable subcontracting opportunities to meet my goal.
A = Attainable: To make sure your sales goal is attainable, you need to ensure you have the skills and capacity to support the opportunities in your sales pipeline!
"I will qualify all subcontracting opportunities in my pipeline and eliminate those my company cannot support.
R = Realistic: To ensure your goal is realistic, you must be honest about where you are in your business and your capacity to support a government agency.
"I am a small company with limited capital. Pursing smaller opportunities will allow me to scale my business responsibly."
T = Timely: A timely goal has an expiration date.
"I want to increase my annual revenue by 200% by the end of FY2022".
With out a SMART goal, your plan to grow your business through government contracts is just a wish!