Before this course: Consultative Selling: discover needs and close bigger deals (course 2.5.3), which builds on Sales Process: pipeline, follow-up and objections (course 2.5.2) and Sales Fundamentals: Conversations That Close (course 2.5). You should already run a pipeline, qualify leads, follow up with CASL consent, track conversion, run discovery calls and write proposals. If not, finish those courses first.
Honest targets from capacity
A coach does not tell a team "score ten goals" without looking at how many shots they can take. A sales target is a plan built from what people can really do, not a wish. If the target is a wish, people feel pushed to cut corners.
- A target (or quota) is a planned result for a period, for example new customers or new revenue this quarter. It is a plan, not a promise of what a seller will earn.
- Build it bottom-up from your own numbers, in this order: target revenue, average deal size, win rate (from your conversion table in course 2.5.2), deals needed, opportunities needed, and how many opportunities one seller can really work.
- Then check top-down: is the target close to what the team really did in past periods? A large jump needs a reason (a new product, more people, a new market).
- Ramp time: a new seller needs weeks or months before reaching full speed. Count a new hire as part capacity at first.
- Use ranges for planning (low, expected, high), and write down your assumptions so they can be checked.
- Honest targets protect customers too. Pressure from an impossible target is a common reason people make misleading claims (Lesson 6).
| Step | Number |
|---|---|
| Target new revenue for the year | $240,000 |
| Average deal | $4,000 |
| Deals needed | 240,000 / 4,000 = 60 |
| Win rate on qualified opportunities | 25% |
| Opportunities needed | 60 / 0.25 = 240 |
| One seller can properly work | 8 new qualified opportunities a month = 96 a year |
| Sellers needed | 240 / 96 = 2.5 |
Result: two full-time sellers plus part of the owner's time, or a lower target, or a better win rate. The plan shows the real choice instead of hiding it.
- Write your target for one quarter or year.
- Write the average deal size from your last 10 to 20 sales (use practice numbers if you have none).
- Write your win rate from your conversion table.
- Calculate deals needed (target / deal size) and opportunities needed (deals / win rate).
- Estimate how many qualified opportunities one seller can work well in a month.
- Divide to find how many sellers you need, and adjust for ramp time for new hires.
- Write low, expected and high versions and list your assumptions.
- Check: you can explain each number in one sentence and the target is not far from past results without a reason.
Read the video script
[Host] "A target is a plan, not a wish."
[Text on screen: $240,000 / $4,000 = 60 deals / 25% win rate = 240 opportunities] "Work backwards: revenue, deal size, win rate, then how many opportunities you need."
[Text on screen: 240 opportunities / 96 per seller = 2.5 sellers] "Compare that with what one seller can really handle."
[Host] "If the numbers do not fit, change the plan, not the truth."
Build a bottom-up target for one team or a practice team. Write the table from the example with your numbers, three versions (low, expected, high) and your assumptions.
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I'm learning "Sales Leadership: coach a team and build a sales system" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Honest targets from capacity". What the lesson teaches: - A target (or quota) is a planned result for a period, for example new customers or new revenue this quarter. It is a plan, not a promise of what a seller will earn. - Build it bottom-up from your own numbers, in this order: target revenue, average deal size, win rate (from your conversion table in course 2.5.2), deals needed, opportunities needed, and how many opportunities one seller can really work. - Then check top-down: is the target close to what the team really did in past periods? A large jump needs a reason (a new product, more people, a new market). - Ramp time: a new seller needs weeks or months before reaching full speed. Count a new hire as part capacity at first. - Use ranges for planning (low, expected, high), and write down your assumptions so they can be checked. - Honest targets protect customers too. Pressure from an impossible target is a common reason people make misleading claims (Lesson 6). The exercise I'm working on: Build a bottom-up target for one team or a practice team. Write the table from the example with your numbers, three versions (low, expected, high) and your assumptions. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Honest targets from capacity" from the course "Sales Leadership: coach a team and build a sales system". Here's what the lesson says: A coach does not tell a team "score ten goals" without looking at how many shots they can take. A sales target is a plan built from what people can really do, not a wish. If the target is a wish, people feel pushed to cut corners. The activity: Build a bottom-up target for one team or a practice team. Write the table from the example with your numbers, three versions (low, expected, high) and your assumptions. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Competition Bureau Canada, Deceptive marketing practices (why honest claims matter to your team): competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/deceptive-marketing-practices
- Target-setting from capacity and conversion is a standard sales-management method; the numbers above are examples, not data.
Hiring sellers fairly
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Onboard and coach
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The sales playbook and system
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Pay plans that reward honest selling
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Compliance for the whole team
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Measure, forecast and review
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Teach it: a team training and review session
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Final project
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Quiz
How do you build a sales target from the bottom up?
Start with target revenue, divide by average deal size and win rate to find opportunities needed, then compare with what each seller can work.
In the example, how many sellers does $240,000 need at 8 new opportunities a month each?
About 2.5.
Why check local job-posting rules before advertising a sales job?
Some places require things like a pay range or a clear honest description, and the rules differ by place.
Name two things an honest job posting should include.
Any two of: the pay or pay range, what the job really involves, whether it is an existing vacancy, and fair requirements.
Can a trial shift make a candidate an employee?
In many places yes, if the work assessed is real work the employer's employees do. Ask a local lawyer or labour office.
What are the three parts of a 25-minute call review in the lesson's ending?
Review the scorecard with one strength and one change, practise the change, and write one commitment.
Why pay commission when the customer has paid?
So refunds and non-payment do not hurt the business.
Why should a sales leader learn the anti-spam rules where messages are sent?
Penalties for serious violations can be very large (the maximum, not the usual).
What should a telemarketer do about do-not-call lists?
Check the country's do-not-call rules and honour them, including their own list.
What kind of law covers false or misleading claims to promote a business?
Consumer protection and advertising law.
What is the difference between leading and lagging numbers?
Leading numbers are activity before results (calls, proposals); lagging numbers are results (revenue, wins).
How do you prove a teaching session worked?
Learners can do the task alone, such as a practice call that scores well.
Final exam
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Certificate
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