Daily Leader Dilemmas

⏱ 7 min read

In a rush? Here is the quick overview.

The issue

• Sales goals are essential, but deciding who should set them is more nuanced than it first appears.
• Letting every salesperson set their own goals can create confusion, uneven expectations, or goals that do not match the business need.

Best practices for you as the leader

• Confirm the metrics are right, trackable, and clearly understood before deciding how collaborative the process should be.
• Match your approach to the salesperson's experience, confidence, and relationship with numbers.
• Set goals with them whenever possible so they understand the why, can ask questions, and leave with real buy-in.

Key takeaway

The best answer is usually not having reps set goals alone, but setting goals with them in a way that fits the person and protects the business.

The Problem at Hand

If you are a sales leader, your salespeople need goals.

And they have to be the right goals.

No two ways about it.

Why?

Because clear goals help salespeople understand what success looks like. They give you something concrete to coach toward. And when people hit them, you get to celebrate the heck out of it.

Sounds simple enough.

Except anyone who has led a sales team knows it is not simple at all.

• There are books about goal setting.
• There are classes you can take.
• There are consultants who are hired to help companies do it.

And even with all of that, it is still hard.

In my time as a leader, I spent hours over spreadsheets trying to figure out what good looked like on a sales desk. I revised. I tweaked. I revised again.

I've agonized when no one was hitting goals.

• Are they too high?
• Are they all going to quit?
• Is it me?

I've agonized when everyone was hitting goals.

• Are they too low?
• Are we leaving money on the table?
• Is it me?

There is a lot to say about sales goal setting.

But today, we are focusing on one specific question:

Who should set the goals? The leader or the sales rep?

The LeDev Advice

During my years as a senior sales leader, this question came up a lot. And depending on whom you ask, you will get different answers.

Here is mine.

Don't hate me for this.

"It depends."

I know. The all-powerful and deeply annoying leadership answer.

But in this case, it is true.

There is plenty of advice out there encouraging participation in decision-making. And for good reason. When people are involved in decisions, they often have more buy-in and stronger follow-through.

But goal setting is a little different.

Studies show that having salespeople set their own goals does not result in better performance.

The key is to know your people and adapt your style accordingly.

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So How Do You Know?

Here is my formula.

First, Check Yourself

Before deciding who should set the goals, make sure the foundation is solid.

Ask yourself:

• Do we have the right metrics?
• Can we track them accurately?
• Have we clearly explained what the metrics mean?
• Do our salespeople understand why those metrics matter?
• Do they see how the metrics connect to results on their desk?

For example, if you are setting goals around dials, email campaigns, proposals, client meetings, or revenue, your team needs to understand both the number and the reason behind it.

If you cannot honestly answer those questions with a confident “duh, yes, Eleonore,” then you are not ready to worry about who sets the goals.

Fix the foundation first.

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Next, evaluate your salesperson’s relationship with goal setting.

In my experience, salespeople usually fall into one of four buckets.

The newbie

• Newer salespeople should not set their own goals.
• They do not know what they do not know yet. They may lack confidence. Or they may be overconfident. Either way, they need you to show them the path.
• And this does not only apply to brand-new salespeople.
• Even if you hire someone with strong sales experience, they still need time to learn your business, your expectations, your market, your tools, and your culture before they can confidently set meaningful goals for themselves.

For this person, you set the goals.

Then you explain the why, answer their questions, and help them understand what good looks like.

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The "I don't care about numbers" salesperson

• You will have some salespeople who do not want to spend a lot of time with the numbers.
• They may not want to analyze every activity metric. They may not care how all the pieces fit together. They may simply want you to tell them the target so they can go do the work.
• If you have one of those salespeople, do not fight it.

Set the goals. Sit down with them. Review the numbers. Make sure they understand what is expected and why it matters.

And one important note here: they may act like they do not care about the numbers, but trust me, they care.

So set the goals responsibly. Track them consistently. Report progress clearly. Coach them like you would anyone else.

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The salesperson who is unsure about the numbers

• Most salespeople fall into this bucket.
• They understand the numbers. They care about their results. They will follow the goals once they are clear.
• But they are not fully confident setting the goals themselves.

With this group, I recommend doing the work upfront before the meeting. Come prepared with your proposed goals and your reasoning.

Then, during the meeting, walk them through your thinking and ask for their input.

This takes the pressure off of them while still giving them ownership.

That is the sweet spot.

You are not dumping the responsibility on them, and you are not just handing them a number with no conversation. You are setting the goals with them.

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The numbers junkie

• This is the one group that may be able to set their own goals.
• You know the type: They know their stats. They watch their activity. They understand conversion rates. They probably have their own spreadsheet.

For this person, you can ask them to come to the meeting with their proposed goals.

But here is the catch—you still need to do your own work first.

Before the meeting, prepare the goals you believe are right. Then compare your numbers with theirs.

Ideally, their goals are the same as yours or even more aggressive. If that is the case, great. Use theirs and move forward.

If their goals are lower than yours, slow down and talk through the why. Look at the assumptions. Discuss the gaps. Work toward agreement.

One important warning: if you ask them to bring their own goals, you need to be genuinely open to using them. If you immediately throw out their numbers and replace them with yours, that will not feel collaborative. It will feel like a setup.

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What if I don't know which bucket they fall into?

If you are new to the salesperson or still learning how they think, I recommend setting the goals first.

Then use the goal-setting conversation to observe how they engage.

• Do they ask thoughtful questions?
• Do they understand the metrics?
• Do they challenge assumptions in a productive way?
• Do they seem interested in the numbers or overwhelmed by them?

You can also give them a choice. Ask whether they would prefer to come prepared with their own thoughts or have you prepare the first draft for discussion. Their reaction will tell you a lot.

And either way, they will likely appreciate being asked.

Summary