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Plan for the Long-term


Guest articles > Plan for the Long-term


by: Daniel Milstein


Successful salespeople have a vision that extends beyond the next six months or a year. In addition to achieving short-term goals, you have to look forward five or 10 years.

A good place to start in reexamining your goal strategy is to answer four essential questions. Write them on a piece of paper: 'Who am I?' 'What do I want to be?' 'What will it take to get there?' and 'Am I willing to do it?' Obviously, you need to have no reservations when you answer 'yes' to the final question. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve superstar status.

If you determine your ultimate goal is 'financial freedom' by a certain age, what will it take to get there? How many completed sales will you need per month and year to reach that goal? What is your closing ratio? If you are able to close 30 percent of the leads you get, how many prospects must you see every month, week and day to reach your goals? This also means anticipating trends and challenges that could impact your development as a top producer. What happens if there is a sudden decrease in demand for your product? How will that impact your initial projections? After my first high volume year in 2000, I realized I would have to take certain steps to hit higher production numbers in the future. I also learned we can only savor our past success for a brief period before moving forward.

I began spending more time with long range planning, anticipating what I would need to do over the next two to five years. I carefully analyzed my operational and marketing strategies to determine what was most effective and how I could improve. I researched demographics and other marketing trends to give me additional insights to help anticipate future customer profiles. I expanded my focus from six-month and one-year planning to a five and 10-year focus.

As a successful salesperson you must determine your goal and brainstorm how you will get there. Once you have anticipated your next necessary steps, begin long range planning and extend your vision.


Daniel Milstein is the bestselling author of ABC of Sales. For more information, visit:

Contributor: Daniel Milstein

Published here on: 01-Dec-13

Classification: Sales



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