Sales: On Task-On Target

Sales is all about the numbers. The number of calls, appointments, presentations, demos, etc. It is one of the most lucrative jobs, but also takes a certain commitment and dedication in order to be successful.  Having had sales responsibilities throughout my entire career, I wanted to share the concept of On Task and On Target, and the differences and similarities between the two.

The thing you have probably always heard about sales is that “it is the one job where you get exactly what you put into it”. Basically this is stating the fact that the effort is a direct correlation to the rate of success/failure.  Unfortunately this is not always the case as I have known many sales people who put in a lot of effort, but never reap the rewards for that effort.

There are many different metrics and methods to measure sales individuals, but this article will cover the On Task / On Target one. So the basic concept of being On Task and On Target is a fairly simple one.  If a salesperson is On Task, it means they are making the calls, researching the competition, learning about their clients, and putting forth the necessary effort to potentially be very successful.  Being On Target is when this effort results in the salesperson hitting all their sales goals, and their commission checks reflect this effort. The complexity begins when the two don’t line up.

For example, a salesperson can be Off Task, but still On Target.  This means that the individual is not doing all the necessary sales pre-work and activity, but it’s not affecting their performance and they are still managing to hit their sales numbers.  This is typically not sustainable and the lack of effort will soon surface.  

Then the individual could also be On Task, but Off Target.  This is where they are doing the necessary work to be successful, but are not achieving the sales goals.  If this is the case, these individuals should try something different or change their approach, or better yet, ask for assistance.  The worst one of all is if the individual is Off Task AND Off Target.  This can certainly be a training issue, but is more commonly due to a lack of effort and not inclusive of the sales role itself. 

Of course, the one every sales person should strive for is to be On Task AND On Target.  This is when the effort is typically a direct correlation of the reward.  This individual is doing all the necessary pre-work and generating the activity which is bringing in lots of revenue to the company and rewarding the sales person with huge commission checks. 

Try Changing Your Lens, and looking at your sales individuals’ activities through this simple method.  

If you would like help improving your sales performance, please reach out to me.

“Hard work will ALWAYS beat talent that doesn’t work hard” – Tim Notke