How to keep track of sales goals of an online business?

A lot of people ask us about sales goals for an online business, but, do you actually know how to create and, especially, how to track your goals?

Companies nowadays believe setting goals is essential both for the business and to increase employee productivity.

However, more than setting your goals, be aware that the success of your digital marketing strategies will be a direct consequence of your routine and how you are following through it or not on a daily basis.

In this text, I’ll  give you 7 tips to add to your routine so you can reach your sales targets.

1. Set a goal

Every time we have a strategic meeting, I always ask: What is your biggest goal this year?

After all, we all have one, whether is becoming the largest producer of your niche, reaching the famous seven digits in your account or making a living out of your passion.

Everyone who starts working on the digital market has a goal in mind  And, this is exactly where you should start.

What is your objective?

After you define the objective, I suggest that you place reminders everywhere  so that you always have it in mind.

You’ll have a long way to go, so having determination is essential.

A tip I always give is to think about something epic, either a content or a landmark. This will be your real storytelling. Therefore, go big so you can use it later as a case of success or even as way to solidify your expertise ahead.

2. Set a realistic deadline

Now, we need to think about a time frame.

For example:

If your goal is to create a product, set deadlines for when you intend to do it. It could be a month or a quarter. Keep in mind, you do need a schedule for execution.

Now why is that?

Your execution must be assertive and realistic, don’t just create demands, you need to meet their deadlines so that it keeps going smoothly and you don’t have problems getting it off the ground.

Did you know that, in a Harvard survey, only students who had written their goals clearly and objectively managed to reach them in 5 years? Think about it!

Regarding deadlines, it is very important for you to know that in content marketing, frequency is a determining success factor. Only having relevant content is not enough, you need to show it clearly and objectively, therefore, you need a routine.

3. Manage your priorities

Everyone knows the famous 80/20 rule (aka the Pareto principle), right? 80% of top of the funnel content, 20% of middle and bottom of the funnel content.

Always prioritize what is delivering the greatest result. And that is, in fact, correct!

But, it is actually a big mistake when we forget the base of the funnel as well, because the focus ends up only on the top of the funnel . And in digital marketing, we have to think of the funnel as a whole.

I joke around that the online business has several funnels one below the other. What do you mean, Thalita?

In user acquisition, we have the lead generation funnel; After the purchase, we have the engagement funnel and also a funnel to delight the customers.

There is a common misconception to think that is always better to focus on the base of success. But, the base, which are your potential customers in the middle and bottom of the funnel, is just as or actually more important than the top.

For example:

Speaking of content, we should focus on engaging content exactly because that is responsible for attracting new visitors to your blog or website. And then we’ll work on the heatmaps on emails of the funnel.

4. Create KPIs for monitoring

But what is a KPI?

It’s a follow-up indicator that measures if your sales goals or deadlines are above or below expected.

Keeping up with this metric is very important for you to know whether the objectives will be achieved and what needs to be improved month after month in order to reach it.

For example:

There are email metrics that you must follow, as the open rate and CTR (click-through rate).

Do you always look at those indicators in your business?

Check out which CTAs are being clicked on each email shot. This can help you optimize the next time emails that are sent, increase your click-through rate, and consequently your traffic.

5. Use a follow-up dashboard

But what is a follow-up dashboard?

Is a panel that manages the performance of activities in order to reach your goals.

One of the advantages of working with a dashboard when setting sales goals is the reassurance it brings for the whole team, serving as a parameter so that each employee understands the importance of his/her participation on the team.

The dashboard allows tracking through a written, visible goal, so can it can bring out a sense of urgency and it becomes easier to be achieved.

6. Create incentive goals for your team

It’s no use creating follow-up KPIs, if your team doesn’t  feel motivated enough to reach them.

Not having an incentive per person and team means that you do not connect personal goals to the company’s.

It is very important that sales goals are attached not only to the profits of the company, but also to those of the professionals.

If you don’t have a team yet, why not schedule a dinner for yourself or buy something you really want?

Our brain has its own reward system stimulated via ATP, that is, incentive leads us to meet our  goals not only for business’ purposes, but also due to our own well-being.

7. Have a completion and improvements stage

Choose a closing period that can be monthly, quarterly or annual, for example. During this period, collect all the indicators that are easily reached and the unreached ones.

Why is it important to do this?

Because you need to measure whether the expected growth is below or above market. Thus, we always have to make reality and market adjustments.

Moreover, this is an important period  so you can reflect whether you need to improve something, either a process or even if you need to create a new landing page, for example.

KPIs to keep an eye on

If you have already set sales goals and created daily processes to achieve them, finally, I’d like to talk about some important KPIs so you can think about your online business.

Pre-purchase:

• CTA
• CTR
• Open Rate
• The percentage (%) of people acquired are your buyer persona?
• Checkout A / B testing
• Capture page
• Exit pop up
• Conversion rate %

Purchase

• % refund and chargeback
• % recovery of purchases
• % approvals
• Post-purchase
• % repurchase
• Installments payments vs Approval
• NPS

If after reading this post you’ve realize you still haven’t been able to create sales goals that can be reached, take a moment to read our post that teaches you a step by step how to set goals for your business.