Table of Content
- Set a goal
- List out all your prospects
- Communicate with prospects to estimate conversion possibility
- Push them a bit with special discount/offers
- Have regular communication with your existing customer
- Ask for referrals
- Review sales goals once a week
- Have a brainstorming session
- Perfect your presentations
- Improve your selling skills
- Use tools to fully utilize your time
- Reporting
- Conclusion
- FAQs
According to the 20-60-20 rule in sales, 20% are strong performers (top), 60% are average performers (middle) and 20% are weak performers (bottom). The top performers are the ones who achieve or exceed their sales targets. But then, it also indicates that the rest 80% are not delivering the desired results. What can you do to shift the average and weak performers in the top bracket?
Well, you should first do the root-cause analysis of why your sales reps are missing on the sales targets. On a closer evaluation, you fill discover that ineffective goal-setting, lack of adequate sales training and inefficient VAR tools are the weakest links.
So, here are effective tips that value added resellers can follow to achieve their sales targets.
Key Takeaways:
- VARs should base monthly sales targets on historical performance trends and realistic pipeline forecasts.
- Clear segmentation of customer segments helps assign more actionable and attainable targets.
- Tracking weekly leading indicators enables timely course corrections before month-end.
- Collaborative target planning increases ownership and alignment across sales and operations teams.
- Linking incentives to both effort and outcome balances activity with strategic progress.
Set a goal
Now you may wonder which sales rep wouldn’t set a goal. What you need to understand is that there is a stark difference between ‘goals’ and ‘right goals’. Are the goals SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely? If not, then a goal-setting exercise is crucial and the first step to accomplishing sales targets. A goal should have a clear direction, be possible to be measured for effectiveness, be realistic to attain, be significant to the productivity and have a timeline.
At times, it so happens that the value added resellers set goals that are too improbable to attain. This could put tremendous pressure on the sales force, and demotivate them, as a result of which they may underperform. Hence, the sales quotas should be set as per logical expectations.
These goals can be further divided into smaller goals for daily or weekly tasks. For example, ‘I will make three sales calls and meet one prospect today.
Monthly targets shouldn’t be treated as fixed once set. Distributor pricing shifts, vendor promotions come and go, and a deal that looked likely at the start of the month can stall or accelerate. Reviewing targets against actual pipeline movement partway through the month, rather than only at month-end, makes it easier to catch a shortfall early enough to still act on it.
List out all your prospects
On an average, sales reps make 52 calls every day, it takes 8 follow-up calls to reach a prospect and 50% of their time is wasted on unproductive prospecting.
On an average, sales reps make 52 calls every day, it takes 8 follow-up calls to reach a prospect and 50% of their time is wasted on unproductive prospecting.
The time spent on prospecting eats away a huge chunk of sales productivity. Hence, it makes a good sense that sales teams list all their prospects in terms of demographics and geography. They should also shortlist all sources such as social media, influencers, customer referrals, websites or emails, from where prospects can be identified.
Communicate with prospects to estimate conversion possibility
What would happen in you set up a meeting appointment with a prospect, only to find out later that he is not interested in your product? Imagine all the time and energy you wasted in one single prospect, and multiply it by all other such ones! So, it would be a good idea to research about a prospect’s needs and interest in the initial calls. This will give you an insight into whether there is a possibility to convert a prospect.
Push them a bit with special discount/offers
Who doesn’t love discounts and offers? At times, prospects are almost 90% into closing the deal, but the 10% holds them back. At this stage, you could tempt them with discounts or offers such as free trials, an extended service guarantee or anything that doesn’t affect the sales deal much on your end.
Have regular communication with your existing customer
Relationship building is integral to sales. After you have clinched the deal, don’t let go of your customers. Keep in regular touch with them – you can make a thank you call, seek their feedback on the product performance, follow-up after a few months for a second round of feedback or simply maintain an email contact sending them updates. This will ensure that your products stay on the top of their mind. In most probability, they will make a repeat purchase or at least provide referrals.
Ask for referrals
Don’t hesitate to request your customers for referrals, may be immediately after closing the deal or anytime after that. You can also send a referral request letter to all your prospects and customers via emails.
Review sales goals once a week
The goal-setting exercise should be a continuous one. A weekly review exercise will give you a progress report – it will tell you where you stand and what action you need to take to inch closer towards the sales targets. If there are any challenges, you can discuss with your sales manager or peers, and find out ways to overcome them. It may be also possible that you may need to change the goals due to some circumstances.
Pro Tip:
- Use rolling forecasts to adjust targets based on market shifts rather than fixed monthly numbers.
Have a brainstorming session
If you have run out of ideas and techniques to achieve sales targets, a brainstorming session with team members could work wonders. These sittings will bring out tips and tricks on how other sales reps attain their share of quotas. If the organization as a whole is not able to accomplish sales targets, then brainstorming can help in evaluating competitor’s ideas, formulating new sales strategies, etc.
Pro Tip:
- Implement daily huddle dashboards to monitor key activity metrics that drive closing performance.
Perfect your presentations
Did you know that
The last five minutes of a sales presentation is the most memorable, so you should end it with a story? Apparently, 63% of attendees remember stories!
It would also surprise you to know that according to Neo Mammalian Studios
visuals are processed 60,000 times in the brain than text, hence visual presentations are more effective.
A salesman’s strength lies in his script or presentation, so there is no doubt that it should be perfected, whether it is oratory or ocular. You should keep the presentation short and crisp, let prospects ask questions, and get feedback from the peers on your sales presentation technique.
Improve your selling skills
Sales skills have a direct impact on how effectively a rep can turn prospects into customers and build long-term accounts. For VARs, this goes beyond knowing how to pitch a product. Sales reps need to understand the technology they are selling, the customer’s business requirements, the competitive landscape, and how different products and services fit together.
Here are a few ways VAR sales reps can sharpen their selling skills:
- Know your products and customers: Understand your company’s products, services, pricing, and value proposition in detail. At the same time, learn about your customers’ business needs, budgets, pain points, and buying priorities so you can recommend relevant solutions rather than simply list product features.
- Understand the competition: Keep track of competing products, pricing, features, and service offerings. This helps reps answer customer questions confidently and explain why a particular solution may be a better fit for their requirements.
- Stay current with sales and technology trends: VARs operate in a fast-moving technology market. Keep up with new sales techniques, vendor offerings, industry developments, and VAR tools that can help you identify opportunities and manage the sales process more effectively.
- Listen before you sell: Good selling starts with understanding the customer. Ask relevant questions, listen carefully to their responses, and identify the actual problem they are trying to solve. This makes the conversation more useful and helps you position the right solution.
- Work on your communication and presentation skills: Keep sales presentations clear and focused on the customer’s needs. Avoid overwhelming prospects with technical details they don’t need. Practice explaining complex solutions in simple, business-focused language.
- Learn from your top performers: Pay attention to how successful reps qualify prospects, handle objections, follow up, and close deals. Sharing successful approaches across the team can help other reps adopt techniques that work.
- Invest in sales training: Regular training can help reps develop skills in prospecting, negotiation, objection handling, account management, and closing. Training is particularly useful when introducing new products, vendors, or sales processes.
Use tools to fully utilize your time
There are a good number of automation tools such as sales quoting software and CRM, yet most salespeople shy away from them. They usually think these tools are too complex to understand or operate, or that they could take over their jobs. Small and medium-sized VARs can benefit immensely from a small business CRM tool and embrace automation easily. CRM can eliminate routine and mundane tasks such as data entry. It can store information in an organized and chronological manner, trigger reminders and follow-up emails, and keep all functions of the business in the loop. Needless to say, sales tools can help value-added resellers focus on their core job of selling.
Reporting
Regular reporting helps sales managers track progress toward monthly targets and address stalled deals or pipeline gaps before month-end. For VAR teams, reporting should go beyond revenue to include quoted revenue, actual margins, vendor contribution, and services attached to deals.
It also gives managers a chance to recognize strong performance and keep reps focused. For more practical ways to keep your team engaged, see these 5 winning ways to motivate your VAR sales reps.
Consistent reporting, realistic targets, and regular reviews can help VAR teams stay on track and act before small gaps become bigger problems.
Conclusion
Hitting monthly sales targets as a VAR comes down to more than setting a number at the beginning of the month. Your targets need to reflect past performance, pipeline potential, customer demand, and the realities of the market. From breaking larger goals into weekly activities to reviewing progress regularly, each step gives your sales team a clearer path toward the number they need to reach.
The right tools can make this process easier. With VAR-focused solutions such as VARStreet, sales teams can spend less time managing routine tasks and more time working on prospects, customers, quotes, and opportunities. From CRM and sales quoting to pipeline management, having the right sales infrastructure in place can help your team stay organized and keep opportunities moving.
If your VAR business is looking for a more structured way to manage sales activities, quotes, customers, and targets, explore how VARStreet can support your sales process.
FAQs
How should VARs decide what their monthly sales target should be?
VARs should consider previous sales performance, current pipeline value, average deal size, conversion rates, customer demand, and upcoming vendor or distributor activity. These factors provide a more realistic basis for setting monthly targets than simply increasing the previous month’s number.
What is a good way to track sales target progress during the month?
Track progress weekly rather than waiting until the end of the month. Monitor metrics such as opportunities created, quotes sent, pipeline value, conversion activity, and revenue closed. This helps sales managers identify gaps early and decide where additional effort is needed.
Should VAR sales targets focus only on revenue?
Not necessarily. Revenue is important, but VARs can also track gross margin, number of qualified opportunities, quotes generated, new customers acquired, services attached to deals, and repeat business. Looking at these metrics alongside revenue gives a more complete view of sales performance.
How can VARs manage sales targets across different sales reps?
Targets can be assigned based on factors such as territory, customer segment, historical performance, account potential, and pipeline size. Breaking the overall business target into individual and weekly goals can make expectations easier to manage and review.
How can CRM software help VARs reach their sales targets?
CRM software can centralize customer and prospect information, track opportunities, automate reminders, and give sales teams visibility into their pipeline. This reduces time spent on administrative work and helps reps stay focused on active opportunities.
What should a VAR do if its sales team is consistently missing targets?
Start by identifying where the gap occurs. It could be unrealistic targets, insufficient pipeline, weak prospect qualification, low conversion rates, ineffective sales presentations, or too much time spent on administrative work. Once the underlying issue is identified, the sales strategy and targets can be adjusted accordingly.
How often should VARs revise their sales targets?
Monthly targets can be reviewed during the month and adjusted when there are significant changes in pipeline movement, customer demand, vendor pricing, promotions, or other market conditions. Regular reviews are more useful than treating the original target as fixed regardless of circumstances.
