Why Your Sales Team Misses Their Targets
When I walk into an SME to look at sales performance, I don't start with the people. I start with the data.
I want to see what's actually happening. I look for the trends, who's performing, who's struggling, and what the funnel looks like right now. And almost always, the first thing I notice is the targets.
Or rather, the lack of them.
And that usually tells me more than the founder expects…and it’s almost always where the trouble starts.
It's surprisingly common. A business might have a small sales team (say, four people) and they're all working towards one shared company target. That's fine when you're just starting out. But once you have a team, they need their own individual numbers.
If they don't have individual targets, they don't know what they're chasing. And just as importantly, you have nothing to hold them accountable to. If someone isn't performing, you have no baseline to manage them against.
So, as the founder you end up managing on feeling, not fact.
But giving someone a target is only the first step. The second, and the one most businesses miss, is showing them how to deliver it. Because a number without a route is just pressure.
Let's imagine a salesperson's target is £100,000. They need to know how many orders they actually need to win to hit that number. To figure that out, you look at their average order value over the last twelve months. If the average order is £1,000, they need 100 orders.
Then you look at the conversion rate. They aren't going to win every opportunity they find. If historical data shows they win one in four, they need 400 opportunities to get those 100 orders.
And finally, how many outreach activities, conversations, calls, emails, events, does it take to find one opportunity?
Once you track that back, you have a really clear indication of the exact number of sales activities they need to do in a month. The target stops being an abstract number. It becomes a daily plan. And that’s where performance starts to become manageable.
If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. And you won't know how you're performing until it's too late.
But the structure is only half the job. The other half is the environment you build around it and numbers alone will not carry a sales team.
Salespeople deal with a lot of rejection. It's part of the job. And when they finally get an order over the line, especially in complex solution selling where a sales cycle might take twelve months, they need that win to be acknowledged.
I see so many demotivated sales teams who are working incredibly hard. They finally win an order, and the response from the founder is, "Great. When's the next one coming?"
That's the quickest way to kill enthusiasm, especially when the win took months to land.
You have to take a moment to celebrate it. Let them reflect on what it took to get there. Say thank you. When they feel appreciated and valued, they are much more likely to go again with the same level of energy.
You also have to incentivise them properly. A decent commission structure is often a better driver than an annual bonus, because it encourages them to push for higher contract values on every single deal.
And you have to give them clear boundaries. If they can apply discounts, tell them exactly what the limit is. For example, could it be 10% with anything over that needing to be signed-off. It gives them the autonomy to close deals without creating chaos in your margins.
This is where the sales function starts to feel less chaotic.
If you get the structure right, the targets, the activity metrics, the CRM data, and you pair it with the right environment of incentives, clear boundaries, and celebration the wins.
Then you stand a very good chance of having a very successful sales team!
Missing targets are rarely just a sales problem. They’re usually a visibility, accountability, or process problem.
If your sales team consistently misses target and you’re not sure where the bottleneck is, let’s have a conversation.
Book a complimentary Founder Dependency Discovery Call and we’ll identify what’s holding performance back and where to focus first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do sales teams consistently miss their targets?
Sales teams often miss their targets because they don’t have clear individual goals, measurable activity metrics, or a defined sales process. Without these, performance becomes difficult to manage and improve.
How do you set realistic sales targets for a sales team?
Start with the revenue target, then work backwards using average order value, conversion rates, and opportunity generation data. This creates a clear activity plan showing exactly what is required to achieve the target.
What sales KPIs should I track?
Most businesses should track:
Revenue
Orders won
Opportunities created
Conversion rate
Sales activities completed
Average order value
Tracking these KPIs helps identify performance issues before targets are missed.
How do you hold salespeople accountable?
Accountability starts with clear individual targets and agreed performance metrics. When expectations are defined and measured consistently, performance discussions can be based on facts rather than opinions.
Why is sales activity tracking important?
Sales activity tracking helps identify whether performance issues are caused by insufficient activity, poor conversion rates, or problems elsewhere in the sales process. It provides early warning signs before revenue is affected.
What motivates a sales team to perform?
Sales teams are typically motivated by a combination of:
Clear targets
Commission and incentives
Recognition and celebration of success
Autonomy to make decisions
Confidence in the sales process
A positive sales culture can be just as important as financial incentives.
Should salespeople be allowed to offer discounts?
Yes, but within clear limits. Giving salespeople authority to approve discounts up to a defined percentage helps them close deals quickly while protecting profit margins.
How often should sales targets be reviewed?
Sales targets and performance metrics should be reviewed weekly, with more detailed monthly reviews. Regular monitoring allows businesses to identify trends and make adjustments before targets are missed.
What causes poor sales team performance?
Poor sales performance is often caused by unclear expectations, weak activity levels, lack of accountability, poor CRM discipline, ineffective incentives, or a lack of recognition and support from leadership.
How can founders improve sales team performance?
Founders can improve sales performance by setting individual targets, tracking leading indicators, implementing strong CRM processes, creating meaningful incentives, celebrating wins, and providing clear decision-making boundaries.
Why does my sales team keep missing its target?
The most common reason sales teams miss their targets is that they have a revenue goal but no clear plan to achieve it. High-performing sales teams understand how many orders they need, how many opportunities those orders require, and how many sales activities are needed to generate those opportunities. When targets are supported by clear metrics, accountability, incentives, and recognition, sales performance becomes far more predictable.
