Sales target planning: untangling complexity for telecom teams

Forecasting growth projections and establishing corresponding sales targets can overwhelm even the most skilled number-crunchers. When a telecom provider needed to determine its annual targets for its sales teams – consisting of over many individuals across various divisions – an unexpected challenge arose.

The organisation had a dedicated team that was responsible for setting ambitious, measurable, and actionable sales targets based on overarching financial objectives every semester. Using data from about a dozen products and predefined KPIs, salespeople at all levels receive customised targets based on their client portfolio and performance expectations. Since the organisation is publicly listed, adhering to procedures and meeting the annual end-of-year deadline was crucial.

As the data for sales target calculations flowed in from different departments, the person in charge of this task went on maternity leave. This presented a problem: where could they find the necessary expertise to deliver accurate sales targets before the deadline? That’s when they turned to Addestino.

Our consultants had prior experience working with various business units within the organisation. This established relationship allowed us to hit the ground running and develop a practical and actionable strategy to deliver accurate targets on time. Our first step was to form a task force comprising one of our Addestino partners and a consultant who possessed expert knowledge in advanced Excel modelling. As we were aware of potential time constraints and information bottlenecks during the upcoming holiday period, we set a tight agenda for intermediate deliverables from the organisation’s departments.

Our main objective was to establish a comprehensive Excel model capable of generating accurate sales targets based on a number of different factors. This involved aligning high-level revenue goals with order intake KPIs, consolidating and validating input, and incorporating feedback from sales leads. Ensuring the accuracy of the data was vital, so our consultants cross-checked target suggestions by individual salespeople using existing data and previous performance records.

Using our newly designed target model, we scheduled several alignment meetings with the sales leadership teams for final approval. The next step involved adapting our system to the specific formats and templates used in the teams’ sales tracking software. In addition to this primary task, we also set up operational dashboards for each account manager, enabling them to easily monitor and manage their sales activities through their sales management platform. This empowers sales teams to effectively track deal status and projected targets, ensuring they stay on track with their individual and team objectives.

Throughout the consulting assignment, our team identified several inefficiencies in the existing forecasting and target-setting process. We seized this opportunity to streamline certain procedures and calculation methods, which the internal team can reuse in the future to enhance its analysis for future sales targets.

Thanks to careful planning, risk prioritisation and effective bottleneck management, we successfully provided accurate and equitable targets for all sales representatives in the telecom company. The sales management team approved all of the suggested targets within the deadline, and the new Excel model was promptly uploaded to the various sales tracking platforms.

By leveraging our prior experience with the client and employing our signature high-value, in-depth approach, our consultants quickly adapted to address knowledge and resource gaps. In doing so, we not only met the demand for accurate numbers, but also enhanced existing calculation processes, ensuring a fair bonus distribution for all salespeople while closely monitoring the organisation’s bonus budget.