Ever wake up on a Monday morning feeling determined that this will be the week you start to push harder and kick your sales into high gear? You have your ritual cup of coffee and head to the office feeling charged and ready to conquer the busy day ahead.

The hours race by. You’re pulled back and forth between calls, meetings and a seemingly endless stream of emails.
Somehow, by the end of day, you’ve made little headway and are far off from the goals you set for yourself just hours earlier.

Feeling drained and disappointed, you tell yourself tomorrow is another day. But too often those days turn into weeks, months and even years of failing to reach your goals. You’re a hardworking entrepreneur or sales rep with an “I Can” attitude, but despite your effort, you always seem to come up short.

Don’t beat yourself up. Even highly motivated entrepreneurs sometimes need help actualizing their game plan. What you need is to be held accountable to sticking to a proven system designed to help you reach your goals.

The key word here? Accountability. The act of having to report and explain your actions – or lack thereof – to a person you respect will help keep you motivated to stay on task.

Set Yourself Goals. When it comes to accountability, the first step is setting your goals. It’s important to differentiate between short-term and long-term goals. Establish goals that you want to reach every day, as well as by the end of each week, month and year. Then – and this is key – get them out of your head and down on paper. Make sure that your goals are measurable so that you can track your progress.

If you want to increase your sales quota, consider all the different activities you’ll need to do to reach your goals, from prospecting and qualifying prospects to making sales presentation and closing deals. Set specific measurable goals in each category.

Take prospecting for example. What’s the minimum number of prospecting calls that you’ll make every day? Set yourself a goal and you can begin to work to reach and exceed it.

Choose An Accountability Partner. The reality is that even when we set goals, we struggle to take the action steps necessary day in and day out to achieve them. It’s easy to give yourself leeway or make excuses when you don’t have to answer to anyone. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who have no “boss” to question their sales numbers.
Find an authority figure that you respect who will support you as an accountability coach as you strive to reach your short-term and long-term goals. Don’t ask your buddy to be your accountability partner, because he or she may let you off the hook if you fail to reach your daily, weekly and monthly disciplines. Share your goals with your coach and get their feedback on your action plan. The right coach will be able to suggest ways that you can modify your goals to make sure they’re both realistic and measurable.

Commit to the Process. Your accountability partner needs to be committed to seeing the process through with you. But remember, your accountability coach can’t do the work for you! Meet with your coach at least once a week to review your progress in each category. During your sessions you should look back at the previous week’s successes and failures. Your accountability sessions are also the prime time to “review and improve.” Which strategies have been working — and which haven’t? Make the adjustments necessary to improve your ability to succeed as you move forward.

So there you have it. Take these action steps and – with hard work, commitment, and self-reflection – you’ll be able to achieve the daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals you’ve been meaning to reach, but somehow never quite got around to.

If you have struggled to stay on track or break your performance barriers, it may be time to invest in the support of a professional accountability coach. As a master sales and business develop strategist, I understand how mastering accountability can be a game changer as you strive to grow your business.

I developed a proven system to help business owners stay on track and reach their daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals. The Legacy Business Accountability Program is a 30 day program that will give you the coaching support and easy-to-use tracking systems to stay accountable and help you succeed in sales.

Contact me  to learn more about the program or secure your spot today.

Stay tuned for my next article on “Why it Pays to Hire an Accountability Coach.”