What will inspire you to do what it takes to become part of the Top 20 Percent of all salespeople in the world? To play the sales game and win, you?ll need to know exactly why you are playing. When things get tough, and they always do, you will need a compelling reason to keep going. It is your personal goals and objectives that will inspire you to stay in the game. If these are strong enough, you will break through any barrier that gets in your way. Setting goals is absolutely essential. However, only 20 percent of all salespeople do it. Further, only 20 percent of those write their goals down! Over the years, I have watched the 4 percent (20% of the 20%) of all salespeople who have precise, written goals achieve more than the other 96 percent combined!

Some of your personal objectives will be financially based, others will require a change in lifestyle or available leisure time. For example, one of your personal goals might be to purchase a new home. To attain that goal, you will have a monthly goal equal to the monthly payment. Another objective may be to spend more time with a hobby, which requires flexibility of time.

The first step is to write down the things you need to spend money on every month. Start with the basic items, such as your rent or mortgage, utilities, food, entertainment, clothing, credit card and loan payments, car payments, insurance, and so on. If your objectives include a more expensive home or car, write in the higher amount. If you would like to reduce or eliminate debt, increase the monthly amount you will pay on credit cards and other loans so that they can be reduced or eliminated within the time frame you set. In addition to the basic items, try to write down five to ten things that you would really like to do, see, experience, or have. Include travel and vacations, hobbies and interests, competitions, sports, music, writing, and other such items. Other things that may inspire you could include donations to your church and/or charities, spending more time with loved ones, or volunteering your time in any number of worthwhile and rewarding ways. Try to break everything down to a monthly cost. For example, if one of your objectives is to take a yearly all-inclusive family vacation at a cost of $5,000, your monthly cost for this item is just over $400.

Once you have written down everything you want to have and achieve and it?s corresponding monthly cost, you can identify your monthly net income objective. If you haven?t already, now would be a good time to include an objective of setting aside some of your income for investments. Your investment advisor can help you determine the appropriate percentage. Next, include a ?buffer? of around 5 percent to cover miscellaneous items and minor things you have not considered. Finally, take your monthly net income objective and add enough to cover your personal taxes. The final number is your monthly Personal Income Objective (PIO).

Congratulations ? you have just made your first and most important move toward becoming a winner. You are one step closer to joining the Top 20 percent! It is important to keep your goals in front of you as often as possible. A fun way to do this is to create a collage of photos, messages, and so on that remind you of what is important to you. Make a large one to hang on your wall. Make a small one that you can insert in your planner or portfolio. If you find yourself out in the field thinking about ?dropping the ball,? reach for your objectives and let them inspire you to keep going!

As with everything, things will change in your life and career. You can and should reset your short-term goals when you need to. Sometimes they will get bigger and sometimes smaller. If you find that your goals are currently completely out of reach, don?t hesitate to reduce them to an attainable level. Just make sure you are always stretching to achieve more until you get where you really want to be!