It's the time of year that companies start setting next year's sales goals. The conversation begins with "What percentage increase can we do over last year?" Then someone picks an arbitrary amount, and away we go. 

Does that sound familiar?

In other words, it's a WAG (a wild-ass guess) based on nothing but a whim. And you expect the sales team to deliver, regardless of whether the market can support it or you have the internal resources to deliver.

Every year, sales teams worldwide get W.A.G.ged, and leaders expect them to magically make gold out of straw. Then, when the year ends, those same leaders who wagged their sales are shocked that sales didn't hit the unrealistic goal. Someone's head will roll. And another Sales Leader hits the dust.

STOP! Before you WAG your sales goals, assess the information you have from last year and the market and industry trends that will impact your sales. There is still a certain amount of uncertainty, but it will be much more realistic.

Start with what you know about last year. Which industries or verticals were buying from you? Which did you miss the mark on? Which products did you sell? Which territories had the most sales? Which sellers sold the most? Where did the leads come from? Once that is done, look at what the experts are saying about next year. This is the data that will inform your goals.