Sales Goals and Objectives: Why Your B2B Funnel Needs Clear Next Steps
If you can't state the goal before the meeting, you shouldn't be going.
By Tristan Kromer · Setting sales goals and objectives is something startups love to do. We set aggressive revenue goals, customer acquisition goals, investment goals… …but walk into a sales call? Often it seems the only goal is to come out with a feeling of self-congratulation. “It’s going great! They really liked our pitch!” That doesn’t sound very lean and it certainly isn’t lean sales (whatever that might be.) When it comes to B2B sales, our ability to set concrete sales goals and objectives is lacking. Even when we make a concrete sales funnel, we often have a vague step called “Follow up” or “Get buy in.” This is a fundamentally bad practice.
Quick Answer: Most startups set aggressive revenue targets but walk into individual sales meetings with no concrete goal beyond “it went well.” As product managers and founders, we should define every funnel stage by the specific action needed next — like “discover the economic buyer” or “identify situation, pain, and impact” — rather than vague labels like “follow up” or “buy-in.” When sales stall at a particular stage, it’s a signal that stage is poorly defined; adding a clear next step (e.g., stakeholder buy-in) unblocks the pipeline.
Make Goals
Wanda Brown
, a sales trainer who coached Luxr’s sales team, told me that if she was on a ride along with a sales person and they couldn’t state the goal of a sales meeting, she’d flat out refuse to go. So what should our goal be? Not “arrange a follow up meeting” Something specific. Something that moves the sale down the funnel. Without something specific, it’s not measurable, and it sure isn’t lean startup.
Know Who You’re Talking To
To figure out the right goal for each meeting, we need to know who we’re talking to. Is it an Economic Buyer (a.k.a D_ecision Maker_)? Is it an E_vangelist_ (a.k.a Champion)? Or a Technical Buyer (a.k.a Detail Buyer)? If we don’t know who we’re talking to, it’s an unqualified lead. Our only goal is to qualify the lead. Not sure what these different roles are? Tweet me and I’ll write a follow up post:
Different Goals for Different Stages
Most sales funnel consist of ambiguous and unhelpful terms like Opportunity, Discovery, and Buy-In. That’s great for sales folks, but I need all the help I can get. So I define my funnel in terms of a simple question:
What should I do next?
So my funnel looks like this:
- Lead -> Start Conversation
- Qualifying -> Discover Economic Buyer or Budget
- Qualified -> Set up appointment
- Discovery -> Identify Situation, Pain, & Impact
- Conceptual Agreement -> Send proposal
- Proposal Sent -> Follow up
- Invoice Sent -> Track Payment
- Lost -> Weep
- Paid -> Celebrate
Each step clearly states the next thing we need to do to move the sale forward. (You’ll note that my funnel ends when the client pays…not when they say yes. I highly recommend this. I’ve left an embarrassing amount of money on the table by forgetting to invoice.)
Stalled Sales
There are a lot of reasons why an individual sale might stall. But if a large number of sales are stalling in a particular stage of a funnel, it’s an indication that it’s a poorly defined stage in the funnel with no clear next step. In my case above, I had a large number of sales stuck in discovery and I couldn’t figure out why. I’d get buy in from my contact, but the sales would go into an endless series of meetings that led to more meetings where I’d be introduced to more people who seemed to want to start the sales process all over again! I had forgotten the other stakeholders, so I added a step:
- Lead -> Start Conversation
- Qualifying -> Discover Economic Buyer or Budget
- Qualified -> Set up appointment
- Discovery -> Identify Situation, Pain, & Impact
- Stakeholder Buy In -> Discovery with others
- Conceptual Agreement -> Send proposal
- Proposal Sent -> Follow up
- Invoice Sent -> Track Payment
- Lost -> Weep
- Paid -> Celebrate
This helped me identify the problem, and a crucial goal, and start moving sales down the funnel.
Which stakeholders?
Which brings us right back to the question:
Who are we talking to?
For complex sales, there are many different stakeholders with many different needs. We might be addressing these stakeholders at different times and learning about them non-sequentially. It may not be a linear funnel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good sales goals and objectives for B2B sales meetings?
Good sales goals and objectives should be specific actions that move a deal down the funnel — not vague sentiments like “it went well.” For example, instead of “arrange a follow up,” we should aim to “identify the economic buyer” or “discover the budget.” Each meeting goal should be concrete, measurable, and tied to a specific funnel stage so we always know what to do next.
Why do B2B sales stall in the middle of the funnel?
Sales often stall because a funnel stage is poorly defined with no clear next step. For example, if many deals are stuck in “discovery,” it may mean we’re missing a stakeholder buy-in step. When we get buy-in from one contact but keep getting pulled into endless meetings with new people, it’s a sign we forgot to account for other stakeholders in our funnel design.
How should I structure a lean sales funnel for startups?
Define each funnel stage by the specific action you need to take next. Instead of vague labels like “Opportunity” or “Buy-In,” use action-oriented steps: “Discover Economic Buyer,” “Identify Situation, Pain, & Impact,” “Send Proposal,” and “Track Payment.” End the funnel when the client actually pays — not when they say yes — to avoid leaving money on the table.
Who are the key buyer roles in complex B2B sales?
In complex B2B sales, there are typically three key roles: the Economic Buyer (Decision Maker) who controls the budget, the Evangelist (Champion) who advocates for your solution internally, and the Technical Buyer (Detail Buyer) who evaluates the specifics. If we don’t know which role we’re talking to, the lead is unqualified, and our only goal should be to qualify it.
How do I know if my sales goals and objectives are specific enough?
If you can’t clearly state the goal of a meeting before walking in, it’s not specific enough. As sales trainer Wanda Brown advises, we should be able to articulate exactly what we need to accomplish — whether that’s discovering the budget, getting stakeholder buy-in, or sending a proposal. If the goal isn’t measurable and tied to a concrete next action, it needs to be refined.
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