Most companies set next year's sales goals in the last two weeks of December, in between holiday parties and a skeleton-crew office. It's the worst possible time to do the most important planning work of the year, and it's also, not coincidentally, exactly why so many of those goals quietly fall apart by February.
What waiting until December actually costs
Goals set in a rush in late December tend to be copy-pasted from last year with the numbers bumped up, no real input from the managers who have to coach to them, and no time to build the reinforcement cadence that makes a goal more than a number on a slide. By the time the team hears about it in a January kickoff meeting, there's no runway left to plan the first quarter around it, they're already behind.
What a September start actually changes
This is exactly why we run our End of the Year Goals Workshop Series starting in the fall instead of waiting for a single December meeting. Starting in September gives leadership and sales managers time to actually diagnose where the current year is landing, build goals around a real read on the team, not a guess, and give managers time to build the coaching plan that keeps a January goal from fading by March, the same fade-out pattern covered in Most Sales Training Fails. Here's Why Ours Doesn't.
Goals built on a diagnosis, not a guess
The workshop series works best when it starts with an honest picture of where the team actually stands, which is why we lead with an OMG Sales Force Assessment before goal-setting conversations begin. A goal built without knowing whether last year's shortfall was a talent gap, a process gap, or a management gap is a guess dressed up as a plan, and it's the same trap covered in Is Your Sales Team a Talent Problem or a Training Problem?
How to decide when to start
- If your fiscal year is a calendar year, start the assessment and workshop conversation in September so goals are built on real data well before your December budget and planning deadlines.
- If your managers weren't part of building last year's goals, involve them this time. A goal a manager didn't help build is a goal they can't coach to with conviction.
- If last year's goals faded by Q2, treat that as diagnostic information, not a reason to just set a bigger number for next year.
For a look at what leadership across our client base was prioritizing heading into this year, see What CEOs Actually Want Going Into 2026, and for direct client outcomes from this same start-early approach, see our Testimonials.
FAQ: Setting 2027 Sales Goals Early
Why start sales goal planning in September instead of December? September gives leadership and managers real time to diagnose where the current year is landing and build goals around that data, instead of guessing under a holiday-week deadline.
What is the End of the Year Goals Workshop Series? It's a structured, facilitated process for setting next year's sales goals starting in the fall, built around an honest read on where the team currently stands rather than last year's numbers with a markup applied.
Should sales managers be involved in setting next year's goals? Yes. A goal a manager wasn't part of building is much harder for that manager to coach to with real conviction once the year starts.
Why do sales goals set in December so often fall apart by Q2? They're usually set without a current diagnosis of the team and without time to build the reinforcement and coaching cadence that keeps a goal from fading once daily pressure returns.
Do you need an assessment before setting next year's goals? It's not required, but goals built on an OMG Sales Force Assessment are built on an actual read of talent, skill, and process gaps rather than a guess, which materially changes how realistic and achievable they are.
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