January creates challenges and opportunities all rolled into one. It's challenging to leave the holiday break in the rearview mirror and get back to business. It wouldn’t be so tough if you just wanted to get back into your normal routine. But you know that just getting back to your routine isn’t enough. You have new ideas that you believe will lead to stronger sales performance, and January is the time to put those plans in motion.
Review Your Current Situation
You likely did your planning back in the Fall—probably seems like a LONG TIME AGO! A lot has changed since then. We are not obsessed with our government shut-down and debt default, but rather a new year, filled with optimism. Because a lot can change in a few months, I encourage you to take 10 minutes and look at your situation as it stands today. Once you do that, go back and look at the plans you made for this year and determine if anything needs to be altered before you go after it. We suggest that you use a process we use with many of our clients. Identify your biggest challenges and then determine how to turn those challenges into opportunities.
What Are Today's Challenges?
Before time slips away and you find yourself many months into the year, I encourage you to slow down now and take a look at the challenges as you see them today. If you can take an honest look at the challenges, you can make sure you have a plan in place to deal with those that are of most concern. Are you more concerned about the strength of your sales team, your approach to new business, the difficulty your team is having getting the first appointment with a new prospect, etc. You can only improve in so many areas at one time, so identifying the top 2-3 challenges is key. This gives you clarity on where to focus your time and energy.
Not All Change is Progress
I ran across this quote the other day from John Wooden. “There cannot be progress without change—even though not all change is progress.” This is a great reminder that you need to be bold enough to change in places where you want a better outcome. Then, as your changes take effect, keep assessing how things are going, so you can spot quickly if one of your changes is not progress. When you find it, course correct and move forward.
Click here to download “Sales Department Challenges for 2014.” Take a few minutes to complete according to the instructions and then compare the outcome to your 2014 strategic plan.
