Good morning!
A couple of housekeeping issues and then the tip…
Last month, my Printing Impressions column gave you a sales bucket list of 10 tasks to check off before entering 2019.
Did you do them all:
- Having read three books:
a. Never Split the Difference
b. The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking
c. The Assertiveness Workbook - Someone who will tell you, “You can do this!”
- Someone who will challenge you with constructive criticism
- An answer to the question, “Why do people buy from me?”
- An answer to the question, “what problem am I solving?”
- A “Where do I want to be in 12 months?” goal
- Having achieved a basic level of organization
- Create and Opportunities List
- Identify your profit pillars
- Be tanned, rested, and ready.
Regardless of how many of these 10 suggestions you accomplished, the point is you need to put a bow on 2018 and then put a lot of thought into every aspect of your sales approach before you launch forward into the new year.
Second, way back in August, I got you thinking about Q1 of 2019 by suggesting that you put your head down during the three most important prospecting months of the year: September, October, and November. Did you?
Naturally, these are all just suggestions, short attention span sales tips from a short attention span sales tipper. But as a sales trainer and coach for the graphic arts, I can tell you the difference between the successful and the constantly struggling comes down to basic factors like fundamentals, preparation, organization and the kind of items that I’ve listed above.
The Japanese have a great proverb: “The best day to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best day is today.”
If you’ve done some of these things, if you’ve put some cerebral time into the new selling year, you will reap the benefits. If not, two things. First, save this sales tip and watch/read it again in December. Second, if there was only one task I would have you perform before beginning your 2019 selling efforts it would be this: make a list of the top five sales activity categories (e.g. New Business, Five Big Fish, Vertical Market, Selling Digital) that represent your best use of time. To do otherwise would be like taking a long road trip without a final destination in mind and hoping that you somehow get there.
