We are nine days from the end of 2009. It has been an unbelievable year. For most of us, it has been one of our most difficult and challenging years in sales (and in business more generally). Now, with the year almost put to bed, many people are starting to wind down and to take some time off. Contacts are harder to reach. If deals haven’t been made, there is the tendency to shove them off into 2010.
But in sales, this is no time to wind down; it is time to wind up. If you use the next few days wisely, 2010 can be a 53 week year.
What To Do: Three Ways You Can Wind Up for 2010
ONE: Say Thank You
This last week of the year is a wonderful time to call your existing clients and those you did business in 2009 to thank them for their business. Business is made up of a complex network of human relationships based on value creation, a fact that our media is all too willing to forget as free market capitalism has (regrettably) fallen out of favor. Call and simply say thank you to all of your clients. These relationships are the currency of salespeople and good business people.
Part II: Say thank you to all of your co-workers and teammates who helped you deliver for your clients. You know you couldn’t have done it without them!
TWO: Prospecting and Qualifying:
It’s easy to believe because some contacts are winding down and taking time off that all of the contacts are hard to reach. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unless the prospect company shuts down for a few weeks at the end of the year, they are still staffed.
More still, those who are still working usually have time. Okay, so you can’t reach the decision-maker. Fine. Can you reach the decision-influencers? Can you reach the end users? The stakeholders? What will you do when you reach these contacts? You will gather the competitive intelligence and information you need to get a running start in 2010!
THREE: Write the Re-engagement Plan
There is no better time to sit down with the list of stalled prospects and lost deals and start developing you plan to reengage them in 2010. If these targets were worth your time in 2009, it is time to recommit yourself to being creative and resourceful enough to design your action plan to pursue them in 2010.
The business environment has never been more volatile. While that volatility makes things challenging for business in countless ways, it also means that there is also an incredible opportunity to create meaningful, profitable business relationships based on helping your clients succeed.
Write the plan to reengage. (Later this week, I will post some help with a post entitled How To Reengage a Stalled Prospect)
Questions
- What were you going to do during the last week of 2009 before you read this post?
- How are you going to make 2010 a 53 week year?
- What meaningful activities could you spend your time on during the last week of the year?
For more on increasing your sales effectiveness, subscribe to the RSS Feed for The Sales Blog and my Email Newsletter. Follow me on Twitter, connect to me on LinkedIn, or friend me on Facebook. If I can help you or your sales organization, check out my coaching and consulting firm, B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, email me, or call me at (614) 212-4279.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good word here! Yes, it is the season of winding up and not down! Let’s get this new year ready so we glide in instead of just finish lists of wishful actions.
Nice article, seems a lot folks like to coast the last week. The holidays get the best of them and even though they are on the clock they seem to believe the week between Christmas and New Years is ‘working vacation’. Our new company has been planning like Ike to get ready for 2010 and for those who want to prosper out of the gate, I suggest you follow Anthony’s fine advice.
Good post Anthony, I liked your post on re-engagement and have used all three and promote the last two methods in my training programs.
Now is the time to spend time thinking and analyzing what worked, what did not and what you are going to do differently in 2010.
Now is the time for strategy and high-level plans and specific action items to convert opportunities still in the funnel.
* What are you going to do to generate new opporutnities,
* what are you going to do to nurture those in your pipeline who are not yet ready to buy?
* What are you going to invest in yourself, i.e. your own money invested in your own personal development this year to expand your map of the World…in particular in understanding human behavior?
Happy New Year to all and Good Fortune in 2010.
MaRK
I have spent a lot of time thinking about re-engagement lately. It’s overlooked because it is so much easier to feel good about what is hot. Happy New Year to you and yours, and thanks for the kind words!
Anthony