Written by: Art Sobczak
Greetings! Several years ago I started a year-end tradition of posting a list of questions for sales pros to ask themselves as they started their new year.
It was extremely popular, received tons of reprint requests, as well as suggestions to share them again the next year. So now I do it every year. I suggest you set aside some time, look at each of these questions, and answer them with an action plan. Follow that plan, and like many others, you will guarantee your own success.Here we go:1. What are you going to do to improve your industry and product knowledge in 2018?2. How many inactive customers will you revive and turn into regular customers again? What do you need to do to make that happen?3. What will you do to ensure you’re protecting your best customers, and adding more value to the relationships? How will you sell even more to them? How many new customers will you bring on this year?4. How do you plan to do that, specifically?5. What will you do to improve your physical health in 2018?6. What, specifically, are your sales and production goals for 2018? How does that break down into quarterly and monthly goals?7. How much more money will you make in 2018? How will that happen? What will you need to do, today, to take the first steps in that direction?8. What will you need to do to increase THAT number by an additional 10%?9. What are you going to do every day to keep your attitude at a high level?10. How much time are you going to spend, daily, to improve your own sales skills? What will you do?11. How many referrals did you get in 2018? How did get them? Who gave them? What will you do to turn them into sales?12. Speaking of referrals, will you please forward this issue to two others who would also benefit from The Monday Morning Drill? (OK, that’s one of mine.)13. In which areas will you improve your personal, family, and spiritual life?14. How are you going to maximize the use of your time? Where will you cut out the time-wasters in each day?15. What have you been putting off that you will take care of within the next two weeks?16. Who can you help to feel special every day?17. What challenge, wish or desire–that you’ve never attempted before–will you finally achieve in 2016? How will you do that? Why?18. Where are you going to write all of this down so you can review and revise your plans regularly?19. What will it LOOK like when you accomplish everything you’ve just been thinking about?20. How good will it FEEL?21. What will it SOUND like when you achieve these things?22. Why COULDN’T you do all of this?
Any answer to that last one is not a reason, but rather a self-imposed limitation, excuse, or lack of desire or effort. The biggest deterrent to success looks us in the mirror every day.
Now, go out and plan to have, no, COMMIT to … … YOUR BEST YEAR EVERRelated:
Discover the Real Purpose of SalesRelated:
7 Practices to Sell More and Faster QUOTES TO BEGIN 2019“If we do not plant
knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.” –
Lord Chesterfield, statesmanTomorrow’s
regret hurts more than today’s fear. When you are scared, ACT! –
Tom Cooper“Deliberation is the function of many;
action is the function of one.”
-Charles de Gaulle, French general and statesman“We are all faced with a series of
great opportunities brilliantly disguised asinsoluble problems.” –
John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American reformer and activist“
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” –
Aristotle“Our lives improve only when we take chances- and
the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. –
Walter Anderson“It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are
ready to change and others are not.” –
James Gordon“When you blame others, you give up your power to
change.” –
Dr. Robert Anthony“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’
Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”
Napoleon Hill
