So I am sure everyone has started to take a look at their business as they begin to plan for 2013 and the upcoming new year (if you have not you should!). I know that it is a busy time for everyone trying to close out the quarter/year as well as dealing with the holiday season on the personal side. It can be difficult to think about the upcoming year with everything that is on the table.
I read a recent post from Lori Richardson of Score More Sales LLC entitled In the Scramble for 2013 Sales Team Planning that I think highlighted a very important point when it comes to planning for the New Year and got me thinking about how we should approach the task. The biggest mistake you can make with your sales team is waiting until it’s too late to start planning, so don’t wait!
I know it is tough to put aside some time to think about the upcoming year/quarter when we are trying to close strong but, nonetheless, it is critical to do so.
We have started to plan for 2013 as well and as we are taking a look at what we can do to improve our performance for our clients and what we have done this past year, we are focusing on our product (our team of Inside Sales representatives) and the accountability that we all have to the business. As we all know, our product is what are clients come to us for, therefore, it makes sense to focus our efforts on ensuring we are always refining our product into the most superior one available on the market.
This is a fairly simple concept. For example, I just recently went out and purchased a new car because my 2003 Taurus had sadly reached its end of life. I started shopping for an Accord and was thinking that I could get a good deal on a 2012 because the 2013 were just being released. Well, I am driving a 2013, not because of price, but because of the feature set that came standard in the 2013 base model. Honda refined the product line to the point that the base features in the 2013 were more advanced than the middle of the road 2012 model.
As Inside Sales Directors planning for the upcoming New Year, I believe we need to be focused on the features within our teams; the energy they have, the mindset they have towards the job, the accountability they have in the job, the tools and environment we are providing them, and the coaching we give them. While I could continue this list and the various areas that we know are important to having a successful team, I want to stop and add one more item that is critical to have as someone who oversees an inside sales team, a positive attitude!
So as Lori had mentioned, let’s not wait until 2013 to start planning for 2013 and let’s do it with a positive attitude. I am interested to get your thoughts on how you are planning for 2013 and your team’s success?
