Here it is December 31, 2012 and I am in my office. It has offurred to me that while I complete my forecast for 2013, I need to ask myself a question. The question is simple.
AM I
READY?
Sure my forecast is almost complete
and the presentation for the forecast meeting is almost ready for the time slot
on the 4th of January. My expenses are up to date. My desk is clean. My files
are in order. There is only one thing in my office that is not neat and clean, my
white board. It is a mess of Red, Green, Blue and Black Ink. There are numbers
and arrows and dots and dashes. Ultimately there are two large numbers on the
white board that are the focal points. One is the total forecast dollars for the "BASIC" forecast and
the other is for the "STRETCH" forecast. There are two smaller numbers close to
these forecast numbers and as a Sales Person you can guess that these are the commission numbers associated with hitting the forecast sales dollars.
My nerves have kicked in as I sit
and review these numbers. Of course the numbers are obtainable. But will I be
able to do them? I mean I know I will be able to do the "BASIC"
forecast. At some point in the year my ability to make calls will kick in and I
will find or stumble on the right account and things will "fall" into
place. It has always been that way for me. I once made a statement to someone
very close to me that I could fall into a pile of sh*t and come out smelling
like a rose. She has reminded me of my stupidity ever since I said it. But I
still seem to be able to "pull" it out at the last minute in most
cases, hence my thought. Things usually go OK for me. This shows the problem. I am tired of things going OK.
It is time to do things different. I
am tired of the panic and last minute scramble just to acheive OK status. I am tired of living in a mode
where I am not sure of my commission and my status at the company I work for.
It is time for a change. So in order to answer the question, "AM I READY,
I have to wonder if I know what I will do when I get to the office on January
02, 2013. The profound and scary answer is I do NOT know what I will be doing!
That is why I realize that I need to make a change. So I will make three
changes here and now. Over the next few days and weeks I will provide updates
and expansions to these basic changes. For now here are the three things I will
focus on when I get to the office on January 02, 2013:
- Target Accounts List to Match My Forecast; Since my forecast is broken into several product categories I will set up Target Accounts for each of the Product Groups.
- Active Quote Log; I have currently over $1,000,000 in quotes that have been prepared and sent over the past six weeks. There is no complete listing of these quotes and their standing. We are a small company and I need to develop this Quote Log and keep it up to date.
- Weekly Call Plan; Set up my schedule to keep me accountable to plan to make sales calls, phone calls, keep time for prospecting, time for follow up and finally time for internal communication.
I have some work to do before I end the day. I am looking forward to January 02, 2013, because I now am thinking about what I will do when I start the new year. I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this will benefit
from my frank and open conversation about improving as a Sales Person. Good
Luck, Great Selling and Happy New Year!
