Colleen’s Blog

Wow - we’re already in December. It’s hard to believe that we're in the final month of the year already. Time flies, doesn’t it?! I’m sure you’re already thinking ahead to 2016. But, before you pull out the planning boards and strategy documents, don’t forget to first analyze your successes and drawbacks in 2015. Ask yourself key questions, answer them, and use those answers as building blocks for planning 2016. <-- Click To Tweet I want you to succeed and I want 2016 to be your best year ever. Here are several questions you may want to ask yourself to make that happen:

It's that time of year again. With a few weeks left of 2015, I hope you've given 2016 careful thought and examination. It's time to figure out what's worked, what hasn't and create goals to achieve greater results in the new year. When a plane takes off, the pilot knows all sorts of specifications so the destination can be reached. The exact coordinates of the destination, the amount of time it will take to get there, and other details are confirmed before takeoff to ensure the safe and timely arrival of the flight. A similar process is required for successful goal setting. You must set goals that are detailed, time specific and achievable in your mind in order to create success. ← Click To Tweet The following are example goals that are more likely to generate positive results: - “Increase written and oral communication skills by attending 5 seminars or workshops by December 31st, 2015.” - “Double next month’s sales results by prospecting for an extra hour each day.” - “Make 20 new professional connections before December 31st, 2015 by attending 10 networking events or gatherings by the end of the year.” Notice how each goal has a well-defined result, a time frame and a general “plan of action” to achieve it. Not only can these goals be easily measured and executed, but they are reasonably realistic while still maintaining a respectable “reward” for putting in the work. Let’s compare these with the types of goals that most sales leader set:

How can you ensure that you’re hiring the right people to join your sales team? Many sales leaders have been asking me how to hire new sales reps and build a profitable team, especially as we inch closer to 2016. I often suggest taking a step back. There are a few things you need to do before you proceed with interviews in order to ensure that you hire the right person and create the best team possible.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to sell to everyone that comes into your pipeline. I know, it’s intuitive as a salesperson to sell as much as possible, but effective salespeople know how to pick and choose which prospects to sell to. They know the good from the bad. The reality is, not every prospect is an ideal candidate for your product or service. The sooner you learn this important lesson, the sooner you can focus on the prospects that are ideal candidates for you to work with. By selling to anyone and everyone, you are setting yourself up for huge customer service problems in the future. ← Click To Tweet