As we inch closer to the new year, I wanted to discuss the best way to end the year.
Now is a wonderful time to take the opportunity to thank your client base.
Regardless of your 2019 sales results, but especially if you hit or exceeded your targets, you wouldn’t be able to make the sales you did without your customers!
So, why not take the time to acknowledge them in these last few weeks of the year?
Reach out to them and express your gratitude in them choosing your product or service.
You can do this in a variety of ways:
- Send a simple email.
- Call them.
- Send a handwritten note or holiday card.
- Send a gift basket with items you’ll know your client will enjoy.
- Send a bottle of your client’s favorite liquor.
- Send a box of chocolates.
- Take them out for dinner.
It doesn’t matter how you reach out to them, as the old saying goes, it’s the thought that counts!
Not only is this a professional and friendly gesture, it also helps further cement your relationship with your buyers. It places you back on their radar and often opens up new conversations for more work or projects in the following year.
Also take the time to acknowledge your team and colleagues.
As I’ve discussed before, no sales team can thrive under negativity. Sales can be stressful, and often, your reps take some of that stress home with them. A lot of that stress and negativity can be dissolved when your team knows, that at the end of the day, you appreciate them and their hard work.
Here are some further ways you can acknowledge your sales team:
- Provide an unexpected “holiday bonus.”
- Send your team a gift card to a fancy local restaurant.
- Host a team dinner or party.
- Take your team out to a professional sports game.
- Individually acknowledge each member of your team and highlight their best work over the past year.
Again, what you do is not of as much consequence as actually taking the time to share your appreciation for the people you work with.
Here’s the overall theme of this: The best way to end the year is with gratitude and appreciation. It “realigns” everyone and places a positive outlook on the year, regardless of how it unfolded.
And, don’t forget to share some of that same appreciation with the people who matter most to you. Our spouses, children, parents and family members often put up with our busy schedules, “always connected” mindsets, hectic and impromptu travel dates, and other elements that “come with the job.”
I promise they’ll appreciate the gestures.
