It’s a GREAT year so far… or is it?

How’s it going? I mean this year so far? Accomplishing what you thought you would? On the path of amazing achievement? Or are you stuck in neutral, or worse, reverse?

I am AGAINST ‘having your best year ever,’ but I am in favor of ‘having a great year.’ How’s your year so far?

Having a great year is not a matter of doing one thing right – or even making one thing better – it’s a matter or making everything better, so that you can get to GREAT or BEST in whatever you do.

Here is my list of challenges for your GREAT year. Read them carefully and begin with one or two. But all must be initialized and put into action to really have a GREAT year.

1. Define yourself.
2. Develop a sales mission statement.
3. Have a deep belief in the five critical areas of selling.
4. Develop greater pride in accomplishment.
5. You are what you eat.
6. Get rid of one time-waster.
7. Read a book every two months.
8. Get your (sales) pipeline full.
9. Meet your monthly sales quota by the second week of the month.
10. Start branding yourself socially.
11. Get up earlier.
12. Begin capturing your thoughts and ideas in writing.
13. Give one speech.
14. Write one article your customers will read.
15. Make sales at breakfast.
16. Keep your present customers loyal to you and your company.
17. Double your testimonials.
18. Double your referrals.
19. Record your sales presentation.
20. Start every morning with Yes! attitude.
20.5 You’re not alone. Create a mastermind.

Here are two of the challenges that are the ‘kick off’ of this series. I will elaborate on several others over the next few weeks.

2. Develop a sales mission statement. Your company has a mission statement, and you can’t recite yours to me, or even come close. The reason? Because it’s a bunch of corporate marketing drivel that you don’t believe in, let alone memorize. Dude, IT’S THE MISSION! What you need is a sales mission – a reason to walk in the door with information the customer can use, be memorable about it, and walk out the door with a signed contract and a check. The mission that you can all embrace and live by is: ‘Get the customer to buy from me, and make the experience so memorable that they buy again, and tell other people how great my product is, and how great I am.’ That’s an easy mission for you to live by. Mission statements are not meant to be memorized. Mission statements are meant to be incorporated into your philosophy as something that you carry with you as a statement of action. It’s the MISSION.

6. Get rid of one time-waster. I’m asked one question more than any other: “Jeffrey, how can I better manage my time?” Let me give you the answer to that question: You already know what to do with your time – what the hell are you asking me for? I’m going to write a book on time management entitled, You Already Know What to Do, You’re Just Not Doing It. You don’t need a course in time management (which by the way I consider the biggest waste of time). What you need is a lesson in how not to procrastinate. It’s not a matter of managing your time, it’s a matter of doing what you know you have to do, but are just not doing it. The easiest way for me to describe this procrastination situation is to offer you a tip – a time management tip. Here it is: Get rid of one thing that is currently wasting your time. The example I most often give is watching TV news programs, or watching television dramas. If you spent as much time studying how to get your voicemail messages returned, as you did watching some stupid television show, in a year you could be a world-class expert giving seminars for high fees on how to get your voicemail returned. You don’t need to manage your time, you need to allocate your time. You need to invest your time in things that matter, in things that will build your success, and in things that will allow you to have a great year.

Well, there are two sales-shots in the butt. Two or three more next week. I am determined to give you the insight and the tools to have a great year.

I’d love to know what you are doing to have a great year. Send an email to [email protected] and some of your ideas will be posted on my Facebook page.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].