Set up some systems for 2007
I don’t believe in new year’s resolutions. It is not because I am a grouch but because I know that, as a salesperson, I am rubbish at keeping them. If I want to change a habit or behaviour there will be the right stimulous and I will just do it. If I have to FIND a resolution then it just won’t happen!
However, this time of year is great for reviewing the way we do things. I have just finished re-reading Michael Gerber’s great book The E-Myth Revisited. It has an interesting section at the end about applying his business thinking to the sales and marketing process.
One of the major nuggets I took from it this time was to be more SYSTEMATIC about lead generation and lead processing. Sure, we have set templates for certain response and standardised ways of responding to new business enquiries or warm prospects. But it is not clearly writting down, I am embarrased to confess.
So, it is not a resolution as such, but a commitment to change for the better this year, by setting up documented selling and marketing systems. We will write down and formalise the way we do things so that we can better track exactly what colours, forms of words and timings of messages work best. As the old adage goes in sales, if you can’t measure it; you can’t improve it.
Have your best year ever in 2007: we intend to!