It’s Q1 and if you’re in sales you are starting with a clean slate. Well unless you were that bad in 2007 then you need to make up for a bad Q4. For most of us though January is a great time of the year and when all the stress for the year comes back to a mild simmer. Sales executives take the first couple of weeks to put together the annual plans for the group and you should be trying to close out all the opportunities that slipped from December.

Start Selling

When all is said and done you really should be putting together a sales plan for yourself. Getting self motivated is a whole lot better than waiting for your manager to get all over your ass for not hitting you goals. Most of your buddies in the sales teams will be taking it easy for the first couple of weeks. Making a few calls and ‘getting ready’ for the year. That’s hogwash. Start sending out the emails, making the calls and lining up your target accounts for the next year. What prospects will you hold yourself to closing in the next 12 months? What needs to be done to get there? These are the questions you should be thinking about.

Build some campaigns

Your CRM system be it SalesForce, NetSuite or some other system should have the functionality to build some campaigns. You think this is something for marketing to manage? Wrong again. You are a professional and you need to manage your sales destiny. Start setting the tasks and blocking time in your calendar to make the goals you want completed. Start automating some of your mundane tasks like emails by creating templates that allow for quick email responses to typical questions you get. For example, in my current role I locate and recruit VARs into our reseller program. I have templates for general information, different partner levels and technical data. Since most of my calls end up with another email being sent one of my templates usually fits the bill after some minor modifications. This way I don’t have to write the entire email every time I need to send something. Set dates for email blasts to the contacts that seem to always be out off reach and create a template for new customers you bring on board explaining how much you appreciate their business.

Reap the rewards

You will see the fruits of your labor well before your coworkers. By saving yourself time and starting to get the momentum rolling now, you are bound to hit your targets easier in 2008.

What are you doing to get ready for sales in 2008? 

Here is another site you should look at that has some great information.

• Turn Challenging Questions into Sales
• How to keep people from putting the seat back on airplanes.
• Determined to Succeed but Still Failing: Why?
• Avoid Getting Your E-mails Deleted
• How to Take the Sales Out of Selling
• Warming up to cold calls
• Crafting an Opening Sales Statement
• The Right Voice-Mail Message Will Get You Through
• The Importance of Individual Sales Goals
• Be CRM Savvy

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