Is it too early for a New Year’s Resolution? Okay, maybe so, but then it’s not Thanksgiving and everyone is decorating for Christmas so aren’t we all planning ahead these days?!
What I am really asking is; what are your business goals for 2018? Have you developed your monthly sales goals? Do you have your sales funnel for the first quarter figured out?
The reason I ask, is I am developing mine now. I’m a little behind to be perfectly honest. I typically like to start in October, but with Hurricane Irma destroying my September I am just starting to lay out my plans and review this past year’s successes and challenges.
Monthly Goals Help Keep Sales Focus
Many people are surprised when they learn I have monthly sales goals. They figure, "it’s my business so it is what it is. I’m not accountable to anyone, right?" But I am. I am accountable to myself (I do have bills to pay) and my employees. How can you determine if business is good or bad if you don’t have some concrete plans and measurements in place?
I’ll admit I didn’t achieve my annual sales and revenue goals this year. And that’s been my first step in determining my goals for 2018. Honestly evaluating what got in my way this year. What could I have done differently? What client spending did I miscalculate? Did we not follow up properly? Did we need to push more? Did we need to be “out there” more? Is there better automation or tools we should review? What are we going to do differently for a different and better result in 2018?
What Will You Do to Make 2018 a Better Year?
That is truly the question I am asking myself. As many of you may have read previously, I am in a mastermind group. And we discussed some of this in our last call. What will each of us do to make 2018 a better year? Some have decided to hire additional customer service help (I might). Some have decided they need to get their offices more organized (I probably should). Some are looking to hire new salespeople (myself included). And some are looking to acquire other firms (definitely looking for a few good ones personally).
Are You Going to Stretch Yourself in 2018?
All of us are looking to grow our sales in 2018 but to what degree? 5%, 10%, 20%? 50%? None are unrealistic goals unless you think they are. So, are you setting a goal that is easily achievable or are you setting a goal to stretch yourself?
Personally, I am going for a stretch goal. I have some business “seeds” already planted for 2018 and am looking for even bigger opportunities for growth. I am looking for more ways to grow my existing clients while pursuing new ones.
And I am taking a hard look at my client mix. Is there anyone that I need to get rid of? Yes, firing a client is hard, but sometimes it makes good business sense. One friend of mine was worried because one of her clients kept asking her to lower her price. Surprisingly she had never evaluated how much the client was “worth” to her in the short and/or long term. And, as we continued to discuss, she realized that the client was not worth all the time and energy she was spending on them. They had become a time-wasting client for very little reward.
Evaluate Your Clients Annually
Now, I don’t believe any of my clients are on the chopping block. But I do want to review each of them and see what we can do to make it a better relationship for both of us. Sometimes a client may have grown over the year and has become too large of a percentage of your overall business or maybe your business is too concentrated in one industry or that all your clients are spending below their potential. With that evaluation you can determine where a client should be in your business development funnel.
We’ve all heard it many times before, “plan your work and work your plan.” Yes, it’s hard work to put a plan together and it requires discipline to work that plan. And yes, there are many different ways for people to plan. It might be as simple as I will make $25000 a week in sales, I will have three new client meetings each week and three existing client meeting each week. But, that gives you a place to start. Each week you know what you are supposed to do.
There are a multitude of resources available on sales and business planning to help you develop what’s right for you. Just don’t let 2018 sneak up on you without your plan for success in place!