DEAL WITH THE PRESENT
Father Harry from San Francisco once said: "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, and God gave us a gift of today, which is why it is called the present". This quote has stuck with me, and many others, for years and is a great source of inspiration.
As we enter 2013 the anticipation of what this New Year will bring weighs heavily on our minds. We are excited about opportunities and concerned about uncertainties. We are creating our game plan to succeed this year. In reality, we have very little control over our future. We can plan and dream about our success and how to best execute our strategies, but we really have no control whatsoever on what tomorrow will bring.
We could look at the success of last year and years past and say: "Once successful always successful". Those who have struggled may look to the past and say: "We will continue to struggle in the future, that's just the way it is". The truth is, all we can hope to deal with is the present – it is the one thing we have complete control over. As salespeople, our challenge for 2013 is to look more to what our clients need in terms of service and products.
Now is the time to develop a strategic plan to focus on daily activities to address your clients' needs. Work out a business plan focusing on present day tools and abilities while planning out yearly activities; introduce radical changes to your plan. For example: "I am going to create a whole new social media campaign to attract new customers," is a fine plan but without the necessary tools and skill set to implement this plan, more uncertainty will be created while waiting for results. A better plan is to start the process by studying social media and gaining an understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of launching a brand new social media strategy. The more knowledge of social media possessed, the better equipped you will be to decide whether launching a particular plan will be beneficial and worth the time invested.
Next on the list is to develop better time management skills that will address improving results each day. Years ago I developed a strategy where I plan out my next day in advance by calendaring the following: current to-dos, new business, personal business, company business and what I call my big hour – deals that are far reaching, but could provide my largest financial rewards. These lists are then broken down into manageable categories and each day for that calendared hour or two, I have corresponding tasks to work on. When I have a new task I immediately place it into my tasks list on my phone, iPad or computer where everything is automatically synced and updated. There is no worry of whether I've forgotten to plan for something, it's all listed and waiting for me to address. In all honesty, I do not get to every task each day, but eventually each task will be finished or eliminated because it is no longer important. This strategy allows me to address my present needs while giving me long-term direction because I plan ahead for what I need to do today.
- Hans Hansson, Starboard Commercial/TCN Worldwide