TEN New Year’s Resolutions for Salespeople to THRIVE in 2012!
Here it is that time of year again where everyone’s thoughts turn to self-improvement and new behavior. The New Year brings up an entire host of New Year’s Resolutions for many people. Commencing on January 1, new commitments will be made to “turn over a new leaf” and do something that requires change in the New Year! It is in this spirit that I (again) offer a suggested list of New Year’s resolutions (ACTIONS) specifically for the salespeople on your team. This is part ONE in a THREE-part series of blog posts over the next week to identify the Top 10 you need to do to make an IMPACT:
TEN Handwritten Thank You Cards Every Week
The habit of sending a handwritten Thank You card is a dying habit that has been replaced with email. In my opinion, the art of communicating a heartfelt Thank You gets somewhat watered down if it is done ONLY in the form of an email. So, in addition to your regular email courtesy Thank You, get in the specific habit of handwriting a personal note to two people every day. The recipients of these cards may be prospective customers that you have just met, new contacts from a networking event, existing customers or clients that continue to do business with you, internal customers that help you do your job, or past customers that you’d like to invite back!
**Action Step
Order some Thank-You cards (now) that are specifically designed for YOU! Although you can make a good impact with any nice Thank-You card, it is the card that is uniquely yours that will show that you went the extra mile! You can even customize the cards with your own picture if you’d like. Handwrite, hand-address, and hand-stamp each card for the best effect….and DO IT 10 times per week!
NINE Minutes Every Day on Social Media
Although this is most likely going to require some new education and exposure, this one area can help you become so much more connected in and visible to your marketplace. The world of Social Media is rapidly becoming one of the fastest and easiest ways for a sales professional to create and permeate a brand, to add value to prospects, customers, and clients, and to remain connected and visible. Social Media outlets are ways that you can create a “known for-ness” about yourself and come out from behind that vendor mask as a value-add contributor. Initially, Social Media is not about selling anything but rather about giving of yourself (value.)
**Action Steps
Open personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn that are designed for BUSINESS use (versus personal use.) You may want to consider opening a blog account. You can do this through a variety of sites such as WordPress. Don’t worry if you don’t have a handle on what to do or how to do it just yet. You first need to get these accounts open. Next, you need to READ—get some training—get some exposure to what to do on these various sites and why. It is very important that you first define who you will be and how you wish to be perceived in the Social Media space. Remember, if you are NOT visible in the areas that your customers are (or will be) then you are Invisible
EIGHT Unique “Touches”
Again, we come back to being visible to your marketplace. All of us have past, existing, future customers to whom we must remain visible. Although we mentioned 9 minutes per day needed to be spent on Social Media to do so, we must also create 8 specific touches for your entire marketplace/database that are unique and add-value. Examples will be found throughout this article and will include things such as a quarterly ezine/eNewsletter, specific articles sent to them, invitations to events, personal visits, handwritten notes, referrals/introductions, webcasts, training offerings, blog posts, and more. Get creative and new! Remember that each “touch” must be about adding value and differentiating yourself. Selling is a CONTACT SPORT and the effort of building a “touch campaign” is to stay on the top of mind of your marketplace.
**Action Step
Think of no less than 8 unique ways to “touch” your prospects, customers, and clients this year and write them down! Define what it will take to create each of these touches! Now, start putting these in the calendar. Eight touches throughout the course of the year (when you are NOT trying to SELL them something) will create a value-add exposure to you about every 1 ½ months. This consistency will help keep you front and center in their minds and hearts. Here is a hint for you; Integrate your Social Media postings and findings into your “”touch campaign” and link much of this back together.
Stay tuned for THREE MORE New Year’s Resolutions that will rocket your sales in 2012 on next week’s blog on Monday! And…if you like what you’re reading, forward this post onto TEN friends that need a good kick in the “sales” ass for 2012! Until then, have an OUTSTANDING and SAFE close to your 2011!
