[email protected]

Sales training and sales consulting to increase sales.

Call For A Sales Consultation

972-380-0200
  • About
    • What We Do to Increase Sales
    • Sales Philosophy on Hiring Salespeople
    • Clients
    • Customer Comments
    • In the Media
    • Contact Us
  • Speaking and Training
    • Sales Coaching for Performance Improvement
    • Professional Speaking
    • Sales Training
    • Sales Consultant for Business Development & Increase Sales
  • Sales Products
    • Books
    • Audio CDs
    • Webinars
    • E-Books
    • Manuals
    • Booklets
    • Merchandise
  • Free Resources
    • Videos
    • The Selling Newsletter
    • What is your Selling Issue?
    • Recommended Reading
    • Free Reprint Articles
    • White Papers
    • Sales Pro
  • Upcoming Programs
  • Membership
You are here: Home / Blog / A New Year, A New Sales Plan

A New Year, A New Sales Plan

December 31, 2020 By maurasf

sales plan

2020 is a memory now. Many of you are breathing a sigh of relief because you are glad to see it go.  Take a deep breath and think of 2021 and your sales plan.  It’s time to start with some new strategies to make your year a success.  

Sales Plan 1: What are you not going to do?

I always think of Albert Einstein at the beginning of every new year.  Is it because he had the formula for selling more?  Not exactly. He did have a great understanding of what it takes to get better results.  He said, “Doing the same things over again and expecting different results is insanity.”  I agree.  To get better sales results you first have to stop doing the things that don’t work for you.  

This year, what are you going to stop doing?  

In order to stop something you have to realize what is not working.  It’s not too late to do the work now if you haven’t thoughtfully reviewed your sales activities.  I find that too many salespeople kid themselves.  They think the prospect they’re talking with is actually going to buy.  You are also kidding yourself if you haven’t specifically defined your ideal prospect and compared those specs to every prospect that you’ve included in this year’s objectives.  

Sales Plan 2: Think Big.

I worked with a salesman who was only comfortable calling on small accounts.   The idea that he could call on a larger account terrified him.  He was never going to make his sales goals thinking small.  In fact, his company was going to have to let him go.  I was called in to work with him to improve his skills and get the results the company wanted. 

Don’t be like him.  Are you afraid of making sales calls on a specific type of customer?  What’s holding you back?  Get some strategy advice from another successful salesperson if you can’t move forward.  You’re going to work just as hard to get a small piece of business as you are with a large piece of business.  

Another way to successfully start calling on larger business is to ask for help from your sales manager.  Speak with your sales manager if your manager is a good mentor.  First identify larger accounts that can be your prospects. Then discuss what your goal is. Ask your sales manager to accompany you on a few sales calls to debrief your work as well as to offer help during the call.  Just be sure you are taking the lead in the sales call.  It’s your job to sell, not your manager’s job.  He’s there to support you only. 

Every new year offers a fresh start.  That clean slate may be just enough to motivate you to do what it takes to be even more successful this year.  If it’s not, remember what Einstein said.  You must do something different to expect to get other results.  

Tweet
PinIt

Filed Under: Blog, Preparation Tagged With: sales plan

THE SELLING E-LETTER® SIGN UP

Social media

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Selling Tips

*What was your last “mistake?” Did you make it before? There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes in sales provided you are making different mistakes. (You are learning from them!)

About the principal

Would you take auto mechanics classes when you buy a car? Maura did because she wanted to be able to work on her car. She takes that same approach to selling. She can show you how to get below the surface of selling to learn why and how different strategies work. She will show you which skills to implement that will shorten your sales cycle and increase your sales. She was Mobil Oil's first female Lubrication Engineer in the United States and one of Chevron's top 5 salespeople in the country. She knows what works for sales.

"I would recommend your work to other sales organizations who want to get better results from improved selling strategies."
Jamey Rootes
President
Houston Texans

Sales Expert at Allbusiness.com

Selling is the easiest job in the world. Just ask anyone who is not in sales. Read Maura’s ideas on “more brain…less mouth” selling to make your selling easier and more successful.

Maura’s Allbusiness blog posts

Recent Posts

  • Sales Is Not Fair
  • Less Stress Selling:  What You Can Do to Reduce Sales Stress
  • Segment Your Prospects and Customers. Are Your Largest Prospects and Customers the Most Important?
  • Women In Sales: Beware Mansplaining and other gender stereotypes!
  • Sell In A Recession

Search

Copyright © 2023 · [email protected]lling