I just turned 47. I’ve never thought of 47 as a milestone age – most people think of “the nines” or “the decades” as their milestones – but this might just be turning out to be one for me. You see, in the midst of the normal “Happy Birthday” wishes I received on Facebook came an interesting wish. One of my friends wished me a “Happy Personal New Year.” WOW. That kind of hit home. It’s really true, though – why do we make our ‘resolutions’ on New Year’s, rather than on our OWN new year?
Then, another thing happened – again on my birthday – that made me think and reflect a bit. I received confirmation of a booking next April……in Spain. Yes, Spain. Docuware – a world leader in document imaging software – is flying me to Mallorca, Spain to train their English speaking distributors. I’ve worked with them in the past (and am speaking at their Las Vegas conference this year as well), but this is the first time any client has flown me overseas. Am I telling you this to brag? Well, maybe a little – but I’m also telling you this because it drove home a message that the “Personal New Year” started.
The message is that (my) 2016 needs to be a year of expansion. “MORE” is the way of my world in 2016.
More articles in more publications in more industries. In the speaking world, we look at ‘rebook ratio’ as a key measurement of success – the more ‘rebookings’ we get, the better we’re doing. My rebook is high, so why not expand my own sphere of influence?
More new products to help you sell more, build better relationships, and build stronger sales forces.
More Webinars (the survey I did brought that one home in a powerful way). Starting in January, I’m going to be doing two Webinars a month. Some will be repeats of popular topics from the past – I have over 10,000 readers of this newsletter and I know for a fact that significantly fewer than 10,000 of you were on those Webinars – and most will be brand new material. In fact, if you missed the survey but you’d like to suggest a topic, feel free to email me and do so. This is about you, not me.
More live boot camps. While the one I did in Vegas last year was lightly attended, those that did attend said that it helped them. So, I’m going to help more of you with more programming, and I’m going to have it all over the country, not just Vegas. Look for four one or two-day boot camps this year at a minimum.
And I’ve been working on a new project with my friend Kirk Young that will help the managers in my audience immeasurably to improve their hiring skills and results. That will see the light of day in my personal 2016.
Finally, more investment in myself. I’ve shared before that I’ve been coached by the finest speakers in the world – Patricia Fripp, Darren LaCroix, Ed Tate, and Craig Valentine – and it’s been transformative to me. I didn’t do any specific coaching in the last year, but that changes in 2016. Continual investment in ourselves is what makes us great and keeps us great.
So now, having laid bare my own plan for the next year, let me flip the script and pose some questions to YOU. You, after all, are the reason I write these articles.
How will you expand your sphere of influence in 2016? Success in any endeavor depends greatly on the quantity and quality of the relationships that you have.
How can you better service your customers in 2016? What unmet (or poorly met) needs can you develop new products or services to fill?
How can you increase your frequency of contact with your customers? All good things come from communication – how can you ‘touch’ your customers more in the next year?
Are there any projects you’ve been procrastinating on that could make a big difference? If so, how can you put that back on stream?
And finally, the biggie – how will YOU invest in YOURSELF in 2016? I can’t tell you how many salespeople I’ve met that wait for their company to spend money to train them, provide them books, materials, etc. to better themselves. WHY? It’s your career, not theirs! Take the bull by the horns and invest in yourself.
There are many factors in the world of sales, and the world of business, that are out of our control. Instead of focusing on those factors, look at the factors you can control and build yourself the best year you’ve ever had.
