Now that the New Year has become the new normal, it is essential to continue with all those lofty sales goals and great ideas that got 2017 off to a good start! Just as the New Year’s Resolutions have either begun to dim or have flat-out been abandoned, it is a vital part of your success for the year to continue the positive actions and thoughts that caused you to be optimistic for the year’s projections.
If you visit your local gym or fitness spa, it is certain that the crowd has begun to thin. To be certain, slacking off is an option. However, cutting back on gym visits or workout intensity is not likely to produce tight abs or bulging biceps! A better option is to add more fuel to your motivational fire and to keep that engine speeding along the track to the Destination of Attained Goals for 2017! So…
- What routines have become too comfortable and have set you up for a ho-hum daily experience for the year? While chugging steadily along toward the goal is admirable, the changing scenery requires acceleration to negotiate the hills and deceleration to precisely handle the curves to prevent derailing! What changes or accelerations can you build into your sales to keep yourself at full-throttle toward your goals, even when those curves cause you to slow your speed? If deceleration was a brief necessity, how quickly can you get back up to speed? What adjustments can you make to pour on even more steam?
- Arriving at a station along your destination allows for a refreshing break and chance to stretch and catch your breath. What celebrations have you built into your life so that when success (or even progress, for a more complicated set of goals) appears, you acknowledge it, revel in it and overtly celebrate it? How are you using the break to refresh yourself for greater effort and speed toward your goal?
- Where are you beginning to ease back on the throttle of those mini-steps toward the long-haul destination of success? Even the best of engineers or drivers become fatigued. What can you plan to shake yourself up to reenergize your commitment toward your progress? Is it time for a sales contest? Is it time for a special sales promotion? Does the original goal need some tweaking to enhance your willingness to keep the steam on?
Half the fun of traveling is meeting new people and engaging with them socially to experience new points of view. Applying this excitement and principle in retail sales creates the opportunity to engage with your community on a wider basis. How can you maximize the social interactions with people who enter your store to enrich both their lives and yours? Store-sponsored events certainly add to your outreach possibilities. What other (free or inexpensive) interactions with people can improve your joy in creating relationships with customers? If all you do this year with customers is to deepen the friendship with them, that is a huge step toward expanding your world, your customers’ world, and the vast vistas which make retail sales joyful and rewarding!
To keep those memories of your journey fresh, be sure to take pictures, send post cards and journal how the trip went – it will all pay off when you begin to plan for next year’s vacation in retail-land!
Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Huisken has authored several books and training manuals on sales and produces a Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at 800-248-7703 or info@iastraining.com. Visit his website at www.iastraining.com.
