The Secret to Success in 2015? ‘Do It Now’
It’s official: 2014 is in the books. And if you’re like most people, you’ve probably already begun to think about what you hope to accomplish in 2015 (goals), or which bad habits you’d like to eliminate (resolutions). From a business perspective, maybe you’d like to build your pipeline and drive more revenue (goals) or eliminate some inefficiencies in your sales process (resolution).
I’ve already established some goals of my own for 2015, but if you know me at all, you’d also know that I’m not a big believer in setting New Year’s resolutions or focusing only on key goals at the start of a new year.
After all, Jan. 1 isn’t the only day on which we evaluate our performance or aspirations. So, why must all of our biggest, most audacious goals be set on that day, instead of the precise moment we realize that there’s a problem or opportunity that needs to be addressed? For example, if you know in October that your pipeline is shrinking or you’ve got a big opportunity to attack a particular market segment, why wait until January to do something about it?
With that said, I’d like to offer up an alternative motto to consider: “Do it now!”
By all means, set goals and resolutions now—but don’t wait until Jan. 1, 2016, to evaluate how you’re performing against them. When an issue or opportunity arises in 2015, respond to it in real time. Set new goals, evaluate your performance, and act.
That leads me to a second piece of advice for 2015: “Always focus on your numbers.”
While the salesperson in all of us would love to believe that spontaneity drives success, the reality is that gut instinct can only take you so far. To be truly successful, you must confirm and adjust your hunches based on cold, hard numbers.
This year, my goal is to use the numbers and metrics that are so readily available today (thanks to CRMs, marketing automation, etc.) to guide our business. More specifically, here are the top four metrics that I’ll be monitoring in 2015:
- Profitability and monthly revenue. Every business owner has to monitor these. I also have my team leads monitoring them because, frankly, why should I shoulder all the risk?
- Lead generation campaign metrics from clicks, views and downloads to conversions and closes. People tell us they love our content, but the metrics confirm what they love and help me set the course for our content and solution offerings.
- Prospecting metrics, including appointments set, length of the sales process, and closes. As an authority in prospecting, I have to constantly research what’s working and what’s not. But we’re a business, too, and every business needs a consistent influx of new customers.
- Social conversion. Specifically, monitoring discovery, engagement and conversion. Social networking is a necessary business practice today and it consumes resources if you do it right. I want to be sure it’s not just “right” but also generating revenue.
Yes, I know that numbers aren’t as fun as gut instinct. And they certainly aren’t spontaneous. But they also don’t lie—and they’ll arm my team with the kind of insight that allows them to quickly shift without waiting until Jan. 1, 2016. I’d recommend you seriously consider taking the same approach.
Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the newly released book “The Sales Magnet” and the award winning book "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the small and midmarket business (SMB) segment.
