The New Year brings many opportunities. It's time to renew partnerships with clients and refocus your objectives. More importantly, it’s about hitting the ground running with your sales team. The start of the year can set the tone for how the rest of the year is going to go. If you are coming off of a slow year or looking for new strategies to implement, here are some tips that can help you and your and your sales team start the new year off right.
Start 2022 by looking at last year’s results. Here are some questions you want to think about:
As you look towards the future, it’s important to look back at your successes and failures. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses opens a window for exponential growth. You’ll be able to pinpoint areas for improvement and what strategies you should double down on.
Touching base with your clients doesn’t have to be formal, but it’s always good to start the year by checking in with your current client list. Find out how they’re doing and express how happy you are to have their business. Get an update on their goals for the year, so you can show them how you can be a bigger part of their success. Depending on the relationship you have with your clients, it can be helpful to just send them an email or schedule a 30-minute phone call with them. If you have made any changes to your business you should also provide them with a new capabilities deck.
There’s a chance your clients assume that everything is “business as usual”. Make sure you are proactively upselling and finding ways to be a solution for them. It doesn’t hurt to be persistent when you have a relationship with them. Seize those big opportunities through casual conversations.
On the other hand, the new year is a great time to revisit clients who went silent or fell through the cracks. In some cases, these clients go silent because the timing wasn’t right for them or they didn’t have enough in their budget to use your services. Get organized and follow up with them. Make sure to acknowledge their pain points that your service can help them with. You’d be surprised how often silent clients are eager to hear back from you. Clients love to feel as if they are being thought about. If you refer back to previous conversations it will show that you were thinking about them and that you really want their business.
If you are looking to have a successful year, you have to set goals for yourself and your team. Goals can vary from tangible to intangible. The point of setting the goals is so that you have a way to measure your progress and success. When you are setting your goals, make sure they are both realistic and achievable. Make sure your goals contribute to overall growth. Having the same goal each year will only make you stagnant. The start of the year is a great time to dig deep and start challenging yourself to become better than you were the previous year.
Is there something new you wanted to try this year? Whether it’s a new sales strategy, working with an outsourced sales company, or testing a new platform, look for new ways to build your sales pipeline and hit your goals. Starting the new year with endless solutions helps get the ball rolling and engages your team. It can motivate your teammates to come up with new strategies, all inspired by the new ideas you brought to the table. You’ll generate positive energy amongst your team which can lead to a hot start for the year.
People often look at the new year as a fresh start. People focus on trying to change their entire lives with resolutions, or goals that are out of reach. Businesses are looking to grow and reach new heights. By implementing some of these simple tips, you start the year off strong. Focus your efforts in the key areas listed above and you set yourself and your company up for success for the year ahead.
