Happy New Year and welcome to another year with a new sales budget! You may already be thinking about the potential challenges you might face. Are you wondering, will the economy continue to improve or will it backslide; is my new sales quota achievable; what other challenges might I face either internally or externally? All these and many more are valid concerns that most of you have. But when you focus on the positive - the possibilities - you will jumpstart 2012 and your pacing will be ahead of schedule! Consider implementing these 3 tips to make this year a huge success.

 

1-  Follow up. Start this year by taking an inventory of those clients you have been working with this past year and which ones have potential to add incremental business. Which ones showed signs of interest but never made the ultimate commitment? Contact them and remind them of the benefits you discussed in the first place. Think about adding even more value that they would benefit from and how that added value makes getting together now even more important for them.  Even better, come up with a very explicit “benefit for meeting now”. Why would your solution make a difference this year? Make sure that you have a “stay in touch strategy” so that your prospects and customers don’t forget about you - remember the old saying “out of sight, out of mind”.

 

2-  ROI. Re-examine the return on investment your solutions bring to your customers. For existing customers, set up a meeting to review how your products and services have been performing for them. This is an excellent opportunity to ask about their goals and objectives for the new year and how you might be able to support them. It’s always easier to add business to an existing client and typically has the shortest sales cycle since you have already established a relationship where trust and credibility exist. This type of engagement with your customers also helps to preempt the competition who would be left out if they skip the request for proposal process saying the business is a modification to an existing purchase. With many companies new business from existing clients can easily be over 50% of your revenue generation. Understanding your clients ROI is important as it is proof of your solution’s success. The more proof you have to give to new prospects about what your customer’s have experienced is usually the MOST marketing you can do. Customers today want tangible evidence that your products and services will do what you say they will do.

 

3-  Incentives. Most of you have all experienced company incentives at the end of the quarter or the year as a way to generate business and meet your revenue targets. Why not start the year out by adding incremental value to your solutions as an incentive to buy now. A new year for your customers usually means a new budget cycle and now is the time to stimulate their interest and get ahead of the curve. You’re not discounting your products and services, you’re adding value that might attract the customer or prospect’s attention. Adding value can have a low impact on your margins compared to lowering your price. Knowing your customer base and their needs will help you craft the right incentive that would gain their interest.

 

Make 2012 be your best year ever. Being proactive from the get go will show your customers and prospects that you have their best interest at heart. 

 

 

1- Follow up, 

2- Show them a healthy return on their investment and 

3- Craft the right incentive to spur them on to invest in you and your company.

 

Happy New Year and good selling for 2012!