The New Year is an important time for any salesperson.  New goals are set, new demands are made, and new challenges arise.

Once the new sales goals have been set and broken down by quarter and then into months, the planning for achievement begins. Some of the planning may include: how many calls need to be made in a week in order to meet prospecting goals? How many proposals need to be written in order to achieve closing goals?  

It is necessary to plan out the year in as much detail as possible, which can be difficult for the typical sales mind or one who is not detail orientated. How can you overcome this?  By making a decision.

A decision is different than a plan.  A decision has finality. Once a decision is made, it shapes your attitude.  Make a decision to write the goals and achieve them.  Make a decision to tackle that one skill that is so difficult to master.  When the decision is made the mindset follows.  Every. Single. Time.

How to be decisive

Start with YOU

Whether it is losing those pesky 5 pounds gained over the holidays, beginning an exercise program, or hitting all of your sales goals, it begins and ends with you.. Reflect on the past year and take an honest look at what needs to change and why. Think about how the changes would make a positive impact in all aspects of your life.  The decision will come through the reflection and will cause an internal shift and the appropriate action will follow.

Attitude matters

You become what you believe.  50% of all salespeople fail due to their attitude.  Having a good attitude is a dedicated decision that must be practiced everyday  It will affect your success and your income.  Some thoughts to live by are: If you think it is ok, it is.  If you think it’s not okay, it’s not. When you face a challenge or something doesn’t go your way, look for the opportunity. Check your language.  Is it half full or half empty?  Partly cloudy or partly sunny? Avoid why, can’t, and won’t. Change your language to reflect why you love what you do, not why you don’t or how hard it is.  

Read to Learn

Read one sales book a month.  Reading breeds knowledge and intelligence. The more you read, the more you learn and your craft develops.  As you read, you’ll gain knowledge and begin to use that knowledge daily. Implementing new sales skills leads to sales mastery.