In an effort to Jump Start your performance in 2015 I suggest the following “best practices:”

In December of 2014:

Invest in your customers…This is the perfect time of year to thank internal stakeholders and align expectations for 2015. Facilitate a series of re-focus meetings with your customers.

Schedule January meetings…Spend the entire month of December booking appointments for January.

Do a Post-Mortem of 2014…What went well/What could have gone better? Ask your self what do I need to continue to do in 2015, what should I stop doing and what should I start doing?

Organize/Prioritize…Clean up the office, finish expense reports, empty the in box, organize your files, etc.Resolve to start the New Year with a strong foundation for success.

Also, execute the following Productive Selling actions:

• Increase the amount of time you spend on prospecting/new business development activities by one hour/day
• Increase the number of qualified prospects in your pipeline by 20% by the end of 2014
• Improve your close rate by 5% over the next 30-days
• Increase your share of wallet with existing customers by 10% by the end of 2014
• Generate four referrals from existing customers by the end of 2014
• Increase your average order size by 10% effective immediately
• Shrink your sales cycle by 15 days by the end of 2014
• Close one significant competitive take-away account between now and the end of 2014
• “Win back” one former customer per quarter in 2015