What are your rituals to start a new year? Are Sales SEO included? What does that even mean?
My family had a somewhat sluggish start. And by boring, I mean by the standards of those with the grand ideas of standing in Times Square to watch a ball drop or dress up fancy and entertain guests.
No, we kept it simple this year. We made a rather large dinner for three people (one 6-year-old) and had Treehouse playing in the background. By 10 PM, the little one was getting rather tired, so she retired to her room, knowing the new year would still come and be there in the morning. The rest of the evening was relatively quiet, and eventually, we slept. Not a whole lot of excitement here.
The new Sales SEO
January 1 is the start of my SEO rituals. No, not that kind of SEO. This year was slightly different. I had invested in my home office setup, which meant half of the day was spent cleaning the space and setting up the new equipment. The second half was the Shredding.
Shred Your Past
I enjoy throwing out the “stuff” I no longer need or want. I am also someone who holds onto things for far too long. Maybe that’s why the throwing out, preferably in a dumpster, is such a relief. It removes the burden of having to review it or think about it.
I had been storing many old files for a long time, and it was time to let them go. They are now shredded, along with six (6) other bags of documents that are no longer required or that I have digital copies of and no longer need the originals. That’s where the shredder comes in.
In our #B2Bsales world, sometimes, we hold onto our deals longer than necessary. We think there may be a time to get the customer to rethink their position or reconsider a proposal once provided. Sometimes it is better to put them onto a new list. The “I’ll come back another day” list is likely a long time in the future.
Consider shredding your old proposals and pipeline prospects that have not engaged or stalled for too long. The relationship may be worth letting go of, and you will be better serviced moving on to new opportunities with customers looking for your help.
My next step was to ensure I was off to a good start from a health perspective. I have been working on actively getting into better shape for several months. I didn’t want to be a “New Year, New You” person. While day one was spent shredding, day two was spent Exercising.
Exercise Your Plan
I am focusing on my health this year, feeling better and more flexible as the pillars. Some people may consider this a resolution, but I prefer to consider it a prescription. I recently interviewed with a personal trainer to help drive proper form, good planning, and accountability that will help me achieve my goals. The plan started with understanding what I needed to accomplish, and I used my Apple watch to hold myself accountable for the key factors I had to meet daily. Those will be reported to the trainer, and we will evolve the plan as progress is made.
Thinking of our sales for the year, we have to review our pipeline, annual business plan, and goals to build a plan to be successful.
What will we do to achieve these milestones?
How will we get to the end and realize our success?
Can we get there alone, or do we need additional resources or support to make it happen?
When we think about our plan for the year, this is what we should consider. How will we exercise the right strategy and the most effective process and hold ourselves accountable for the results we seek?
Finally, I needed to prepare myself to return to the business groove. One key to this is writing more (hence you may be reading this post). To get this out, I had to collect the ideas circling inside me and organize them into clear thoughts.
Organize Your Actions
Of course, clear thoughts in writing articles are subjective.
For far too long, I have had ideas that I share with myself. Part of my plan for this new year is to publish more thoughts in a format like this. To do so, I need to, well, actually write them down. It feels like the timing is right to put a little content and context in the world to share an opinion now and then.
How are your sales pipelines and project plans evolving for this year?
Do you know what targets you are after?
Who is on your top 10 list of ideal clients, and who are the next 2 or 3 that fall after that in case you get all 10 of them before the end of the year?
Now is the time to be organized and get out of the gate fast, hitting the year on the right step.
Your new Sales SEO: Shred, Exercise, Organize
Shred your past, old files, old stories, and old non-engaging prospective clients, and let go of what has not worked for you.
Exercise your plan by reviewing your goals, target lists, sales process, and personal development objectives, and seek help from someone who will hold you accountable for your success.
Organize your actions for the year with an action plan to meet and exceed your expectations.
Make 2022 your best sales year with the SEO that will drive better results.
