Please, Great Print Being in the Sky, Grant Me My Wish for 2013

As we embark upon a new year with 2012 now behind us, for better or for worse, it’s time to face the music. Will I be dancing with a new lilt in my step, knowing that my sales team has made all new resolutions in 2013 to promise to follow up on the leads I provide them? Or will I be sitting like a wallflower, sulking in the gloom of being shunned once again.

“Thanks!” they might say, when a fresh, prospective lead is generated and dispensed, or an article flashes across the Internet about a new marketing director that a prospective client has hired. Or, maybe an organization posts how much it is growing, and that info is sent immediately to a starving sales rep by yours truly.

“I promise I will email and call, send samples and follow up after that, then start the routine over again and keep trying to get an appointment. Once I get that appointment, I will continue to email, call and send samples and try my best to become a true partner and solutions provider and not give up.”

That is the resolution I want my sales team to make. I cringe at the thought of hearing:

“Well, I left two voice-mail messages and tried two different email addresses and got no response so I’ve decided they are not worth it.”

Or:

“They finally returned my call (or responded to my email), but they already have a long-time print vendor and they are not entertaining any new potential suppliers.”

Or, how about this one:

“They said our pricing was too high on the quote we provided and that left a bad impression, so I’m moving on.”

Please, great omniscient Print Being in the Sky, make my dreams come true for 2013 and let my people grow! Please let them see the light...Make them follow up on their leads—those leads that have been so carefully researched and so much time spent finding current contacts from LinkedIn. Even email formulas have been deciphered; that alone is worth its weight in gold!