Summer Sales Checklist

Stop me if you’ve heard this one...

My friend and mentor, Len Peterson—as kind and wonderful a man as has ever graced God's green earth—used to put me through a visualization process whereby he would ask me, “Where do you want to be in 30, 60, 90, 180 days? Then, think about what you need to do in order to get there.”

Every year I write on this subject because it’s just that important. And to honor Len.

Five weeks from today is September 2, the day after Labor Day. As I have said a million times before, the three most important selling months of the year are September, October and November. What you do in that 90-day span will determine how your year ends and how your new year begins.

So, let’s talk about what we need to do between now and then to build some momentum going into that critical timeframe. Here are three goals:

1. Find 20 new companies to call on and two prospects within each of those companies. Why? Because you want to build a cachet of quality leads.
2. Have 10 projects in the development stage. That is, wake up on September 2 having met with 10 different people and be at a stage where you're not quite ready to give pricing, but you are close.
3. Follow up on five live quotes that will determine your September new business.

What would your fall sales look like if you were able to accomplish these three Bucket List goals? You would have immediate new business sales, more coming just over the horizon, and an inventory of potential beyond that. All because you took the time to get ready.

Okay, go back to your lemonade, already in progress.

Bill Farquharson is a Vice President at NAPL. His training programs can drive the sales of print reps and selling owners. Check out his Sales Resources page and contact him at (781) 934-7036 or bfarquharson@napl.org.