Sales Training Article: 4 Steps to Kick Off Your 2012 Sales Strategy the Right Way

By Tony Albachiara, Sales Benchmark Index (SBI)

Happy New Years and Welcome to 2012!  Hopefully by now the holiday cheer of celebrating last year's sales successes or drowning the disappointments of 2011 are behind you. Sales Leaders around the world will arrive at their desk this week to find the remnants of last week's work; stacks of last minute contracts needing approval, modifications to prior deals, new pricing guidelines for 2012, post-it notes of phone messages to be returned, and the now partially molding coffee mug half filled with eggnog.

For some VP Sales, 2011 was a great year filled with sales successes, new contracts, surpassed revenue goals, and the happiness and optimism that 2011 will be the solid foundation that the 2012 Sales Strategy can be built upon. Other Sales Leaders couldn't be happier to have 2011 in the history books. It was a miserable, challenging, and disappointing year. Joy is the common theme, but for completely different reasons. The other common thread today is that the clock is officially reset to ZERO. Yes… zero - meaning that 2011 is old news to your CEO and the Board. The sales strategy conversation has shifted from "Tell what you've done for me," to "Tell me what you're going to do." And just like that… the party is over!

Most sales organizations have planned Sales Kick-Off (SKO) meetings for January or February. These sales strategy events are held for a variety of great reasons:

• Acknowledging top performers from 2011 - Boost morale and motivate sales professionals to meet goals again in 2012.
• Communicating the company's strategic goals for 2012 - Continue to grow the business with a solid sales process and sales strategy planning.
• Introducing new product/service offering for 2012 - Keep everyone informed and involved with the company.
• Exposure to a new training or selling technique - Improve the overall sales force effectiveness of your sales team.
• New compensation/incentive plans - Properly incentivize sales reps to perform and meet quotas.

All these things are important and are definitely necessary if you plan on having a successful year in 2012. But do any of them prevent you from getting off to a fast start today? Is it possible that your sales team is under the impression that something will be better or easier after SKO? Are they holding back because of that? It's possible. Can you afford to have your team not running at full speed today? Probably not. How deep of a hole will you start in if you miss your number in January because your sales team is waiting for the magic of SKO to take hold? Missing your January revenue target could put you behind your plan by as much as 8-10%. Playing catch-up for the entire year of 2012 is not where you want to be. Avoid this problem by implementing a strong sales strategy that counts on making your number in January, as well as all of the months that follow. Don't fall behind!

Stay tuned for the next blog posting that shares the 4 Easy Steps to prevent "The Turtle Start"!