28 December 2009 | Miller Heiman

The wild and crazy ride that was 2009 is just about over. Are you ready for 2010? Some dedicated planning can help you meet the new year with confidence.

We’ve highlighted a few actions you and your organization can focus on now to improve sales results. The following recommendations are featured in Miller Heiman’s Year-End Guide for Sales Leaders: Strategies for Finishing the Current Year Strong and Starting Fast in the Coming Year:

• Work on closing the gap between leadership and field-team forecasts.
• Know where your organization is investing in growth and incorporate those priorities into next year’s plan.
• Invest in ways to help salespeople build strong customer relationships.
• Invest in ways to help salespeople improve their performance.
• Encourage salespeople to aim high; assure them that they won’t be penalized if they don’t hit their ambitious stretch targets.
• Determine the amount of new business, existing business and churn you expect next year; make sure your plan includes specific strategies for addressing each.
• Review the sales pipeline and set priorities about which opportunities to pursue.

Together, those steps will go a long way toward making the new year be exactly what it should be: an exciting time brimming with fresh opportunities for growth.

To read more, download the entire resource guide here. Additional articles include “When’s this Sale Going to Close: A Best Practice for Shortening Sales Cycle Length” and “Strategic Planning for Dummies and Experts Alike.”