Preparing for a New Year in Sales

There’s been a theme I’ve been hearing as we trudge deeper into January. This isn’t a new theme, but it’s one that is striking a chord for me this time around:
 
“We ended the year strong. But now it’s back to $0.”
 
“We hit our annual goal on December 30th!, But you know, in sales, “What have you done for me lately?”
 
Add in renewed mask mandates and canceled plans, and the pipeline being turned back to $0 may feel nearly insurmountable right now. Frankly, I think every January in New England – bitter temps, snow forever – feels hard. Take down that Christmas tree and it’s time to become the new, better version of you…with $0 on the books.

So that got me thinking…
 
What if we change our belief system on this? What if we say that all of our accomplishments and achievements stay with us? That they don’t get erased with the flip of the calendar year? I’m stealing a line from my boss, but what if we consider January to be the 13th month of 2021? Or, December was the head-start on 2022? Would we all feel a bit more confident, a bit more relaxed? I know the world of sales (and yes, we are ALL in sales in some way or another) doesn’t encourage us to feel confident OR relaxed. But the last time I checked, stress and frustration doesn’t usually drive productivity. And it certainly doesn’t drive peace of mind, or empower us to try new things, or explore beyond our comfort zone.
 
I always think January is the hardest month of the year – Green Day could wake me up when January ends. But since we can’t change that, perhaps we can control some of it by reminding ourselves what we accomplished only a few weeks ago, and what we are going to do again with the right focus and steps forward.



Deborah Kurtz is an Associate Vice President at HireMinds specializing in Sales, Product and digital marketing recruiting. She is a storyteller at heart, with a passion for building relationships and engaging top talent and employers. Reach out to her today if you are looking to build your team: deborah@hireminds.com.