Look Both Ways

We were reminded as children to make sure we look both ways when learning to walk carefully across the street. It is the safest thing to do to ensure we get safely to the other side.

As we approach the end of 2006, I want to send you the same reminder. Make sure you look both ways: Take a look back on 2006, and then look ahead at 2007.

We are often so busy thinking about what is coming up on the agenda that we fail to learn from our past business experiences. As you spend time analyzing (and be honest with yourself), here are some things to consider as you review this year and plan for 2007:

1. List all the marketing events you attended in 2006, including health fairs, dinners, meetings and conferences. How much money did you spend on each event, and how many of the “right” people attended? Meet with key staff to rate these events.
2. Itemize the events, programs and meetings you spent time and money to go to that did not come close to meeting your expectations. Was it that the meeting failed to provide the results you had expected, or could it possibly be that you did not work the meeting appropriately?
3. Look for results. Make a long list of what you are not going to bother with again. The issue is not to save money but, instead, to use your money in a more effective and results-oriented manner.
4. Review all of the potential accounts in your community or service area, and compile a roster of those you thought about calling on but never got around to. Place those on your priority call list for next year. You do not want to miss them again. There may be business just waiting for you to show up.
5. Think about the issues, products or subjects that you would like to learn more about. In talking to customers or referral sources, are there particular subjects or products that you may need to learn more about? Education is powerful in the sales relationship. The more you know about the home medical equipment industry, the client and the local health care community, the more successful you will be.
6. Did you work from a plan, a schedule and a calendar as you pursued your sales work each week? Or, did you just make notes about appointments on a pad, use lots of paper to track your business (or possibly use nothing at all)? Is this what you will be doing again in 2007?
7. Are there accounts where you have given more than you have received? Have you provided an abundance of free services or equipment, supported their health fairs or events or taken them food with no business in return? It could be that now is the time to be more assertive in asking this client to allow you to show them what you can do.
8. Determine what’s going to be new that you can present to referral sources next year. Will you have some new products in your showroom, new programs, new specialists on your staff, a new location to share? People always want to know about something new, and this gives you a great reason to bring enthusiasm to your sales call.
9. Make a list of people you want to meet, and put them on your priority list. Think about whether there is someone you know who can introduce you or help open the door.
10. Finally, keep track of all your customers — large and small — and make sure you thank them for their support and trust throughout the year. Make a copy of this list and share it with the salespeople in your office. Make the list a part of your upcoming 2007 sales and marketing strategy meeting.

The best learning and training for our business comes from our past experiences. Too often, the events of the past are soon forgotten, little documentation is available and we are quickly off to making the same mistakes again. With revenues changing, you need to make sure your investments are made for the right reasons.

Reviewing what happened yesterday will help make better decisions for tomorrow. There is no value in looking ahead when you have not first looked back.

Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the creator of Sales Pro, an industry-specific sales and marketing tracking program. Noted for his sales and marketing seminars and training programs, Feuer may be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.