Prepare for Next Week, This Week

This week, I want to talk about next week.

Most of us, myself included, thrive in a chaotic environment. Salespeople enjoy the seemingly overwhelming abundance of tasks and operate best when everything looks important and urgent at the same time.

We make good decisions.

We get stuff done.

We act like we are in a zone defense waiting for the next ball to drop so we can grab it, move it along, and throw it back up in the air.

But as good as we are during chaos, we are equally as bad when it’s deathly quiet.

The week of Thanksgiving becomes increasingly less busy as we go from Monday to Wednesday. We might be okay the first day, but the loudest noise in the office might be the crickets coming Tuesday.

It’s important to have a strategy for this.

Use this week to make some plans for next week. What is the best use of your time? Get it right, and you can enjoy the holiday and not lose any momentum going into the final few weeks of the year.

Some recommendations:

• Get out of the office, silence your phone, and read. I did this last week in Nashville and it was easily the best time I spent in all of 2021. I was able to learn from the book my marketing director daughter suggested I read (The Lean Startup) and then apply its lessons in the form of improvements to my Sales Vault.
• Produce a marketing piece. Maybe you could make a YouTube video or write a White Paper. Now is the time to spend some creative energy on something that will help you to grease the skids.
• Gather some testimonials. Surely, you have some kind words in amongst the emails you have received. Put them all on the piece of paper or maybe add one or two at the bottom of your email signature. Purchase decisions are made more easily when someone else crows about their experience with you.
• Learn more about LinkedIn. Okay, you have a Profile. But are you fluent in what this social media outlet can do for you and your sales? It’s a great time to watch a video on YouTube or within LinkedIn itself.
• Gather more LinkedIn contacts. You cannot have too many.
• Send some holiday wishes via email or, again, LinkedIn. Make them personal.

Preparing for next week, this week simply means to make a list of possible tasks like the ones listed above. Hey, if you want to take a few days off and get some extra rest in, that’s good, too. But, my guess is you suck at filling days when nothing is urgent. So, either use the time to sharpen the saw or be prepared to waste a few days…

… And a great opportunity.

The trip to Nashville Bill referenced yielded some upgrades to The Sales Vault. Check them out at BillFarquharson.com or call Bill at 781-934-7036.