Hey, Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes.
New Year's resolutions are a bit naff.
Too many people want to start fresh. They throw the baby out with the bathwater on an arbitrary Monday (next year, it's a random Wednesday).
Why not build on the work you have put in over the past 12 months?
New Year Checklist
Instead of looking at a new year as a chance to start fresh, consider it an opportunity to stand on the shoulders of a giant: you.
Reflect on 2023. What happened, and how can you leverage the contacts you developed to start 2024 with more pipeline than you know what to do with?
Over the next week (or whenever you are working next), invest some time to build on the conversations you had in 2023.
Step 1: Make a list
Every seller-initiated conversation starts with a list. Except yours will be a warm list.
1a: Pipeline Review
Start with every sales conversation you had in '23 with anyone who didn't end up buying.
Add anyone where things didn't end poorly. It could be the people you met at a trade show or anyone with whom you almost made a deal. Remember to include anyone who you lost or anyone who ghosted you.
Add names, an icebreaker (reason to reconnect), and an email address to a spreadsheet.
1b: Calendar Review
Next, go through your calendar day by day. Look at every external meeting you had. Work out which people are worth reconnecting with.
Add them to the spreadsheet.
Sidenote: While going through your calendar, enjoy the process. Remember your wins. Remember the losses (makes the wins feel better). Remember the learnings. Recalling all the shenanigans of 2023 should be fun.
Step 2: Rank the list
You have a list. Now stack rank them:
- A - high quality, definitely want to talk to.
- B - decent quality, probably worth a chat.
- C - lowest quality, might not be worth it.
Delete C if you have more than 50 people between A & B.
Otherwise, update the spreadsheet with A at the top and the others below.
Step 3: Start at the top of the list
Now, the simple but not easy part.
Start emailing or calling at least one person per day. Ideally, 2-3 a day to get through the As on the list.
The goal is to connect with anyone interested in buying your product or service in 2024.
Make every outreach personal; try to do something other than automate this. At the same time, don't go nuts. Ten minutes per email is the maximum.
You'll need an excuse to reconnect. Think of something that changed in your business or theirs. Maybe a new feature or offer you recently rolled out.
If nothing else, tell them "it has been a while" as the reason. For many, this will be enough as you've connected before.
Best Case
You reconnect with 5-10 prospects and have a massive kickstart to your pipeline in 2024.
Worst Case
Firstly, ask for a referral from everyone who declines.
Then, in the worst case, you've also started the habit of reaching out to 1-3 hyper-targeted buyers per day. Keep that up, and you'll dominate the market.
Linkedin Post of the Week:
To the sellers working this week by Me
9 steps to judge sales enablement by Cory Bray
Let me know what you think! it to a friend
Until next week,
Scott Cowley
PS Did you like what you read today? Consider forwarding it to a friend, colleague or team member.
Did someone forward you this email and it seems like something you want more of: Link to subscribe