Was speaking to a few sales reps this week as the Christmas holiday was just around the corner. Visions of spending time with their families and being thankful brought out the self reflection in most of their conversations. The general theme was that now is a good time to take stock in the business that you have, the clients that you've engaged with and perhaps more importantly, those that you've earned the right to be a trusted adviser to. This is a good time to review what worked well for you this year and make a list of the things that you need to stop doing for next year.
A time of self reflection can clearly identify what made you successful and what held you back. It can put things into perspective such as the frustration with proofs being late and the jobs delivering to the wrong office (I know, this never happened to you...). It can put into plain site the fact that you control your own destiny as a sales rep. You control how many calls you make and how many people that you see. Others may impact projects and client relationships outside of your direct control but you determine how you handle it, how you'll recover and how you'll grow stronger.
This self reflection stuff is great. It's like looking into the mirror and asking the questions and having to answer them. As the much overused cliche says, you're driving the bus. You're in charge of your sales career. What's the plan, what do you need to do and when will you get there. Happy holidays and continued success!
