So in the next few weeks you will be embarking on the annual sales forecasting project. I can see the excitement in your eyes already. Will the process be the same as last year…add a growth percentage to the previous years sales? Will you break down the existing business and determine where you can go deeper and wider with those accounts by offering new services and then attack the new business side of the equation to fill in the gaps? I know, so many questions.
Oh, and yes please don’t forget attrition. Not that you did anything to lose that business but it happens just the same. Need to plan for it.
Do you plan differently for your legacy business as compared to your new integrated services business? Is one growing faster than the other…uhm?
How have the meetings with your top 15-20 clients been going where you ask them about their view into next year and where they plan to spend their marketing dollars? More questions, I know!!
How about looking at the changes to your sales cycle and closing percentages – by sales rep. And what about that new business? What are the three or five or seven things that you’re going to do to help ensure that it actually happens this year? Do you need to modify the sales metrics that you’ve been using to monitor this so that you can effectively manage the process and make any necessary changes along the way?
Just wanted to give you a few things to think about.
