As long as we’re resolving to lose weight, learn a new language and stop staring at our phones, why not make some New Year’s Sales Resolutions?

Here are three that will make a huge difference in your billing… if you implement them.

photo by Gajus/dpc

3 Sales Resolutions You Can Keep

• Resolve to read more. Read books that will help you get better at your craft. The top sales professionals — at your company and everywhere — are constantly reading. No matter your situation, you can do the same.

Dan O’Day, who writes and teaches about radio, puts it this way:

If you want to provide your clients the most for their money, you need to:

1. Educate yourself to the point where you do have genuine expertise in radio advertising.

2. Make that expertise clear to the client at the beginning of and throughout your entire relationship.

If you work in a different medium, insert the name of your medium in place of “radio”, and it will apply perfectly to you.

What to read?

Business books to understand the challenges your customers face every day. Marketing books to understand how advertising works, and how to create an effective ad. Sales books to learn better ways to find more customers.

Book recommendations can be found on my Recommended Reading page. Buy ’em if you have the money, and get them at your public library if you don’t.

Blog recommendations can be found here: 5 Awesome Must-Read Blogs for Ambitious Media Salespeople.

• Resolve to schedule time to go after new business every single week. In a good year, if you’re good at your job, 25-30% of your account list will disappear through no fault of your own. You need to be actively filling your pipeline every week just to stay even. Growing your business requires even more focused effort.

If you’re looking for a method to do that, I’ll recommend…yes…a book! Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount is the best new sales book I read in 2015. And if you’re thinking your pipeline is full enough, you may be wrong. My post Pipeline Math: How Many Active Prospects Do You Need? may be an eye-opener.

• Resolve to get back to your customers more consistently, and faster. This won’t necessarily bring you new customers, but it will help you keep the ones you have. In my TV advertising consulting practice, I call on about 200 local businesses every year. When I talk to advertisers who’ve switched stations, among the most common reasons I hear is one that has nothing to do with programming or ratings on the station — it’s that they felt ignored by their previous station. Amazon and Google have trained your customers to expect instant responses to all of their inquiries. You’re a person, not an always-on algorithm, so they will give you some slack on the issue, but response-time standards are still higher.

1. In 2016, resolve to respond to all customer emails the same day — even if you have to write back after hours. Your competition isn’t doing this.
2. In 2016, resolve to listen to your voice mails and respond to customer messages the same day. Your competition isn’t doing this.
3. In 2016, resolve to get back to every one of your clients with an answer on the day you said you would or before. If you promised an answer on Thursday and you don’t have the information you need on Thursday, don’t hide — an email or call saying “I promised to call you today with an answer, but I don’t have it yet — I should know by Monday,” goes a long way.

There you go — three sales resolutions that will bring you more new customers and help you keep the ones you have in 2016.

Question: What will you do better in 2016? You can leave a comment by clicking here.