Sales Minute

By the time you read this, 2009 will be almost over. I don’t know about you, but this year has really flown by for me, and most of you are probably ready for the year to end. As the economy starts along the road to recovery, it is time to welcome 2010 and to plan for where you want to go in the coming year.

Whether you are destruction business owner, sales professional or manager, you have to have a plan if you’re going to make 2010 a great year. When you take a road trip to a place you have never been before, you map out the route to your destination. Business is no different; to be where you want to be by this time next year, you have to have written goals to get you there—a professional road map to success!

Many sales people fail to map out a "success route" and then wonder why they never get past average. You have to take action. A decision without action is only a good intention, and good intentions pave the road to nowhere.

Setting goals is the surest way to success. Your goals should be realistic/attainable, challenging, measurable, interconnected and related to your personal goals. Most importantly, these goals should be written down and placed in a spot where you will see them daily.

Other helpful hints for developing and accomplishing your goals include:

Only 5 percent of sales professionals write down their goals and refer to them daily. These people just happen to be the top 5 percent of all sales professionals. Coincidence? I don’t think so, my fellow Shred Heads.

Post your goals, stay focused on your dreams and you will have a great chance to make them a reality in the coming year.

Ray Barry is vice president of Total Product Destruction and president of Total Training Services, which operates The Shred School in Spartanburg, S.C. He has helped and trained more than 175 companies in the document destruction industry to grow their businesses. Previously, he was part of a shredding company that was named twice in Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America. Barry can be contacted at raybarry@totaltrainingservices.com or at (864) 699-8417.