Here are 10 pointed questions to ask yourself as you attempt to make 2015 the most productive year of your life:
#1 - Do you have a Cause?
Are you “in sales” (or in business) just to make a living? Or is there a bigger reason to get up in the morning? Write down your reason for doing what you’re doing. Paste it on your bathroom mirror as a daily reminder to yourself.
#2 - Have you put together your business plan?
Having a business plan makes it perfectly clear what you have to do on a day-to-day basis. Not having a plan is like being a hamster on a wheel. It looks like you are on a fast track, but you’re going nowhere. Each prospect, every call, has a reason.
#3 - Do you have four major goals for 2015?
Have you put together a personal plan of action that will guarantee you’re reaching the four most important goals you would like to accomplish in 2015? Have you reduced these goals to pictures to “visualize” the end result?
#4 - Do you believe you will achieve them?
Many people who write down their goals deep inside question whether they really have what it takes to achieve them. If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’ll prove yourself right. Inspect your beliefs.
#5 - Can you muster the discipline to manage your “behavior” each working day?
Do you realize that every day you don’t “behave” properly puts you a day behind? Have you defined your Cookbook for Success? Do you know exactly how many initial meetings with prospects it takes to generate one proposal? Do you know how many proposals it takes to get a sale? Do you track your numbers daily? Do you have the needed focus to stay the course?
#6 - How will you stay in front of your “nut?”
Do you know what it costs you to get up each morning? Most people do not know their daily cost number – just like most people do not have written goals. Have you budgeted your expenses so they don’t run over you? Do you have a savings plan? Have you planned on how to put money aside in case of an emergency?
#7 - Will you begin over again each day or do you have a system for working smart?
Professionals know the best source for their next sale is from a present customer. Do you have a “referral system” drilled into your customers’ heads? Are you going the extra miles for your clients so they want to give you referrals?
#8 - Do you keep a journal?
Successful people learn as much from their failures as they do from their victories. Do you document your wins and losses? Do you refer back to them often to grow from your experiences?
#9 - Do you have a mastermind group?
Have you searched out a support group to help you reach your goals? Do you have the guts to commit to someone else (i.e. accountability partner) exactly what you want to achieve in 2015?
#10 - Can you see into the future?
Take time to write out a description as to how you will feel and what you will have accomplished when you have achieved the things you want for yourself and your family in 2015. Capture that feeling. Internalize it. Think about it every day.