That’s not life, and it is certainly not professional selling. No matter how badly you have performed so far, you can’t give up and say, “Let’s start over on March 1 and I’ll just count the final 10 months.” Don’t do it. You’ll never really embrace these diminished goals, and you set a terrible precedent for yourself.
2. Examine the first six weeks.
What went wrong? What went right? Get deeper than the results. What actions led to those results? Why did those actions fail? This step is an autopsy, not a plan. Don’t worry about solutions – just dig deep to understand the first six or so weeks.
3. Modify your process and approach.
Now that you understand what went well and what went wrong, let’s modify your approach. If you were too busy to prospect, then schedule it for 7:30 a.m., before the chaos begins. If you haven’t started on a strategic plan to grow the healthcare market, then ask your boss or a peer to hold you accountable to milestones until it is completed. If you haven’t been able to wake up to make the gym at 5:30 a.m., then plan your workout for the evening. After examining the challenges, ways to modify your process and approach become much clearer.
4. Update quarterly goals.
Do not change annual goals, but you should update quarterly or monthly goals to get there. If you are going to fall short in Q1, then simply admit it, look at the gap, and determine realistic milestones to reach your annual goal.
5. Commit to finishing strong.
I don’t mean take your eyes off the goal – you should always be pursuing your goals; however, it is critical to finish. Even if you finish at only 75% of your goal, you need to be pushing it hard to the very last day of the year. Commit to pursuing your goals, as well as to finishing strong regardless of performance.
6. Reset your mindset.
Yes, my first point was not to start over, and this applies to annual goals, but you can and should embrace a fresh start mentally. You are still in the game. It is only February. Once you have figured out some of the issues and made corrections, you will be ready to rock.
