It's Not Just A New Year, It's A GREAT New Year!
By Jim Ryerson, Founder, Sales Octane, Inc 

2005 will mark the start of a great environment for sales professionals who are disciplined in their networking and prospecting efforts.  There are two dynamics that will drive significant change in the next several years and now is the time to prepare your teams to capitalize on that change.  

What's Going To Change In 2005?

First, the surge of retiring baby boomers will result in a lot of empty seats.  A shortage of new talent entering the market to fill the empty seats - combined with a growing economy - means a recipe for employees jumping jobs.  While "job-jumping" means a challenge for managers, it's a bonus for sales professionals who can capitalize on these changes within existing and competitively-held accounts.

Second, we are entering an era where an unprecedented transfer of wealth will take place.  A generation of baby-boomers will be handing down much of their wealth to the next generation, and that will result in new business start-ups, mergers and acquisitions - and a lot of opportunity for the sales professional.

So, what can you do to capitalize on these changes?  The answer is networking and prospecting!

Keep In Touch

As long as you are diligent in keeping in touch with current contacts at existing satisfied customers, you'll know when a "good seed" moves to their next job.  This will open the door for you to prospect your way to new sales opportunities.  Remember, just because someone is not the actual "buyer" at a current client does not mean you can't leverage the fact that you did work with their previous company.  That subtle connection may be all you need to get an opportunity to share your story.

Plan Your Spontaneity

Continue that diligence with your competitively held accounts and you'll catch the "new person" when they replace the buyer who's been giving all that business to your competitor.  These "new people" typically want to make changes to "make their mark" and you'll be there to offer your help in that transition!  Don't underestimate the power of change within competitively held accounts!  The key is being there within weeks of the transition so you capitalize on the change.  One of the common mistakes that salespeople make is giving up on competitively held accounts because they've been deflected several times.  Stay the course, since one of these days your persistent and consistent calling will pay off as a change will occur!

Listen

Finally, ramp up your networking efforts as there will be new people with wealth, and they may just need the product or service you represent.  Set a personal goal for meeting new contacts every week and listen for who's venturing out on their own.

A lot will change in 2005 and you need to be there at the right time.  Fire up your networking and prospecting machine because the future belongs to the sales professional!

Happy New Year and Good Selling!

Jim Ryerson is the Founder of Sales Octane, Inc., a sales training and sales process development firm.  Sales Octane helps companies increase their sales and profitability by focusing on their two most important assets; their sales professionals and their sales process.  Learn more about Sales Octane at www.salesoctane.com or contact Jim at jim@salesoctane.com.