As the holidays approach, it can be tempting to let your business fall by the wayside. While it’s important to spend time with your family—especially this time of year—when you’re working for a commission, can you really afford to take time off? Can your family?
The truly successful sales professional is the one who puts in the extra time today in order to enjoy more free time down the road.
I’m not saying you should skip the holidays, but taking advantage of this time and effectively applying it to your business strategy can help you in the long run. Here are a few ways you can keep energy, sales, and momentum up this holiday season:
Make Sacrifices
Instead of binge-watching holiday classics all month long, stay committed to hitting your daily goals. Your colleagues might slow down, but so will their paychecks. If you want to take your career to the next level, you must do the work—even when there are things you’d rather be doing. Remember: business empires and financial freedom aren’t built on half-in mentality. They require diligence, hard work, and perseverance—especially when working is the last thing you want to do.
Connect with Your Contacts
In general, people are more cheerful around the holidays; it is “the most wonderful time of the year”, after all. Just because you’re committed to building a better life for yourself and your family doesn’t mean you can’t share in the season’s festivities. In fact, this is the perfect time to catch up with customers, team members, and other business contacts in order to share well wishes and let them know you value the relationship. Whether you send a card or personally deliver a gift basket or bottle of wine, you have a prime opportunity to reconnect and find out how you can work together in the new year. And don’t forget: those who take time off have more availability to meet with you for a cup of coffee.
Plan Ahead
As offices close and people slip away for vacations, you may find yourself with some free time. Resist the urge to fall into the lull of procrastination and instead use this time to strategize. January will come sooner than you realize and you don’t want to start thinking about how to generate new business when everyone else is already back to work and ready to resume their routines. Use those extra minutes now to brainstorm revenue-producing activities, marketing campaigns, and other ways to keep your business leading the charge.
Finding a balance between family time, holiday celebrations, and personal commitment to your business is the only way to stay motivated, productive, and successful all year long.