More Than WE Know

Well, it’s here. The last day of the 2007 Holiday Shopping Season.

Estimates are that online holiday sales in the U.S. for the months of November and December will reach $29.5 billion - 20% higher than last year.

Whether you sell products or services, you had a holiday sales season this year. How did it go? Did your sales increase 20% over last year? Do you know why?

Very soon you will be caught up in the challenges of next year. All of the lessons you think you learned this year will become faded memories. All of the changes you vow to make will be forgotten. All of the things you did right will slip away.

Unless you take the time to write them down.

So now, before it’s too late, open a document on your word processor and label it 2008 holiday plan. Copy the following 5 questions and type in your answers. You may be surprised by what you come up with.

1) What went well this holiday season?

It’s too easy to focus on what went wrong and think of the lost sales and missed opportunities. Instead, take a moment to look at what went right - products that sold well, clients that were pleased, moments of which you were proud.

2) Why did those things go well?

Look at the systems you had in place, the products you had to sell, the marketing that you created, the upfront planning that you did. Which of these contributed to your success and why?

3) How could things have gone even better?

How could you have reached more clients? How could you have had more of the right products on hand? How could you have avoided stocking the wrong products? How could you have sold your goods and services to more people? How could you have leveraged other people, other outlets, other modes of delivery?

4) What could you do next year to increase your success?

Take a look at your answers to questions 1 through 3 and envision 2008 being even better than this year. Then consider - what would you need to do to make that happen? Start planning earlier? Develop more products? Do more marketing? Get closer to your customers?

5) Which of those steps will you implement?

Next year’s holiday season will be here before you know it. Which of the tactics you listed will have the greatest impact on your sales next year? Which of those things can you start now? Next week? Next month?

Now, Take action.

• Make a list right now of all the actions you are going to take to make 2008 a great success.
• Label them as high, medium or low priority based on the potential impact they might have on your success.
• Put a date by when each task should be completed.
• If you’re not the person that needs to do the task, identify who the proper owner is.
• If something else has to occur (i.e. take a class, hire an assistant, design a logo, etc.) add that task, priority, owner and date as well.

Before you know it, you will have an actual plan that you can put into action and measure your progress against.

Throughout the year, you will be able to work the plan, add ideas and remove things that no longer make sense.

And when next year comes, you’ll be ready to make the 2008 Holiday Season your best year ever!

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