For years, our sales team was required to make predictions on the success for major sales initiatives. Everyone had to briefly describe what the sales action was intended to accomplish and the reasoning behind the idea in the first place. Then they would write their prediction and opinion of the intended action.
The fun came when we would compare actual results with the predictions.
What was the point? There were three key points:
- No one could claim they didn’t understand the sales actions needed.
- Every one took part in anticipating good results.
- When the actual results were known, we could all figure out where we needed to improve.
Lesson learned system:
Imagine having your own personal “lessons learned” folder going back over the past twelve months. If you want change or growth, this type of record is priceless. Not knowing the recent lessons learned leaves you at the same place you are now.
Most of us do not remember what we learned even last week. Ask people, “What did you learn last week?” They will not know what you mean and cannot provide a very good answer. We are all busy- too busy to learn.
Do this:
Examine your major desires and record your predictions ahead of time (only the areas important to you current plan of development).
Week-by-week record what actually happened and compare that to your prediction.
Decide where you were “on” and where you were “off”. Most importantly, record the lesson learned.
A personal gold mine:
Write these lessons down, capture what they tell you, and by year end you will have a gold mine full of nuggets for your growth. Realize that you only record lessons in areas important to your major plan.
Try this on yourself. Think of the actions you are up to and predict the outcome. I predict you will not only enjoy it, but will learn a lot about yourself and what is behind your current pace/progress.
Cheers,
Richard Reardon
