The Salesby5 Blog

rockefeller habits checklist

We have 3 weeks until Q3 kicks off! Fast growing and profitable companies known as Gazelles use a checklist each quarter to make sure they are doing the right things with the right people. Checklists are simple and can make a dramatic impact quickly. In facilitating company off site quarterly meetings for many years, this checklist is not just the beginning to a very productive retreat for your company, but it also lays the groundwork to keep all the boxes checked year round. I have provided a snap shot and a link to a downloadable PDF for your company.

One tip to consider…  If you own or run the company, print this out and see how many you can check off, then see how many some of your employees can check it off. This will test your internal communications in seconds.

A couple of weeks ago, we spoke to an organization. About 10 minutes after we got there, it was easy to see that this group had no passion and a cluttered purpose. It is amazingly important to have a purpose and live a life that is aligned with your purpose. If you can paint a picture in your mind, the key is 1% vision and 99% alignment. True alignment is everyone focused on where the organization is going, with passion fueled by purpose. This group had none that was visible and it made me worry that they will never be able to reach their goals. In the last nine months, they have had no increase in membership, yet they plan to double it by the end of 2009 (with no strategy). Winning the hearts of your team with your purpose is not easy, but it is necessary in order to align your people towards your goals. Get your team together and help them find their passion for your purpose. Do something exciting to align your team towards something big!

The 3rd quarter of 2008 is coming up fast.  Quarterly meetings focusing on key initiatives for sales and marketing are crucial. This review should include what 2nd quarter initiatives were met, still need to be done and hopefully recall those that were exceeded.

Use the Gazelles checklist for your meeting. If you don’t use it during the meeting, at least use it yourself to check off throughout the year.  Remember, these are habits.  They take time to turn them into habits and are easy to break if you don’t make them a habit.

Now, a giant way to increase sales fast is a 5-10 minute daily huddle with sales and marketing together. Marketing learns news from the field and they all learn each other’s priorities, but most importantly the hurdles. Marketing gets excited by seeing what is really going on in the field.  Sales gets excited seeing Marketing finally get the fact that Sales is not like making toast or doing a Google search – a mindless process.

You are three working days away from July 1st. Are you gaining momentum? These tools, used by the best of the best, will help you.