Even if you haven't done everything the "right" way, analyze every aspect of your business for this past year to make 2014 the best ever.
"Santa Claus" with Christmas toys on a sled drawn by white turkeys, Three Oaks, Michigan, c.1909. Library of Congress.

It’s December 26^th, the day after Christmas, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But you are not shopping, you are working, and the cube farm at your radio or television station looks like a pretty lonely place. You have a total of five working days left in 2013; how do you maximize those days in the face of certain seasonal realities?

Many of your peers have shut it down for the year, and, what is worse for you, so have your clients. So what do you do when it seems as if there is nothing to do?

Get busy. That’s right, get busy. Now is a great opportunity to take a hard look at 2013 and strategize how to make 2014 better. Since it is quiet and slower than normal due to holiday vacations, use this time positively by seriously reviewing your performance during the past year and then by creating a plan to make 2014 your best year ever.

Here are some tips on how to make the last five business days a precursor to incredible productivity and commissions in 2014:

1. Examine your 2013 activities, actions, and outcomes by asking yourself the following three questions and then generating honest responses.

• Start this process off positively. What went well in 2013? What do you feel were your successes during the year? In fact, don't just ask yourself this one time; keep asking yourself this question until you list ALL the things you believe positively impacted your performance.
• Follow this question with what did not go as you had planned. Where did things fall short and you did not deliver as envisioned? Again make a list.
• Finally, reflect on what did or did not happen that needs to happen THIS year to make 2014 the best year in your career. Remember, all three questions are best served with a LIST of honest feedback from you. If you are not truthful, you are only hurting yourself.
• Now, you have your lists. Prioritize them by the items that you believe will be most impactful.

2. The second area for you to review is your existing book of business.

• Use an industry-specific CRM system such as Efficio, and strategic account list management based on the Pareto principle to help you track and analyze account revenues so it is at your fingertips. You will quickly understand your key accounts where the majority of your revenues and commissions are coming from. This strategic account by account approach allows you to begin to create a strategic development plan for each account and help you minimize attrition.
• When was the last time you updated your customers’ needs analyses and/or brainstormed unique and creative solutions that your station can deliver? Growing these key accounts faster than any projected market growth is Job One for you to be successful next year.

3. Finally, look at all the new business you generated during the past year.

• Did new business cover the attrition you experienced during the year? Again use your CRM to analyze what happened with each prospect on your account list.
• Do you have a very clear picture of the type of viewer or listener your station delivers and what type of client can benefit the most from that listener/viewer fit? Fully understanding who watches or listens to your station will allow you to filter prospects, cut out wasted time and effort on your part, and will enable you to maximize actions and activities that lead you to new revenues.

This last week of December can be a slow and unproductive week if you let it, or it can be one of the most productive and beneficial weeks of your year. Nothing will make you feel more confident and calm than knowing that you have done the heavy lifting of a thorough business analysis, and that you have a plan to move forward that you can execute.

Someone once suggested that the more you prepare, the luckier you get. Make 2014 your best year ever.

By Chris Crawford, General Sales Manager, Efficio Solutions