While everyone is looking back on 2009 and reminiscing about what has happened in the past year, I thought that it has limited relevance for 2010. From a business perspective, most companies would love to forget 2009 as a time of restructuring, downsizing, re-strategizing or worse yet closing down. Rather, I - being a serial optimist - would like to look forward and present a few proactive thoughts about things that readers can do to constructively influence the performance and results for next year.

Critical to sales success in 2010 will be the need to drive new business growth and account retention. Further, ensuring that salespeople achieve or exceed their targets is also paramount to climbing back to the performance levels that preceded last year's recession. Having said this, sales management is usually not about personally delivering sales, but rather creating the environment that allows salespeople to be successful. How then do we do this for 2010?

First, you have to step back from the minutia, issues, customers etc. and look at the bigger picture. If you could fast forward to December 31, 2010, what would that look like? Creating that vision for yourself and your staff is essential for setting goals and objectives that are realistic and achievable. Further, having the end point sets expectations and allows people to strive and celebrate when they are reached.

Some additional elements of managing for success in 2010 are:

• Preparation - For the next few weeks/months we will still be somewhat in retrenched mode (although with the New Year will hopefully come new budgets and decisions to spend) with some time available. Use this time to prepare and position your sales force for success. What do you need to do to remove roadblocks to sales execution or provide the tools for salespeople to sell more effectively? This might include information, resources, templates or training. Having a competent sales force has been proven to be the greatest factor in developing sustained competitive advantage.
• Focus - Salespeople by their nature are positive and well meaning when performing their work. They have to be to deal with the rejection and frustration that often comes with performing in the sales environment. However, if their activities are unfocused and scattered, they will not achieve optimal performance and their level of frustration will escalate. Assist them in creating focus both through better direction on where to spend their time and effort and through sales incentives and compensation that reward them for delivering on the things that you value and want to pay them for delivering.
• Channel Strategies - Clarity in articulating which sales channels and activities are strategic to delivering the sales vision for 2010 will assist salespeople to behave and execute actions that will increase expected outcomes and elevate close ratios.
• Planning - Most customers have fewer people who can interact with salespeople on a regular basis, which means, unless it is a large/major account with dedicated resources, the amount of time and influence that your salespeople have with the customer is less than it was in the past. This means that with limited opportunity, their information content, presentation and solution to meet the needs of the customer better be spot on, or you will be in trouble. Therefore, more time on planning, assessment of the customer and their situation as well as quality in the alternatives, selection of the preferred alternative to offer the customer and how and what is presented will determine your success.
• People - Getting performance and successful execution from its people is the only way for an organization to achieve targets and expectations. What do your people need to be successful in 2010? They need clear direction, performance management, proper incentives and rewards, coaching and mentoring to improve delivery and they need good management.

While all of this might sound like common sense and the "motherhood and apple pie" of management, we rarely allow ourselves to sit down and address these needs in a way that not only aligns with the business but translates into changes in behavior and sales activity. Instead, we prefer to be busy rather than effective.

If you believe in it are taking a few moments to set some resolutions for the 2010 New Year as I am, resolve to be a better manager and leader through thoughtful realization of the things that are within your control.

All the best for a happy and prosperous New Year.