I am helping you have your BEST year ever. Slowly giving you the elements you need to move past your competition, past your boss’s quota, even past your kids.

So far, I’ve given you five elements of how to have your BEST year ever:

1. Define yourself.

2. Develop a sales mission statement.

3. Have a deep belief in the three critical areas of selling.

4. Develop greater pride in accomplishment.

5. You are what you eat.

Here are the next three elements to master:

6. Get rid of one time-waster. I’m asked one question more than any other: “Jeffrey, how can I better manage my time?” Let me give you the answer to that question: You already know what to do with your time — what the hell are you asking me for?

You don’t need a course in time management (which, by the way, I consider the biggest waste of time). What you need is a lesson in how not to procrastinate. It’s not a matter of managing your time; it’s a matter of doing what you know you have to do. Here’s a time management tip: Get rid of one thing that is currently wasting your time. The example I most often give is watching television news programs or dramas. If you spent as much time studying how to get your voice mail messages returned as you did watching some stupid TV show, in a year you could be a world-class expert giving seminars for high fees on how to get your voice mail returned.

7. Read a book every two months. My friend Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says, “The only differences between where you are now and where you will be this time next year are the people you meet and the books you read.” If you’re going to read a book, make it a book that you can learn from. I have a list of suggested reading on my Web site. Go there and find it.

8. Get your pipeline full. Most salespeople wait until the end of the month, in panic mode, to try to close THE ONE DEAL they absolutely need in order to make their goal or quota. My question to you is: Why are you only focusing on one deal — why don’t you have 20 deals you’re working on so that three or four of them pop in? I’ll give you two guarantees: 1. The one deal you’re praying for will never come about. 2. If you have 20 deals you’re working on, three or four will always come about. Why would you put yourself in a losing position? With just a little bit more hard work, you can have your best year ever. The secret lies in the pipeline. If it takes 90 days for you to complete a sale, you need 10 sales a month, and it takes you four appointments to make one sale, then 40 appointments a month are the minimum. Sixty appointments a month will guarantee your numbers. Eighty appointments a month will blow your numbers away. And if it takes you four calls to make one appointment, you need to make 320 calls to get those 80 appointments.

Some of you are thinking these numbers are unrealistic. There’s a reason for that: You’re a small thinker. Smart salespeople figure out a way to get their company to hire sales-support people. Or in many cases, they hire them themselves. If you’re going to make a lot of money, the first rule is: You can’t keep all of it. The government teaches you that. The simple truth is, if you’re not closing enough deals, it’s because you don’t have enough deals pending. Fill your pipeline, and you’ll fill your wallet.

Now you have eight of the 20.5 elements. I know it’s progressing slower than you want, but hey, it’s about having your BEST year ever, and I want to be certain you have all the information possible to make that happen. The ENTIRE article will be available on my Web site AFTER the last part has run.

Return next week for part four of how to have your BEST year ever.

In the meantime, I’d love to know what you are doing to have your best year ever. Send an e-mail to bestyear@gitomer.com and all ideas will be posted on my site.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.