We’re halfway through the first month of the new year – how are your resolutions holding up? It’s easy to slip into your old routine, maybe one less call, or leaving a few minutes early. Unfortunately, doing that for the next eleven months won’t get you to your quota for the year. Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, has the tips you need to keep up your momentum – through January and beyond!

Follow these Five Keys to Top Performance from Brooks and you'll succeed:

1. Make Sure You Have Monthly/Quarterly Goals: Most people have short-term goals, but few people actually have goals that go all the way to December 31st. Do you? If so, then do you have a definite production number for the end of each quarter, and are your monthly revenue goals in alignment with them? If not, then start by identifying those this week.

Next, make sure and write them down and keep them visible in your workstation or, if you’re a manager, in your sales room. Everybody must know what the overall goal is…

2. Bi-Weekly Goal Assessment: Most people who actually set goals skip this important step – you must check in on and reassess your progress at least every two weeks (some say weekly). The problem with most people is that they see they are never going to reach their first or second monthly goal and so they just give up and go back to their old performance.

The Top 20%, on the other hand, are constantly adjusting their strategy, their approach and even their goals to match their performance. You need to do this as well!

3. Planning Your Improvement: What are you going to do each month and each quarter to get better? I’m talking about improving your basic sales skills. What books are you going to read? What sales training courses have you signed up for? What new scripts or techniques are you going to implement each day or week to improve? 80% of sales reps and companies have no plan.

If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Training is crucial and learning and using proven, successful sales techniques is the only way you’ll get better. What is your plan for improvement over the next 12 months?

4. Record Yourself and Commit to Improving: If you’re not aware of what you’re doing wrong (and right), then you’re not going to improve. This remains the single most important thing you can do to improve every month and every quarter.

When was the last time you or your team recorded and listened to your calls?

5. Listen or Read Something Positive Everyday: I do this every single day, and the people and companies I work with do this as well. Let’s face it – after hours or days of getting turned down in sales, you can get a little down. The question is, “What are you doing to pump yourself up every day?”

“We all need to eat every day, and we all need to feed our attitudes as well,” says Brooks. “We all need to be reminded of the positive side of things, and, just like food, you need to feed your attitude every day. What kind of plan do you have to keep your attitude up every day? I have a reading and listening library lined up to keep me motivated and pumped up for the next 12 months – do you? If not, then start building one today!”

Mike Brooks, MrInsideSales.com, is creator and publisher of the “Top 20% Inside Sales Tips” weekly Ezine. If you’re ready to Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone, then sign up to receive your FREE tips now at: www.MrInsideSales.com.

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