Do you have a strategy for growing your business next year? I’m sorry to say that you are already behind the curve if you don’t have something in place today. Don’t fret, you can still get on track and not miss a beat, but you need to act with urgency.

Take a break from your day-to-day activities and completely unplug from your business. That’s right—I said it—take a break. For people like me, that’s extremely challenging, as I thrive in the day-to-day chaos that surrounds me.

I’m thinking we might be cut from the same cloth. You’re thinking, What about my clients? What about a sale I might not make?

Calm down. Delegate those duties to a colleague. You can do a swap to cover for each other when one of you needs to unplug. Good—I’m glad I could solve that dilemma.

Now onto business. Where’s your business plan and what does it say? You can literally keep it to a single page, which is many times more powerful and beneficial than PowerPoint decks. Designate how much of your mix will be focused on groups, both in revenues and in time.

Write down where you expect that business to come from. You can choose any businesses, groups or events you are associated with—but be sure to write them down.

Then jot down how you will approach these prospects. Will you use direct mail, email or visit individually with stakeholders? For most of you, it will be face-to-face meetings, so your next step is to pick up that phone and start dialing. All you are selling at this point is a 15-minute meeting to discuss an “idea” that group “A” might be interested in.

You might think I’m oversimplifying things here, but these little nudges get me back on track when I inevitably veer off. Next, come up with an angle for that potential group leader/Pied Piper you now have a meeting with. This process will invariably lead to increased sales that will continue to climb.

Feeling that urge? Shoot me an email and let me know if it worked for you!