With just a few months left until 2014 closes out, some of you may be in a “last quarter” crunch. It’s not unusual to feel the pressure of meeting sales goals, finishing up a project, or achieving certain milestones by the end of the year. As you go into 2014’s home stretch, you can boost your productivity and give yourself a better chance of meeting those goals by following these tips: Eliminate non-productive meetings and other timewasters . Don’t call a meeting when you can accomplish the same results with an email exchange or a short conversation. Every meeting should have a specific agenda, a timeframe, and an intended outcome. Limit attendance to those who can truly contribute. Next, turn your critical attention to some other likely time-killers: Dwelling on social media accounts; wading through email; dealing with technology issues; and coping with paperwork. For each of these, some combination of time management tools and techniques, delegation, and outsourcing can give you more hours every week to devote to the tips that follow. Focus on your strengths . Whatever you do best, that’s what got your business to where it is today—so give these known strengths more time to work their magic. When you direct your keys to success toward the biggest obstacles you face, great things can happen! Reach out to your most profitable customers . Make a point to contact every key customer in the next 60 days. Tell them you appreciate their business and ask for any suggestions on how you can better serve them. Engage employees in common goals . Remind your staff that everything they do must focus on knowing your customers, giving them personalized attention, and satisfying them at every opportunity. Regardless of their individual roles, the efforts of every team member directly impact the business’s success in winning new customers and turning them into loyal customers who generate repeat business. Check out the Sage 50 Year-End Center . Here you’ll find instructions, checklists, and tips to help guide you through your year-end accounting, tax, and financial “housekeeping” activities. What measures do you take to end the year on an uptick? Let us know!
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