Wow! Thank you for a great turnout at our Annual Winter Sales Conference. DVDs of this informative event are available right now. If you missed it, or if you want all our info on using social media, branding with expertise and selling smarter in a harder environment available to you every day, get yours by clicking here.

Last week, we began our discussion about making your resolutions a reality this year. I reminded you that in work and in life, it’s all about what you accomplish—not what you say you’re going to do. We offered three ideas to give you a head start (and a fast start) on your success this year.

• First, write down exactly what you want to accomplish and why it’s important to you.
• Second, don’t shy away from feeling uncomfortable. Push yourself! Plan on setbacks and disappointments, and meet them head on.
• Third, tell people what you want to accomplish. Share your goals. There’s nothing better than accountability to keep you on track.

Now, here are three more tips to help you make your resolutions a reality:

1. Assess your progress regularly. In our coaching model, we do that monthly. At a minimum, you should assess your progress quarterly and then make changes and adjustments as needed. We believe in planning, execution, assessment, adjustments and then more execution.
2. Get feedback from others. With the Internet and social media so much a part of our day-to-day, we now live in a world of continuous feedback. When I want to go to a new restaurant, the first thing I do is check out what others are saying about it on urbanspoon.com. Today, most people are Googling a place to see it before ever walking in the door. More and more companies and their products are being reviewed in a large-scale way on the Internet. Embrace this phenomenon. Also, ask, and you shall receive. You should regularly Google yourself and your company to see what people are saying about you. But remember, there still is no substitute for a good, old-fashioned meeting so you can directly ask your clients, “How are we doing?” Make sure they tell you the good and the bad, and make sure you listen carefully and objectively. (Don’t be defensive!)
3. Measure your success. Today, with the business climate the way it is, measuring success in revenues and profits is not enough. You also should measure your success in less tangible ways such as through your activities. Assess your success in such things as the number of new relationships you have formed and nurtured over the past 12 months; the number of speaking opportunities you have had as an industry expert; the number of times you have been quoted by media, business and industry sources. Evaluate the number of followers you have on Facebook or the number of “retweets” you inspire on Twitter. Know where you land on a Google search. Page four is not good enough! Aim instead to be in the top four on the first page of search results. Measure everything.

Keep making your resolutions a reality. Review last week’s Point for our first three ideas to get you there. Then, assess your plan regularly and use the proven model of planning, execution, assessment, adjustments and more execution. Make sure you are getting regular feedback from your clients (and the larger marketplace via social media). Don’t discount the value of a good, old-fashioned face-to-face meeting with your clients. Finally, measure your success beyond revenue and profits. Include activity goals. Maybe this won’t be a blowout year in regard to revenues, but you can succeed in big ways by developing new relationships and defining yourself as an expert in the markets you serve.