I’m a sailor. I sold my last boat many years ago and now rent (charter) a boat to cruise. One of the charter companies we use sends a newsletter monthly. The last one was called “Someday, I’ll go sailing”. For years after selling the boat we talked about going to the Caribbean for a week long bareboat charter. One day, I said to my sailing buddy “if we don’t plan this now, we’ll never do it”. Three days later we had flight reservations and a boat reserved in British Virgin Islands. It got me thinking about other projects, tasks and contacts I keep putting off. I think it is a great metaphor.

Someday, I will write that book. Someday, I will call that lead I got weeks ago. Someday, I will reach out to that old customer. You get the idea. There are seven days in the week and not one of them is called Someday.

As professional salespeople we are all busy. We make TO DO lists, but there is often one or two items that go from list to list and we never quite find the time to address them. Business is booming almost everywhere. There are plenty of excuses, but few good reasons.

One of the tricks I’ve developed over the years is that I try not to touch an item, task, phone call no more than once. If I pick up that musty old file, I must do something with it. Resolve it, or dump it. Sometimes, dumping it is the right choice. Under no circumstances may I put it back on the pile, or back on the TO DO list hope to do something with it later.

Think about your TO DO list(s). You put those items on your list for a good reason. Maybe it was an opportunity. Maybe, it was a good deed you wanted to do. Whatever, it was a good idea at the time and you’ve managed to avoid it. Make a mid-year resolution to get that off your list. In many cases, once you start it, you are surprised how little time it takes to complete it. Even better, you feel a sense of accomplishment when you finally cross it off your list. Today is Someday.

Sales quote: “When the promise is clear, the price gets easy.”