Forget Q4, what about ’27 and ’28?

Whether you’ve been selling for 2, 12, or 20 years, you need to plan for the future. But obviously, when you’re in the thick of it, it’s hard to see and think beyond the next few quarters.

While you can’t predict how long you’ll be in your current role, you need to think about where you want to be in a few years.

This means you have to develop a plan for your skill development and map out where you think you’ll want to be next…and next, after that. And again.

YES, stay hyper-focused on hitting your quarterly quotas in 2026, but play the long game too.

Open a page in your notebook or the cloud and write this question:

"Where do I want to be ~18 months from now at the end of December 2027?"

After staring blankly at it for 10 minutes, focus on your skills, not your physical location or company.

What will your core skills look like in a year and a half?

Make a list of the Top 5 skills you want to focus on to get you to where you want to be. Then, add notes on how you’ll work on each skill and what success looks like. Be specific!

"Do something that you are, not just what you love."

That’s a great quote from this TED Talk by career counselor Ashley Stahl. She may help you with ideas for managing your sales career…which will only get harder. (Quotas never go down, right?)

You get that your current gig might end next week, next month…or in five years. Even if anything beyond this quarter feels like an eternity, get over-prepared for everything.