There are a lot of role models for sales professionals but most people don’t put Kris Kringle on that list. It’s too bad, since he’s nailed so many of the fundamentals. With the holiday season officially upon us, let’s take a look at what Santa can teach you about sales.

Make A List, Check It Twice

Santa spends 364 days every year planning, which allows him to visit millions of kids in one night. Granted, he’s got a lot of accounts to service, but it should only take you a half-hour of planning each day to increase your output by 10% – 20%.

Writing a plan, whether it’s a call list or simply blocking your day, is something many sales professionals neglect but it’s a common practice among top performers.

Are Your Clients Naughty or Nice?

You won’t make any sales by sending a lump of coal to anyone who didn’t call you back but giving your loyal clients something to show your appreciation is always a good idea. An email to say ‘Happy Holidays’ is a good place to start and something thoughtful for your biggest clients is standard operating procedure.

It’s also worth picking up the phone, since it takes a real Grinch to turn down a ‘Happy Holidays’ call, even if it is from a salesperson.

He Sees You While You’re Selling

Santa must have one heck of an analytics package if he can see us when we’re sleeping, know when we’re awake and still do something useful with that data. You’ll never have that much data to work with but you should be tracking as much as you can about your daily efforts.

Your managers probably already have analytics at their disposal, so take your cues from St. Nick and embrace big data.