Most of us build an annual plan in December, full of optimism and clear targets. Then we put our heads down and run. But how many of us stop midyear to ask whether we’re actually on track?
Halftime exists for a reason. The best teams use it to look at the scoreboard, assess what’s working and what’s not, and make any adjustments before it’s too late. With six months left in 2026, now is your halftime. Here’s how to use it.
Review Your Scorecard
Start with the numbers that matter: revenue, margin, customer retention, and sales pipeline. Not just “are we up or down?” But where and why? Maybe revenue looks fine but margin is slipping because too much of your business is commodity work competing on price. Maybe retention is strong but your pipeline is thin. You can’t fix what you haven’t measured.
Double Down on What’s Working
Once you see the scoreboard clearly, find your bright spots and lean into them. If a particular product category, customer type or sales approach is outperforming, give it more of your time and resources.
For many distributors, the surprise winner is recurring work like forms and labels. These products reorder predictably, often for years, and they’re some of the stickiest, most profitable revenue in your book. If that’s working for you, press the advantage. If you haven’t tried them yet, maybe it’s time to add them into your game plan.
Eliminate the Distractions
Just as important: Name the things that aren’t moving the needle. We all have accounts, activities and pursuits that consume time without producing results. The second half is too short to keep chasing them. Cutting low-value distractions frees up capacity for the opportunities that actually pay.
Adjust to Market Realities
The plan you wrote in December didn’t account for everything the year has thrown at you since then. That’s fine. Smart leaders adjust targets based on what’s real now, not what they assumed six months ago. A realistic target you can rally your team around beats an aspirational one everybody quietly knows is out of reach.
Build a Focused 90-Day Plan
Finally, turn your insights into action. Don’t try to do everything. Pick the handful of moves most likely to drive results between now and year-end, and build a focused 90-day plan around them. Maybe that means deepening your top 10 accounts. Maybe it means finally introducing forms and labels into the manufacturing and healthcare accounts already buying other products from you. Whatever it is, make it specific and measurable. Here’s the question worth sitting with: If January 1, 2027 arrived tomorrow, would you be satisfied with your current trajectory? If the answer is yes, keep running. If it’s not, you still have time to change the outcome. But only if you act now.
Bob Saunders is VP Sales of Wise, Alpharetta, GA. Wise manufacturers industrial/prime labels and tags, traditional forms and digitally printed products and services for resale only. To learn more about prescription pads, visit our prescription pads FAQ or email Bob at [email protected].
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