Growth Dynamics Get Down

This week Growth Dynamics is taking a break from our usual Monday Morning Manager format and just sending a message of thanks to all of you.

Symptoms:

The sales quotas for the new year came down from the C-Suite. Hunter took one look at the email and felt sick to his stomach. This past year Hunter felt like he did as much as he could do without giving up all his personal time to his job. What more could he do to hit the 18% increase that was now expected by the bosses? Big accounts, whales, mom and pops, and all those accounts that no one else wanted helped make up his production this year. Hunter struggled to believe he could do 10% more let along a full 18%.

Symptoms:

Roger could not believe what he just heard. The conversation with one of his most challenging prospects ground to a halt after Roger had asked if the deal just did not make sense. Despite the fact that this was one opportunity that could significantly impact his bonus, Roger just could not think of one more thing to say. So, he just stood there and contemplated how he swung and missed again. “I guess I have to accept your program, so let’s write this up and get that first order in here next week.” What just happened, did someone else walk into the office or did a dream just pop into his subconscious mind? The deal just closed, and Roger was not talking when it happened.

Grace knows what the end of the year means to a successful sales professional; get busy doing account reviews. After 10 years in the business Grace was willing to have these conversations, but after turning in the write ups to her sales manager she was not sure what was accomplished. The customers sounded like a tape-recorded message every year; we like your service, the products have been fine, no big plans for any changes, keep doing what you are doing. If Grace had filled out the reports before she spoke to customers, she probably would have gotten the same information. This year with all the changes caused by the pandemic, Grace figured that this tired process needed to change as well but had no idea of what those changes should be.

Sasha looked at the calendar and realized we are about 8 weeks away from the end of 2020 and what a year it has been. She knew 2020 has been a year like no other. A global pandemic, toilet paper shortages, closed business and canceled face to face meetings come to the top of her mind.

This change in life and business made her feel uncomfortable as she thrived at in person meetings, uncertain of what the future would hold her, her friends and clients and introduced her to a new levels of stress and anxiety. She wondered what 2021 would bring and if a return to normal could be expected.

Symptoms:

Kathy is frustrated after a recent sales call. She believes if she was brave enough to ask about certain things, the call would have gone her way. It seems like she is constantly on defense and that the client is intentionally "pushing her buttons". Despite her training, it felt like she was always reacting to every little thing that was said rather than thinking about what was really going on. How can she find a way to consistently act like a professional on the call?

Symptoms:
Carl was feeling frustrated and hurt. One of his best accounts was showing a definite decline in volume that was way beyond what could be explained by the market or the economy, and he could not imagine that he had done anything to create the change. Besides, the owner of the client company always said how much he enjoyed having Carl as a friend, someone he could count on to take care of him when he needed something taken care of, or some "special" pricing. Carl felt good about this relationship and felt he could rely on it to keep him as the preferred supplier no matter what. This situation made understanding why the sales were heading south all the more frustrating. 

Symptoms:

Chipper’s favorite client, Sonya, called and needed some help. It was a problem, with a tight timeline and restricted budget. Chipper spoke to the client, gathered all the information, and told her he would be right back to her with information. When Chipper returned the call, he had bad news for his most favorite client. He could not do anything to meet any of the timelines or budget. White the most favorite client was disappointed, she understood. This project was a hard one to work through. As Sonya was saying goodbye, ready to go to work finding her needle in a haystack Chipper stopped her. He had the name of a competitor that had everything she needed, and they were waiting for her call. Sonya could not believe Chipper was not only sending her to a competitor, but he took the steps to call this competitor before he called her back with bad news.

Symptoms:

Tanya was thrilled to open her calendar for the week and see SO MANY follow-up calls she had to make. She built out her pipeline, made initial contact, held conversations, and was asked to follow-up in a few weeks by most of her prospects. Well, that time was here, and she was ready to go to work on collecting next steps and decisions. Yet, as she made her follow-up calls, she could not get past the gate keepers or talk to anyone live. Her frustration was growing with each and every call. She was banking on at least a few of these follow-up calls to turn into closeable deals. She needed closes to hit her yearly goals. What could have gone wrong when the conversations were so promising?