Symptoms:
Cliff was surprised. He assured the customer how things would work out and, when the customer disagreed, he told him again. And again, and again. Then his manager got an angry phone call asking Cliff not be sent back into the account because the client didn't see any way for him to handle their account to their satisfaction. Cliff was indignant. Didn't the client understand that Cliff was the expert and knew best what the client really wanted and needed?
Good Monday morning. This is Sarah Waple, partner at Growth Dynamics, and I am here with a very special holiday Monday Morning Manager. I know it's Thanksgiving week, and we are all supposed to sit around and figure out what we're thankful for. I am 100% encouraging you to do that.
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.
Marcus found himself sitting in his car, in his driveway but still felt lost. For some reason, this feeling was a more regular occurrence for Marcus at the end each day. It was as if the one or two things he was supposed to remember to accomplish would come to him if he just didn't turn off the engine and open his car door.
Forget desperate housewives. What really scares buyers are desperate salespeople. How many times have you run into a salesperson that is not in sales for the love of the game, or to be the best at what they do? They act as if they need a sale to pay their bookie by Friday! Buyers have come to loathe this fast talking, pushy pitchman stereotype.
Here it was again. Dracula had no idea where things went sideways. He was sitting on a zoom meeting, black boxes abound, no one talking and not sure how to break this stalemate. The client requested the meeting, requested the zoom format, and promised up and down they would be on, with video, and ready to go. This client was notorious for turning into a ghost on calls. Dracula knew this and it is honestly how he came to be the account manager with this client because the old account manager had enough.
Symptoms:
Most of Mike's potential accounts seem to be unable to make a decision on their own regarding his service. They claim they have responsibility, listen to his presentation, but then let him know there are "others" who have final decision-making authority. He is frustrated by this situation and usually just makes his presentation, anyway, hoping for the best. As a result, his closing ratio is poor and his sales cycle is exceedingly long.
Andrea hated the pressure of selling. After three years in the business of selling payroll services Andrea thought she would be past this stage of professional development. Day after day, call after call it was still there; that pressure to convince someone that you are the perfect fit for their company when the market offered so many options. Andrea had to admit that at times she felt like she was lying to get a sale.
Carrie looked at her calendar and started to worry. She was near the end of the 3rd quarter and at only 60% of her annual sales goal. As she reviewed what she had done over the first nine months, she saw lots of cold calls and follow-ups on the leads she had generated at the two trade shows her company targeted.
Donna hated feeling like this. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t figure out what she was supposed to do when she got back to the office after being out for a couple of days making calls on new prospects and checking up on some existing clients. Her to do list had a bunch of things scribbled on it, but Donna didn’t know which items were most important or when the people she had been talking to were expecting her to follow up.
