Symptoms:
Matt is looking at his calendar and doing some planning, knowing that many things he does look too much like random acts of mindless behavior. Looking back on past months, he feels like he was scrambling and playing catch up all the time instead of having that feeling that he had some deliberate control of his actions. He wants to get back that feeling of being on a roll, where it's like running downhill instead of uphill all the time.
It was Thursday at 7 pm and Frieda was sitting on the sidelines of her daughter’s softball game with her head buried in her phone. This championship game had come out of nowhere as the team wasn’t very good but managed to keep winning. Frieda was thrilled for her daughter, but it couldn’t have come at a harder time for Frieda’s work schedule.
Symptoms:
Recently, nothing stung Darren more than when his wife pointed out that he failed yet again at his promised to be home for dinner. And, tonight he knew that he wouldn't make it to dinner again. His two kids were at the ages where they always seemed to be headed from one practice or another, and his wife Jessica was feeling often deserted when she asked Darren for help with all the driving around town. “Work/life balance” meant nothing more than disappointment to Darren as his boss just kept the pressure on by asking for more sales every month.
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?
Bill and Pat were returning from their monthly poker game and while riding back in the car they both agreed they had witnessed a situation that they could apply as a "lesson learned" to their business careers.
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.
Symptoms:
The Purchasing Agent started the sales call with: "So, what do you have for me today?" It struck Jennifer that she was hearing this line far too frequently when she showed up for a sales call with both prospects and current customers in her territory.
Unskilled salespeople are so predictable! They use the "pull" approach, constantly trying to convince and persuade the buyer to buy from them. Of course, the buyers are on to these tactics and are doing their best to "push" the salesperson away. Often, even buyers who are ready to buy will feel trapped and push the salesperson away because they don't want to be sold.
Diane returned from the product demo certain that the features and benefits she shared with her prospect had wowed them. The buyer nodded when Diane asked if the product fit into the product categories they offered to their customer base, and everyone else that sat in on the meeting told her how much they liked what she had presented. She felt as good about this call as she had in a long time, but now six weeks later there was still no purchase order and the prospect had gone radio silent. How did their excitement turn into Diane's frustration?
Symptoms:
The silence was deafening. Both Valerie and her prospect sat there looking at each other waiting for the other person to speak first. Valerie had finished her presentation of the new products' features and benefits and was expecting the Director of Operations to give her some indication of how well she had done.
