Growth Dynamics Get Down

Monday Morning Manager

Symptoms:

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. So there Marcus sat. Worried. Confused. Afraid. What if the missing item that never made it to his To Do List cost him a big opportunity, or even worse, cost him his job? Being so busy was a good thing in most cases, but Marcus also found himself feeling overwhelmed and out of control when his memory failed him in moments like this. And even a quick check of his To Do List offered no help.

Monday Morning Manager

Symptoms:

The last quarter’s sales numbers were posted online for the entire sales team to review. There was no hiding once the sales manager sent the email out to his entire team, and Darren hated seeing his name in the lowest 25%. What made him more confused was that he had been with the company for 14 years, yet three of the top five producers had less than half of his experience.

Symptoms:

John's territory involves working with many prospects that ask for samples, demonstrations, proposals, references and all the usual items that buyers want from a vendor. Trying to appear accommodating and professional, John finds himself spending hours of time preparing, writing, setting up or sending all this information that he believes will help "convince" his prospect. Everyone appears very impressed with what John shows them, except it seems like they don't act on all that "interest" often enough. Although his results are okay, he cannot understand why all this activity is not leading to more orders.

Symptoms:

Sally and Sanjay were comparing notes after a very busy week out selling. Sally was exhausted, but at the same time pretty satisfied that her week was highly productive and would produce some nice revenue for the company and herself. Sanjay, on the other hand, was exhausted and uncertain about what actually happened to him and what success he created. As they compared “war stories” Sally could detail where she was with each prospect she engaged and exactly what the next steps were in the decision process. She could validate she was in control and her future was certain to be positive. Stunned to hear such detail and certainty, Sanjay couldn't comprehend how Sally managed to systematically get through the minefield his sales approach created. “You mean you don’t have all these problems I keep running into?” Sanjay queried. Sally looked at him and replied, “You only have to deal with them if you do not have a process to keep you out of them.”