Growth Dynamics Get Down

 

Erin looked at her monthly sales report and did not like what she saw. Despite working harder than she had all year, the numbers told Erin that she could forget about getting her quarterly bonus. It seemed like each quarter turned out the same; one month that Erin thought would carry her to a bonus and two months that fell short. The pattern was frustrating for Erin as she tried to figure a way to break into the top performer group in her office. It seemed like all the wins she posted in the one good month stole the time she needed to prospect for the other two months. Besides, how could anyone be expected to stop the customer service fire drills that popped up all the time? Erin was beginning to feel trapped.

 

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.

 

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?

 

Alice was at her wit's end. After three months of hard work, moving step by step towards the final decision, the sales process was stuck. She had worked the system well but had failed to get either a “Yes” or a “No” while she was in front of the prospect. Now her calls were not being returned by the client. Alice had put too much work into the account to walk away, and she was smart enough to know that the selling isn't over until she says it's over. However, she was uncertain how to proceed if she couldn't find out what was going on behind the scenes at the account.

 

 

Joe teed up a nice little order at one of his smaller accounts.  It wasn't a make or break type of deal, but it created some additional opportunities to expand the product mix and make a lesser account more profitable. In an effort to keep his sale on track, Joe emailed the customer to confirm his appointment for a week later and mentioned that he thought this should be a decision meeting on the product program he was offering. Within hours, Joe's appointment was confirmed, but to his dismay the owner stated that his decision would be made on his timeline and not Joe's. After reading the reply, Joe felt conflicted: should he drive an hour and a half to do nothing more than hear a “think-it-over”, or should he cancel the appointment and tell the prospect to let him know when he was ready to decide?

 

 

 
Symptoms:

Matt hung up the phone after the bad news and couldn't believe that he had been beaten again because of his price. Knowing that he was not the lowest price on the block, he had given the prospect his best consulting expertise up front in an attempt to build his "value proposition", and then tried to save the money discussion for the end so as not to scare them away too early. He even voluntarily offered a 10% discount and some favorable terms in an attempt to win them over. After-all, it did seem like a lot of money they would be spending.