Growth Dynamics Get Down

After a busy Monday morning, Corinne was getting hungry and decided to head to lunch. She and a couple of the other salespeople sat down at the diner close to the office and talked shop over their meals. When the check arrived, Corinne opened her wallet and discovered she was a few dollars short of her part of the tab and tip. Someone covered for her, but Corinne started thinking about how often she felt like her commission earnings left her struggling to pay her bills. On her first call that afternoon, the prospect sensed that Corinne was a bit desperate and took advantage of the situation by demanding a deep discount on the order he was dangling in front of her. All Corinne could think about was her experience at lunch a couple of hours earlier, so despite the fact that this sale wasn’t going to pay her very much, she caved in and accepted the deal. Getting a little commission sure beats getting no commission, she thought, and so throughout the rest of week, Corinne found herself accepting weak deals from anyone she tried to sell to. She knew her sales manager wanted better margins, but she was so afraid of not making rent that his message had no impact on her. 

Yes, you read that right. Ditch the To Do List in 2021. Seriously, those anchors of personal productivity are more trouble than they are worth. The intentions are all good, and the trusty old To Do List is better than nothing, but honestly, they are not worth the hundreds of tablets you have them written on. Do yourself a favor and stop creating To Do Lists.

We know you know the end of 2020 is near. Just a few short weeks to close deals, win or lose, and set yourself up for a great start in 2021. Yet, what if you need some help with the steps to move those wavering decision makers and string-along accounts to a close?

Pierre’s first year in sales flew by faster than he realized. When he started in mid-January Pierre learned that sales success required more than a big smile, a firm handshake and a glossy brochure. What Pierre did not learn is what else he needed to learn to be consistently producing at the rate of the high performers in his company. What grew even more aggravating for Pierre was that now 10 years into his career he still had not learned what he needed to do to become a sales leader. Yes, Pierre was selling more, but no, Pierre still felt like there was lots more he could be selling with all his experience.

New Program with a Cyber Week Special

Symptoms:
Whitney sat stunned after a phone call from one of her top three accounts saying they were asking her to provide new submittals for the insurance policies covering their business. The request took Whitney by surprise despite the fact that the pandemic had lots of clients inquiring about coverage changes and possible premium reductions. The surprise was because this client was someone she had taken excellent care of, gone above and beyond for numerous times, visited personally at least twice a year and socialized with as families. Whitney asked herself, “doesn’t anyone care about the relationship anymore? Is every client just shopping for a lower premium despite all I have done for them?” Whitney was angry, upset and questioning everything she thought about what made business relationships work.

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.

What’s the best way to ensure that your organization is supported and engaged? The answer is simple: you just need to remember PEOPLE.

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.