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Podcast: No More Pennies 2022

Jan 24, 2022 6:45:00 AM

 

Penny

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%.

Diagnosis:

If you look at Hunter’s account list you will see accounts of all sizes buying all kinds of products. Some of that business was pennies in value and profit, and yes, some of it was big stuff that made the company happy and his manager temporarily satisfied. Hunter hated to walk away from any opportunity, hell, if they were going to buy why should he not be their salesman. Wasn’t every deal won a good deal? Hunter did not realize he had no priorities as far as what business was best for him, therefore, every piece of business was equal in value or importance in his eyes. It got Hunter to this year’s goal, but that formula will not work moving forward.

Prescription:

Sales growth requires a few critical ingredients: analysis of past performance and then the effort to develop a plan regarding which types of business fit into the time available and the sales goal to be attained. Sure, you could sell lots and lots of small accounts, but in the end the time required does not allow for that strategy. Hunter needs to move his comfort level and commitment up to going after those bigger accounts that bring higher sales numbers in fewer transactions and in less overall time. Not all business will fit your sales plan and being mature enough to walk away from the business that keeps you from achieving your goal is critical. Focus your prospecting on the segment of the market that allows you to hit your goal and live your life the way you want. Selling to everyone does not accommodate that outcome.

Critical Thinking:
Do you have any penny accounts now? What is your best plan to handle transforming them into larger accounts or maybe, letting those accounts go?

The Drill
Final Thought for the Morning:

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Your Top 3 Goals & Tactics for the Week
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THIS WEEK: Please share your Top 3 Goals for this week and the GD tactics you plan to deploy.

Photo by Todd Trapani from Pexels