Situation:
Dewey is a prolific prospector. Like the sun rising in the east, you can count on Dewey making more sales calls than anyone on his employer’s sales team. No matter where he goes, Dewey will find someone to talk to about his products and services. If he stops for lunch his neck is craned to overhear a conversation at an adjacent table that might be someone in his industry. Dewey knows and trusts that the top of the funnel is the only thing he can control as he strives to hit his goals each quarter. Hustling up the next prospect got Dewey out on the road early and kept him out late. At the end of every quarter though he finds himself wondering why he is exhausted and letting things slip through the cracks of his usual strong follow up. There never seems to be enough time to make things happen with all the people he had initial conversations within his relentless prospecting efforts.
Diagnosis:
In business development you die if you do not prospect, and Dewey will not ever let that happen. His continuous hunting is a great attribute, but in his efforts to fill his funnel continuously Dewey also tried to turn everyone he met into a win. Like many people that do not take the time to figure out there are good opportunities and bad opportunities Dewey pursues all “prospects” like they are his next big customer. With all the new conversations requiring follow up, Dewey lives in a constant state of being inundated with follow up commitments he can never keep. Dewey needs to refine what makes any opportunity qualified for his continued attention and follow through.
Prescription:
There are several important ways to address the situation Dewey is dealing with daily. First, you must know your numbers to know how much prospecting you need to do to hit your goals. In knowing that success recipe you will realize how many people are just not going to be worth the effort to chase. As his prospecting commitment shows, Dewey must understand that getting to NO sooner rather than later will bring him more success in the long run. Trying to lug all those slim to no chance opportunities around is a sure way to burn out instead of cash out. Dewey’s energy is admirable, but his sales process understanding is lacking and causing him the aggravation he feels about not being able to service his accounts and pursue all the people he prospected.
Critical Thinking:
Have you sat down and done your success recipe? Do you know what you need to do to hit your numbers and, even further, how much it costs you to wake up every day?
The Drill
"Every action that we take exacts a cost and produces consequences. Nothing can be undone.”
― Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
Your Top 3 Goals & Tactics for the Week
LAST WEEK: Update us on how things went last week with your stated Goals and GD Tactics.
THIS WEEK: Please share your Top 3 Goals for this week and the GD tactics you plan to deploy
