Symptoms:
Carl was feeling frustrated and hurt. One of his best accounts was showing a definite decline in volume that was way beyond what could be explained by the market or the economy, and he could not imagine that he had done anything to create the change.
Bill and Pat were returning from their monthly poker game and while riding back in the car they both agreed they had witnessed a situation that they could apply as a "lesson learned" to their business careers.
Hey, welcome back. Here's another Friday Fast Tip from Growth Dynamics. I'm Charlie Hauck, President, CEO, and founder of the business. I love the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas with all the people out there in the world trying to make a living in the greatest profession of all, business development.
Jackson felt that lump in his throat and just wanted to scream. Big Shot Bob of ABC Engineering did it again; he promised Jackson he would keep his appointment this time after three cancellations or no shows, but his admin was apologizing for Bob not being available once again. Because ABC was one of the biggest firms in the metropolitan area, Jackson just could not bring himself to share his anger at being stood up once again.
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.
I want to talk about a little sales strategy here and it's something that over the 30 plus years that I've been in this business, is one of the things that sort of annoys me more than anything else that I hear business development people doing out there. They do what I call "drive-by disqualify". They decide that it's not worth it to make that call, to pull into that driveway, to knock on the door, to go ask someone to have a business conversation.
Elizabeth had just gotten the call every sales person hopes for each day. A target account in her territory reached out and asked that she come right away to help them with a big problem. Knowing her technical expertise could be very valuable in this situation, Elizabeth felt sure that winning the project was just a matter of not making a fatal mistake. Her competitive fires were stoked and her confidence at an all-time high as she made the appointment to be there three days later. Despite the repeated requests for her to drop everything else she had going, Elizabeth held firm and kept the date she asked for at the outset of the conversation. She had seen this movie before so this time she was determined to keep her emotions under control and the prospect on a leash instead of rushing head long into another disappointment.
Mary was on one of her first sales calls as a new rep and the prospect, with his first question, invited her straight onto the Buyers Bus: "Tell me about your company and what you do". As is typical, she proceeded to talk about the long and successful history of her company, then described the numerous accounts they had helped, and then went for a strong finish by stating how confident she was that her extensive line of products would find a good fit somewhere within the prospects business needs.
While scrolling on Instragram this morning (you can follow Growth Dynamics) I cam across a story that included the information in the headline and a little bit more. My mind was somewhat blown. Was yours as you read it?
My initial response was to start thinking about ALL I should get done between now and the end of the year. I started to factor in all of the days off my kids have, the vacation days I have, the vacation days and travel days Charlie has and a few other times I know Growth Dynamics won't be working. I immediately became overwhelmed with what I want to accomplish for GD and myself. Truth be told, since the start of covid and all of the changes that have happened with that, I can get overwhelmed easier than before covid times. When I get overwhelmed, my productivity drops.
Mark is looking at his schedule and realizing the July 4th holiday is just days away. Oh, Oh! Is the quarter really almost over? And the year is half over too. The sales reports are bound to follow, and he is determined not to let his performance slip away. Mark has decided it's time to review and get his game plan back on track.
