Growth Dynamics Get Down

2020 vision, a term that meant something very positive as I was growing up, conjures up an entirely different thought as this year concludes. Normally 2020 vision means your eyesight is excellent with no need for corrective lenses or surgical procedures to see the world around you as it actually exists. After all that happened, I offer that 2020 vision is what we all should have developed as we endured the challenges of this year. All of us have been forced to keep our spirits high, our motivation positive and our commitment strong as the Covid 19 pandemic threw a fast ball, a curve ball, and a knuckleball at us this past March. 2020 gave us all a chance to see how tough you had to be when you had to be tough.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Grace knows what the end of the year means to a successful sales professional; get busy doing account reviews. After 10 years in the business Grace was willing to have these conversations, but after turning in the write ups to her sales manager she was not sure what was accomplished. The customers sounded like a tape-recorded message every year; we like your service, the products have been fine, no big plans for any changes, keep doing what you are doing. If Grace had filled out the reports before she spoke to customers, she probably would have gotten the same information. This year with all the changes caused by the pandemic, Grace figured that this tired process needed to change as well but had no idea of what those changes should be.

Sasha looked at the calendar and realized we are about 8 weeks away from the end of 2020 and what a year it has been. She knew 2020 has been a year like no other. A global pandemic, toilet paper shortages, closed business and canceled face to face meetings come to the top of her mind.

This change in life and business made her feel uncomfortable as she thrived at in person meetings, uncertain of what the future would hold her, her friends and clients and introduced her to a new levels of stress and anxiety. She wondered what 2021 would bring and if a return to normal could be expected.

Symptoms:

Kathy is frustrated after a recent sales call. She believes if she was brave enough to ask about certain things, the call would have gone her way. It seems like she is constantly on defense and that the client is intentionally "pushing her buttons". Despite her training, it felt like she was always reacting to every little thing that was said rather than thinking about what was really going on. How can she find a way to consistently act like a professional on the call?