By now you know that I am a bit #random but stay with me it will make sense in a moment. Over the years I have been part of many sales organizations with many sales managers and the one thing that they all were concerned about was how we were performing against goal. It makes sense. If management is measuring their success against how well the sales team hits the sales targets, then absolutely....show me the money. But what is the psychological effect on the reps?
Well until the reps achieve "enlightenment" (understand the game...take the red pill...whatever you want to call it) this constant state of chasing creates the condition commission breath. You will not find Commission Breath on WebMD so please do not waste your time looking for it there. But you do know it exists. It is the single most offensive form of chronic halitosis and it seems to only plague sales people. This condition prevents many from connecting with or selling to prospects. The following tips will help to prevent it from forming.
#1 Your Pipeline Management Game is how you manage that centrifugal force induced motion sickness aka the hamster wheel/roller coaster. Every month you have a new goal and you "start from $0". Or thats the way it seems. But that is not the truth. Everything you do determines what you will get. Translation, keep chopping wood (working). Don't stop looking to help customers. You know your numbers (how many customers you need to speak with, your average deal size, how many deals you need inked in a month) keep putting in that work.
#2 Newton's First Law of Physics applies to you! Most of us got into sales because we had no interest in fusion, fission, splitting atoms etc. But there are basic truths in Physics that apply to your chosen profession. And knowing a body at rest stays at rest, and conversely a body in motion will stay in motion is key in managing your activities. Most of us ink that big deal and then we want to celebrate, kick the feet up, relax. I get it. You did work hard to get that ink. But for your future you this is the absolute worst thing to do. Instead, celebrate, and take that positive energy and put it right back into your operation. I think your manager may have called it the ABC's: Always Be Closing.
#3 Time is our only non renewable resource, so don't waste it! Physicists study space, time, energy, and matter. Well time and energy are the key elements that a sales person must manage. I believe we talked about time in the last two posts, so I won't belabor that point. The key is to make the most out of the time you have. Turn those hours into dollars.
#4 Negative energy does not die, it is merely transferred from one party to the next. Conversely Positive energy has the same properties. So what are you bringing to the party? Think Sam I Am. Though his prospect had absolutely no interest in his product (Green Eggs & Ham), he never lost his positivity, in the face of receiving a deluge of no's. There are other lessons that can be found in Green Eggs & Ham, but for the sake of this conversation, this is the one for today.
#5 Last but not least, never stop asking questions. The curiosity gene that allows physicists to create and discover in the world of science, is the selfsame gene that exists in all of us. As children we asked our parents "why" until we broke their wills -- not to break their wills -- to actually understand. We use that selfsame trait in understanding our customers, their needs, and our competition. The more we are informed, the better the solutions we can provide. Don't stop learning. Don't stop asking questions. Don't stop seeking the fundamental truth.
There is more to sales than dressing well, expense accounts, and golf. But everything we need to know to be successful, we already learned. If it makes sense...it will make money. Go get yours.
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