Crazy Little Thing Called Sales

Are you actually in sales if your Monday started out famously, but by Tuesday afternoon the world has fallen apart and you have typed and deleted 16 text messages rage quitting? Only to have Friday roll around and end on an epic, record setting week.

Sales can be a rollercoaster of emotion. As much as we like to think we can control prospects, we really don’t.

Prospects are people and people buy with emotion, not logic. While we want the sales process to flow is a linear, logical pattern, that is not always the outcome we are greeted with.

Not all hope is lost. There are plenty of things that we can do to level out the sharp turns and deep dives of the sales process.

Lead the Sale.

The prospect has a need and you are the industry expert. It is a seller’s responsibility to lead the sales process. Know the steps that need to be followed and clearly communicate that to the prospect.

Do not shy away from pointing out why something might not work. You know what to expect. It is likely that your prospect does not know what to expect. Even if they do, as the subject matter expert the seller should be much more experienced than the prospect.

Never introduce too many choices to the prospect. Two, or three at the most, choices are all that should be presented to the prospect.

Two choices allow for quick decisions. And always be prepared to lend your expertise to the decision making process. Be the solution consultant and led the buyer through the sale.

Ditch the Microscope.

Many times the reason that sales seems turbulent is we look at results through a narrow lens. It is very hard to judge results based on one week. Even a month does not provide a lot of data.

Look at results from a large spectrum. Rather than looking at things deal by deal, look at the pipeline as a whole. As long as the pipeline is full and flowing, you are in good shape.

You put yourself in a situation where one bad break is the end of the world. Never be in a situation where one flat tire leads to bankruptcy.

Looking at the bigger picture can take some of the sting out of unforeseen events. Loosing a sales still sucks. It sucks a lot less when you have 15 more sales lined up.

Pad the Pipeline.

Continuing on this theme. The pipeline is never full enough. You might think it is. It is not.

Abundance cures most everything and nothing fixes problems like new sales. Always keep new sales pushing into the pipeline.

Review pipelines daily.

Just the opposite. Pipelines will only grow in the brightest of lights with daily attention. Always know whats in the pipeline.

What gets inspected is what gets respected. Know your pipeline and grow your pipeline.

Take Aways.

Prospects are people and people do not always do what we want them to. As annoying as that is, it is a tenant of selling. There will always be ups and downs and lost deals.

Leading the sale helps in maintaining control. Outside of leading the best way to deal with the uncertainty of sales is through abundance. Enough is never enough. More opportunities will always be needed.

Loosing a sale sucks. It sucks a lot more if it was your only opportunity. It is best to never be in that situation.