Have you ever heard people say “Woulda, coulda, shoulda…” as a response to something they wished never happened? You certainly don’t want to be the one saying that in December when you miss your sales goals. Now is time for a reality check before the year moves too far along.
Time for a reality check of people you work with.
Sales is a job that requires the inputs of other people. Think about the people you work with in departments like credit, marketing, advertising, production, research and many others. Sounds like you are not alone. You are dependent on the work they produce.
You will not be able to be successful without reliable people to work with. Your work is much harder when someone promises you a deliverable and consistently misses the deadline. Failure is more likely. Is this what you want?
Your job when you have to work with unreliable people, is to first look for a replacement for them. Respect chain of command in your organization when you need someone else to work with. You don’t want to undermine anyone even if their work is subpar.
Talk with your manager first and explain the situation and stick to facts. Have dates, times, agreements documented and ask for a suggestion. You are not expected to do the work of others. Just be sure to get the situation remedied. It’s called work for a reason. You have every right to expect others to do their work.
Reality check the process you’re working.
Take a look at your sales process and see where it’s not moving forward. You have to find the part that isn’t working so you can correct it. Often a big mistake salespeople make is that they present too soon to prospects. The salesperson hasn’t uncovered a legitimate customer need so the customer has no compelling reason to buy something. Be sure you’ve uncovered a compelling need. Quantify that need in dollars. Dollars get attention and then customer action.
You have some modifications to make if you find your process is good, but the elements in the process are weak. Are your calls or emails getting appointments? See if your sales calls are not resulting in requests for bids or proposals. Are your proposals not resulting in sales? Look at each part of your sales process and determine what is working and most importantly what is not working now.
Reality check your ability to make good decisions.
This is a tough one. There’s a saying, “People can see the flea on other people’s shoulders, but can’t see the elephant on their own.” You are the one making decisions for your sales business. You might contend that your manager is making those decisions. That’s not quite correct.
You have the ability to push back respectfully when instructions you are given seem misguided or not thought through. The time to speak up is when you’re given the instruction. You must make the decision to speak up. It’s too late to blame a bad decision on someone else when you didn’t speak up when you could.
Jalen Hurts, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, said, “You either win or you learn” after the Eagles lost Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. Do a reality check now so you have winning sales in December.