February 13, 2014- ISSN# 1545-2646
Inches make Feet
In business, everyone is looking for the one big account, that one big product that everyone needs, that one big break to show the world how truly great your business is and will be.
The reality is that although it is good to be searching for the big whale, your business is more than likely going to be built one small fish at a time.
Consider the story of John and Gloria – Two sales reps from my past. John was a big game hunter only. He would set up his sales activity to bring down one or two sales each year to achieve his quote. Gloria on the other hand did work on big deals but also had a multitude of small opportunities she continued to nurture and mature.
Many times I had spoken to John about how the small deals add up to the same value as the large deals. He would often push back that the small deals take as much work as the big ones so why not concentrate on the big ones. Although John did have a couple of successful quota achieving years he eventually was asked to take his sales approach some where else. When he was successful he was the man of the hour. When he would fail there were enough excuses for an entire sales team for the entire year.
Gloria on the other hand was just a sales machine. She would work small, medium, large, very large as well as tiny tiny sales opportunities. More than once in her sales career did she close on a bunch of small sales at the end of a quarter or year to achieve higher levels of compensation performance. She was not concerned with the nameplate on the sale but more about inching her way closer and closer to the overall objective of surpassing her sales quota and reaching that next level of performance.
By focusing on running the marathon one foot at a time she inched her way along the sales trail to achieve the goal. If there were Olympics for sales then Gloria was definitely a world class sales person.
This week take a look at your sales team. Which ones actually have a plan to achieve their numbers? How many do a plan of the day and hope it will get them to where they are going? Which ones wait for the telephone to ring?
Revenue production is an inch by inch process. Each step in the sales effort inches your way closer to either another sale or helps you manage your time more wisely so you are not wasting it on unproductive opportunities.
Wondering which sales reps in your business have higher than average sales talents? Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945. We can introduce you to a suite of employee talent tools to let you more fully understand your people.
Questions or comments – email us at partners@jklassociates.com or call our Office at (313) 527-7945
Copyright – JKL Associates 2014
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