Core 6 Management Advisors
  • Home
  • Sales Mgmt Excellence
  • Sales Excellence Training
  • Testimonials
  • Founding Principles
  • Methods
  • Selling.2.YES Musings
  • Inspiration

Selling.2.YES 

August 2018

Stop the Q4 disease, BARF (Banal Asinine Revenue Focus)


Picture
​The lull of late August has a relaxed and almost carefree air to it even for those of us competing in fast-paced, high-pressured B2B sales jobs.  However, when Tuesday after Labor Day hits, the mass freak-out will start as senior execs begin playing the “you-have-this-many-selling-days-left-in-the-year” game.
 
You can set your watch to this age-old phenomenon as Labor Days will forever be the calendar marker when cases of a common disease hit many B2B sales managers: Banal Asinine Revenue Focus, a malady also known as BARF.  I’ve seen many cases of it, and aside from Restless Leg Syndrome, it’s one of the top three silent paralyzers for B2B sales managers.
 
Don’t get me wrong, when I was running sales teams, come Labor Day I was a “squeezer” too; I wanted to make my number more than anyone!  However, I learned that if you squeeze too hard, you risk your team turning into harassers and maybe beggars too.  A calendar that says September or October doesn’t mean B2B selling approaches should change from what you’ve worked on during the first two-thirds of the year: customer focused selling. 

The instant your approach focuses on squeezing more revenue for you, your customers get BARFed on.  Yes, clients are very needy, but they don't need that!"
The following is a loose script I’d preach to my team during the first week of September to fight against BARF.  (The message was not just for the sellers, but most importantly for the sales managers because they were the lever who needed to control our approach with customers.)  In brief, the convo bullet points went something like this:
  • "Hey sales team…we know you want to make your number this year, or for those already there, you want to pad it.  So do I."
  • "We all know we pretty much have through Halloween to impact our number, and then the calendar/fiscal year is in the books."
  • "So let’s be smart how we approach our customers while we maximize our revenue."
 
Heads would always be nodding at this point.  And then I’d ask, “so what does it mean to be smart about how we squeeze the most out of the year?”
 
The replies were always obvious, summarized by this comment: “I’ll call everyone who has spent, or is spending with me this year and see if they have incremental funds to come our way.”
 
Ok, good place to start, but that answer is tactical and doesn’t justify why the buyer should look between the cushions.  Looking back on my early career, I was not experienced to push this conversation tread to a strategic plateau and now I pretty much conclude we were all playing a part in some kind of stupid B-movie…me, the sales managers and sellers were all saying lines the other wanted to hear.  If we got anything incremental for the year in Q4, it was probably just luck.
 
Yes, odds of impacting top-line rev through September/October selling is small, but the point ALSO is to teach how to sprint through the finish line.  (And, how to be professional and consistent with one's approach all year round.)  In the latter years of my career, I realized my job was to teach sellers and managers to think strategically about how they approach their customers and accounts…and again, the importance of doing it twelve months a year.
 
Here are some conversational threads I urged my team to use with customers during the months of September and October:
  • “You know us very well…you’re investing in us now and you get us…but if you could waive your magic wand and get something more or different from us, what does that look like to you?” 
  • “Obviously, your business is very dynamic and challenging…so what has changed recently that affects your objectives and execution for the next few months?  Does that mean we should talk about how to adjust your investment or our offering for the upcoming months?”  (Generally, closed-ended questions are limiting, but remember, this is a conversational script and it’s okay here to have a follow-up closed question after a strategic open question.)
  • “As you sit today, thinking and assessing your investments for Q4, what are the one or two things you are most satisfied about?  … what are the one or two things you wish you could change or add to make the year successful?”
  • “Here’s a one-page value report of what we’re delivering for you this Q4…let’s spend some time reviewing it to see if it still aligns with your needs, and if not, let’s talk about how we can make adjustments.”
  • "I just heard your CEO on CNBC comment on xx...let's talk about how my offering can address some of the items she mentioned your company has to put into action."
 
Compare the above strategic and “customer-first” conversation threads to some of the following I’ve actually heard from the mouths of sellers:
  • “Are you expecting any incremental budget to be released for the next few months?”
  • “Are any of your other vendors disappointing you enough to move their money to me?”
 
I get why these questions would be asked, and they do serve a function.  But, used in isolation, these questions don’t suggest the customer’s needs are being considered.  
 
I wish you all the luck and energy in the world going hard at collecting every drop you can in the next few months…but as you approach the last few days of the calendar-year selling season, ask yourself this: “is my team giving the customer a good reason to find more money for me?  Is my team approaching their customers with only the customer and their needs in mind?” 
 
The second your approach focuses on you squeezing more for you, your customers get BARFed on.  You don't have to see a doctor about this, just buck-up!!!!

Selling.2.YES newsletter

Selling.2.YES is the monthly newsletter published by Core 6 Management Advisors to enlighten, motivate and stimulate all of us sellers and sales managers on topics that need our attention.
Click here for a fun, quick read on why the newsletter is named as it is. 
SUBSCRIBE

Most Popular: 

ALL Archived Issues​

​I'm tired of people telling me to breath.

Creating a learning culture in three easy steps.

Did that buyer refer to me as an a$$hole?  Yup!
​
Sell me this pencil

God is in the skill rating business?

Faked out by data, not fake news

​Don't fire your sales manager

Not muckin' no mo' stalls
​
Presenting fish, value props, or decks...all the same

How goes your "atta-boy"?

Face it, you're no good at prospecting

(You can) make the problem go away!

Johnny can't sell, FIRE his A$$

Managing your ugly ducklings



​


© 2023 Core 6 Management Advisors LLC.  All rights reserved.
Home    Sales Mgmt Mastery    Sales Training    Core 6 Principles    S2Y Musings    Methods    Testimonials    Inspiration 
  • Home
  • Sales Mgmt Excellence
  • Sales Excellence Training
  • Testimonials
  • Founding Principles
  • Methods
  • Selling.2.YES Musings
  • Inspiration