Selling.2.YES May '16

60 days...tick tock. Make the year count!

May 2016

The calendar tells us that one-third of the year is in the books…in terms of days. For most of you with long selling cycles, however, the year is much more than half gone. By now, you should know exactly how the year is going to shape up. Thus, now is the time to formally assess what you need to do in the stretch run to make sure it’s a successful year. Even though the baseball season is only a month old, general managers are already plotting who to trade or which big contracts to dump; you need to think like a GM and make assessments about how to win this year. Here are a few questions you may want to ask to help with your examination:

Which accounts are going to pop? (What do you need to do to make them pop?) Which accounts are going to remain dead? Ask the hard questions, answer with truth and data, add up the numbers…there is your answer about the year.
Which activities and behaviors are not working? Specifically, is your prospecting routine successful? Are you getting to the right buyers? How are your qualifying skills? Can you successfully assess an opportunity and “work it" to reap rewards this year?

"A common mistake I see business and sales leaders make is judging time on the clock poorly. To be effective and successful today means managing time and understanding when and how to analyze progress against your plan." - Michael Hess

The point of this short article is actually not to run through the entire litmus test of questions that you need to ask in order to make an accurate assessment of the year. The point of this short article is to wake you up to realize that what you do in the next 60 days will make or break your year. Now is the time to critically analyze whether your 2016 plan – both financially and your planned initiatives – is working. You therefore must garner all of your mental energy and creativity to assess all the levers in your control and make smart decisions about how you spend time to maximize the year. Everything is on the table: personnel, process, products…all of it needs to be picked apart. Good luck. Ping me when you need a sounding board….been there/done that.

(Why a picture of a steak to promote this post? Click here.)

You need me...it's okay to admit it!

Tara can’t read. Ben can’t add. Fred is having trouble speaking clearly. (Poor Sally can’t find the bathroom.) They’re all good people, but they’re not receiving enough instruction. This is not entirely on YOU. You are doing a great job leading your team, but you can’t do it all. You can’t manage revenue, set strategy, keep the trains running on time, run around the country as the killer-closer, sit in executive meetings, AND run a skill development regimen that best serves your team.

That’s why I exist and I’m here to help. And lucky for you, I’m the best “skill developer” in the business. (Hey…do you wanna do business with someone who has extreme confidence and ability, or do you want to partner with an amateur?)

Fact: today’s sales executive is a hard working, ambitious, caring individual who wants desperately to succeed.
Fact: today’s sales executive has been bopping around a few companies and hasn’t received consistent experience and mentoring from management.
Fact: your sales executives are starving for more of your time, your brain, and your experience.
Fact: you know you have an obligation to provide more of your time, brain and experience for your team, yet you know there’s no such thing as a 28/9 work week, we’re stuck with 24 hours in a day.
Fact: if you DON’T provide more focused instruction that supports the efforts and growth of your sales team, you will probably not succeed. Period. You’re only as good as your team.

So what should you do?

Hire me. (Hey, my newsletter, my info-mercial.) First, I want to convince you my approach is strong, relevant, and will be effective for you.

I have four specific rules about skill-development programs that MUST apply for the training to be effective and successful.

Regular and consistent: sessions have to be held in a regular, timely manner – preferably every week – in order to reinforce lessons and maximize continuity;
Challenging and hard: learning will not occur without struggle and therefore, the exercises and drills have to be stimulating. Yes, sessions are hard. But nobody cries, and the first aid kit is rarely needed;
Accountable and measurable: the sessions and learning has to be accountable to be effective. An effective skill development program has to be supported through a more formal performance management process that charts progress against developmental areas;
Fun: while respecting #2, the environment must be as fun and supportive as possible. Big question: how does fun find its way into exercises that are hard, stressful, and nerve-wracking? Ping me to find out, but I’ll tell ya this much: if your training environment is not fun, they won't be engaged and success won't result.

It’s not easy to blend all these things together successfully in skill development sessions. Ultimately, human beings want to learn, but it’s widely understood that everyone learns in different ways and at a different pace. Thus, it takes a real specialist who knows how to create an environment – and protocol – that ensures success. Call me if you want to talk it out a bit more, I’ll make sure our call is fun: 917-207-5183.

Why "Selling.2.YES"?

Click here for a brief, fun, quick read on why the newsletter is named as it is.

Selling.2.YES

60 days...tick tock. Make the year count!

​May 2016

You need me...it's okay to admit it!

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Why "Selling.2.YES"?

May 2016