Time for the age-old question of whether or whether not salespeople are naturally born or are created? I have written this week’s column on this topic, but I really want to know what you think – the opinions on this one vary from end to end! Here is a snippet from my column.
I am back after a week of dealing with the typical change-of-season cold…and thank you to those of you who wrote to me and asked when the blogging would continue! Your kindness touched me and I am grateful.
As a sales professional, you own your business – this is your territory, your area, your vertical market, or whatever patch of earth you call your area to get out there and sell! As a sales professional, you (hopefully) are spending a great deal of time prospecting and developing clients and then CLOSING them! That also means that along the way you have developed a good relationship with your clients!
I was reading the local paper this morning, and there was a headline that read “Stock Market Soars to Record Close to Kick off the Fourth Quarter.” This made me think about the fact that we are now in the last 3 months of the year, and it’s make or break for us in the sales community! Yes, the final push is ON.
Let me ask you a question: Are you FOCUSED on CLOSING DEALS as we rush to the end of Q3 and the beginning Q4 of 2007? In other words, are you focusing your talents and efforts on the highest value clients and the ones most likely to close for you? One thing I have seen at this time of the year is that sales reps need to get hyper focused NOW on the deals in the pipeline that have a 75% or better chance to close. Don’t get distracted!
When does “No” mean “No”? Is “No” always the end of your sales campaign? When you hear “No,” should you pack up and just move to the next client or prospect? Has your network failed you?
As sales professionals, do you ever feel like the guy from the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials? Do you get up every morning, bleary eyed and weary from the day before and think to yourself “got to build the pipeline”…?
