The Rearview Mirror of Sales
The first six(6) months of 2010 are gone never to return. Maybe some of you right now are wiping your hand across your forward muttering some beneficial or not so beneficial words under your breath. For some the results (achieving sales targets) have been better than 2009 and for others worse. This ending begs the answer to this question:
Is it time to stop looking in the rearview mirror?
Take a moment to reckon about driving your car from a known to an unknown point. Do you drive with both hands on the wheel and looking backward by the rearview mirror only or do you drive forward with occasional looks in the side mirrors for potential obstacles?
Even with global positioning systems (GPS), many still use printed maps to get the 30,000 foot view of their forthcoming travels. If they are traveling from Chicago, IL to Denver, Colorado, do they really care about the states to the east of Illinois? No! They are looking to the west, forward to see where they are going so if they need to make a course correction (overcome a known or even unexpected obstacle within the sales process), they have a far better thought of what specific action steps to take.
Applying this sales metaphor (see last month’s blogs on this topic), have you invested the time to look at the huge picture such as industry trends, local to national issues distressing your potential customers? Are you keeping up with your current sales statistics? Or have you been as often quoted by Michael Gerber far too busy working “in the business and not on the business?”
Now some may argue, Leanne, what about last year’s sales numbers? You are ignoring critical information! If you made last year’s numbers, then why should you not be able to meet this year’s? And if last year was challenging, then you should have invested the time to set a new sales action plot at the commencement of this year. This action alone would have suggested you have already made the necessary course corrections.
Also, I never suggested not to ever looking in the rearview mirror, but rather do not do it when your goal is forward progression. This behavior is necessary when parking cars. If your sales are not where you need them to be, then maybe it is time to park your car and truly study your MAP (my action plot).
Research from Kellogg School of Management and a MIT study) this also suggests today’s top performers must have a very effective contact management system and a process for follow-up. This facility even better when those entering the “sales funnel” are pre-qualified according to these qualifying criteria:
- Choice maker
- Identified need or needs
- Allocated budget
- Demonstrated urgency
- Commitment level
Additionally, when professional sales people engage in rearview driving, they are demonstrating far more reactive behaviors as a replacement for of proactive ones. This reactive behavior is one of the major differences between average salespersons and top sales performers.
Another problem with rearview driving it places you in the sphere of what’s beyond your control. No one can change the past for time once experienced never returns. Each day has a finite number of seconds, minutes and hours. This is why time should always be considered as an investment in a restricted. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Time management is an oxymoron because no one can manage a constant.
In life, be it personal or professional, there exists 3 spheres. The innermost and smallest one is what you can control. Moving external, what you can influence is the next circle. This is a small larger than What You Can Control. Finally, both circles reside within the largest and third circle of What You Cannot Control.
When we reckon about the sales process, the economy, the interactions with people, how much of our time is truly devoted to what we cannot control or influence? What would happen if you just transferred just 10% of your energies focusing on What You Cannot Control to What You Can Control? Would you commence to see improved sales results?
Now is the time to MAP the next 6 months.
- Review the terrain and road conditions
- Check your car to make sure it is properly serviced
- Maintain your car as you travel up and down all of those “Selling Roads”
- Leave the rearview mirror for others and those occasional era when you must park your car.
- Use the mile markers as your daily benchmarks.
- Write down your mileage
- Watch your sales statistics
By taking these proactive actions all of which are under your control, you will probably arrive at your destination ahead of schedule (made that sales butt) and with the expenditure of far less resources.