Somewhere out there, early on a January morning, a seller has already been awake for hours. He's staring at a number - his sales goal for the next several months. His company has a solid product, not a dominant one.
His managers try to motivate and support, but only being a year or two in management themselves they can tell him to 'be more strategic' but can't really tell him how. Here's how.
Triage. What are the factors that make one prospect more likely than another to become a customer? Are they cranking up spending this quarter? Do you have even one 'truth teller' at the agency or client who could give you the straight story? Do their preferred metrics and buying style align at all with your offerings? Have they been a customer before? If you answer yes to all or most of these questions, these are your focus accounts - your A's. All no's? It's a C; drop it. Mixed results? It's a B, so set it aside for work later.
Decide What You Control. It's easy to waste time lamenting what you don't have, what a competitor might be doing, or how bad the decision making is at the agency. Instead, inventory those things you can control. They are: (1) your intent - are you really out to do a great job for the customer? (2) your POV on the customer's business situation - not just what you know but what you think is important; (3) the agenda for your meetings - a good answer for "why are we here today?" (Hint: if it's about 'updating' the customer, 'introducing them' to your product or 'learning more' about their challenges, you will lose); (4) the quality of your recommendation; stop with the big capabilities deck; nobody cares. Decide what combination of products and services will help this client at this moment in time. If you tell 'em everything, you're telling 'em nothing.
Start in the Middle. In between the CMO and the media planning team, there are a lot of people who can help you: account owners at the agency... strategic planning... group VPs... functional specialists at the client. Put away your pitch for a while and start teeing up honest conversations and email exchanges with these people.
Ask Better Questions. Ask questions customers can say "no" to. Will you buy from me? Do we have your commitment? Do we really have a chance here? Hope is too often the opposite of clarity. What you want to constantly be asking is Where do we really stand? and What can we do to keep moving forward?
Stop Waiting. If things are not closing because you're constantly waiting on something - a product feature, a call back, a change in the budgeting process - then you're not making a difference. You can wait till things calm down, till you get through your inbox, till the weather changes. Or you can simply act. Take chances, try one new thing each day. Ask forgiveness, not permission.
It may turn out that the one you've been waiting for is you.
