Welcome to the end of Q4. Are you stressed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many salespeople are this time of year. When October, November, and December roll around, and you find yourself on edge because you\u2019re a little (or maybe a lot) behind quota, please don\u2019t do what most salespeople do. Don\u2019t fall into the trap of thinking, \u201cWell, it\u2019s the end of Q4; let\u2019s face it, that\u2019s always a tough time of the year for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s too easy to blame external factors \u2013 like what month it is \u2013 for financial pressures we may be facing right now. It\u2019s a little more uncomfortable, but more effective in terms of actual problem-solving, to assume that the reason for problems we face in Q4 can be found in the behavior patterns we chose to support and execute back in Q1, Q2, and Q3 \u2013 and the behavior choices we make today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a question for you. When you\u2019re out driving across the country, and your car runs out of gas on a remote, deserted highway in the middle of the night, is the real problem that it\u2019s eleven-thirty at night? No. The real problem is that you didn\u2019t check the gas gauge back when there was still time to refuel. Don\u2019t be shocked that you\u2019re out of gas! Just make a promise to yourself to get a little better at noticing when the fuel gauge clearly shows you that it\u2019s time to fill up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Failing to notice your gas gauge level amounts to highway malpractice if you\u2019re a driver. The same basic error, when applied to pipeline management, amounts to quota malpractice if you\u2019re a salesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of us are familiar with the dreaded, manipulative \u201cimpending event\u201d close. The salesperson is supposed to say: \u201cTake all the time you want, but remember the price goes up on Monday.\u201d Prospects hate this close, and the best salespeople, knowing how ineffective and counterproductive it is, have learned to stay away from it. But have you noticed how often we use it on ourselves? We look at the pipeline in June, and we think, \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of time. I can think about the yearly target later.\u201d Then we look at the calendar in November and December and we think, \u201cOh, my gosh \u2013 it\u2019s almost the end of the year. I\u2019m in trouble. The calendar has snuck up on me!\u201d Basically, we run an \u201cimpending event\u201d close on ourselves. Then we spread ourselves too thin. And get stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The truth is, the calendar didn\u2019t do that to us. We did that to ourselves, and we didn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n