I Think There's Still A Chance!
By Perry Rearick, Chief Editor, Follow Your Buyer
We’re starting the first full week of the last month of the calendar year. This past weekend was the 13th of the NFL, or American football, season. It is traditionally the high-water mark for fan hopefulness. What do I mean by that?
On Sunday morning, there were still 18 teams that could mathematically make the playoffs by earning one of the only 6 wildcard positions. That’s a lot of hopeful fans? How did your team do?
One of my colleagues, Scott Moren, is one of the most optimistic people I know. As a Senior Business Development Manager at Life Science Connect, he comes to work each day, especially this time of year with an ambitious set of outcomes, business he plans to secure before the end of the week. Another testament to his optimism is that he’s also a lifelong NY Jets fan, perhaps his Achilles heel.
This is the time of year when sales professionals tend to take their foot off the gas. Maybe they’re too far away from an incentive-earning goal, or they met their goal, and they want to cruise through the remainder of the year.
History tells us that this is often the month that makes a difference for B2B solution providers who continue to advance accounts. Like every previous year, Scott will turn December into a personal best in sales. How does he do it?
He starts each week and day with a set of outcomes he plans to achieve. Emphasis on the word plan. This isn’t just a wish list; he thinks through what he will do to help buyers make a purchasing decision. Emphasis on the word help!
He reconnects on a personal level with his stalled accounts; personal meaning that he calls them like an old friend he hasn’t spoken to in a while. He’s empathetic, sincerely asks how they and their business are doing, and seeks opportunities to help them, not sell them. There’s that word help again.
He identifies, understands, and overcomes objections. Typically, this means a lot of “why” questions to understand followed by a lot of “what if” questions to overcome.
He creates urgency by helping them understand what they will miss out on by delaying their buying decision. And this is something that is important to them, not just Scott’s goals.
And of course, he comes powered by a full dose of optimism!
The last Super Bowl win for the Jets was back in 1969, and it looks like that datapoint will stand for another year. However, there’s always next year, according to Scott?