Time to Focus on the BIG CLOSE!

Good Morning Sales Community,

Greetings from Philadelphia at 4:34 am!

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! As sales professionals and as part of the sales community, we are trained that our responsibility is to make sure that the deals you need to make the plan – actually close. This is our mantra, our “raison d’etre,” our professional expertise and what we are paid for! You are experts on making this happen – so get out and close the business.

I am NOT advocating abandoning your lower priority clients (in fact, you need to keep building your pipeline for Q1, 2008), but as a sales professional, now is the time make sure you are maximizing your activity with the clients who are going to close – this is a core element of being a great sales professional. Your ability to prioritize your time has never been as important. Make sure that you are doing high-value activity – are your proposals all up-to-date? Are all of your contracts ready to go out or have they been sent for signature? Have you handled all the objections? Are you asking for the order at every step? Are you planning for implementation? Are you asking resources to make calls with you to secure the business? Are you still hoping for a close or do you have a bead on the issues and a plan to answer those issues? Have you networked your way to all of the stakeholders involved in your proposal and gotten buy-in?

GREAT sales professionals do not let themselves get caught by surprise. Now is the time to do the right things so we are are not scrambling at the last minute to get the deals closed!

What are you doing to make sure you are ahead of the curve and not behind it? Let the sales community know your secret of success!

Good Selling!

-Todd

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