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More, Bigger, Faster

Written by: Todd Youngblood

Article Overview: I'm a football fan and my team (the Atlanta Falcons) started this season with three consecutive losses. That got me to thinking about "back to basics." Ladies and gentlemen, this is a sales rep: One who moves a greater number of larger deals through the funnel faster.

More, Bigger, Faster

When you blow away all the smoke, the job of the sales rep or manager really is as simple as moving a greater number of larger deals through the sales funnel faster. In fact, I think it would do all of us a lot of good to keep that simple phrase in the front of our minds at all times.

Assuming of course, that we realize it's a lot more than a simple slogan; that it carries some deeper meaning; that it requires exposing ourselves to unvarnished, perhaps harsh, judgments about our personal skills. Let's take a closer look.

Words like "greater," "larger" and "faster" imply that we're comparing something to something else. Greater, larger and faster than what? Well, first of all, how about greater larger and faster than this month last year? Exactly how many deals did I initiate, advance and close last September versus this September? What was the average dollar value of the deals I initiated, advanced and closed last September versus this September? For the deals I closed last September, how many days did it take me to move them from the top of the funnel out through bottom? Did it take me more or less time this September?

The answers to those questions will tell me if I'm improving my skills or not; if I'm getting better at selling, worse, or staying the same. You might argue however, that even if some of those numbers have a downward trend, that it's due to circumstances beyond your control. (In fact if there is a downward trend, you'll almost certainly say that.) Maybe that's true, so we'll need to make a few more comparisons to find out for sure...

How many deals did all the other reps in your company initiate, advance and close last month? Were you first? In the top 10%? In the top half? In the bottom quarter? Where did you rank in terms of the average dollar value of the deals you initiated, advanced and closed last month? In terms of sell cycle time, are you among the fastest, the slowest or mired in the middle of the pack? You might argue however, that a low ranking for 9/07 ignores how fabulous your performance was in 8/07. Maybe that's true, so we'll need to make a few more comparisons to find out for sure...

For the last 3/6/9/12 months how many deals did all the other reps... You get the point.

We've all got to measure all kinds of stuff, to identify our current and emerging strengths and weaknesses; especially the emerging weaknesses. If I'm slipping somewhere, I want to know about it NOW. If, for example, my sell cycle is starting to stretch out a bit - or if it's staying the same while everybody else's sell cycle is shrinking - I want to have a few conversations with colleagues, and I want to have those conversations TODAY. I want to find out which "Sales Best Practices" are and are not working.

It's so easy after five or 10 or 15 or 20 or more years to lose sight of these basics; to assume that you can depend on your experience and instinctively handle any situation. It just isn't so. There's always someone chasing each one of us; trying to chip away at every little competitive advantage we have.

I think I want to be "stuck" in an organization that promotes friendly competition among colleagues based on measuring the basics. Based on moving a greater number of larger deals through the funnel faster. I think I want to be "stuck" in an organization with a habit of continually thinking, learning and improving. I think I want to be "stuck" in an organization perpetually unsatisfied with past performance.

(...and by the way, my Falcons got back to basics and won this week!)

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Article Tags: circumstances, closer look, cycle time, deeper meaning, dollar value, downward trend, job, judgments, last september, personal skills, phrase, sales rep, slogan



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