I enjoy getting phone calls from clients and potential clients when they are bragging about the latest contract they signed. How pleased they are with themselves as they should be. They have been working so hard on convincing their customer they have exactly what is needed and finally broke through and made the sale. I listen to their excitement. I tell them what a good job they did. I tell them how impressed I am.
Then I ask one question: Congratulations on your sale. But that was yesterday. What did you sell for your company today?
That could seem like rather harsh words. It’s almost like sticking a pin in their balloon and watching it deflate. I can sense the disappointment in their voice but the question I am asking them is the one that will make their company profitable. Any sales person or business owner has to have a complete range of potential sales in the pipeline. From the cold call, to the appointment, to the sale, to the delivery. You can’t hang your hat on one sale no matter how big or profitable it is. If you don’t have your prospects backed up and your potential sales in different stages of completion, you will always be in a feast and famine situation. To prevent feast or famine with your company’s sales be working on many sales, at different stages, all at one time. Congratulate yourself when you close a deal. Then congratulate yourself by knowing you’ve got the next sale in the wings ready to close.