The Most Common Problem in Sales

Apr 3

Boss: "Okay everyone, last minute forecasting call Wednesday. Plan on being available from 10-3 because the entire zone will be there."

Employee: "Will I be needed the entire time? I had planned on an office day to do my prospecting and quotes that day."

Boss: "Yes. It's just easier if we all attend."

Fast-forward a few months ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

Boss: "Why don't we have more deals in the funnel? We'll never make our quota this way!"

Employee: "It's hard to find time to prospect when I spend so many hours every week on forecasting and other internal conference calls."

Boss: "I need all hands on deck for the next few months. We need to fill this funnel. In other news, don't forget the conference call tomorrow at 9am. I need everyone in attendance."

You're probably wondering, so I'm going to tell you. This is a FICTIONAL conversation, but one that portrays a problem that I see running rampant in sales today. We can't expect our sales reps to create new opportunities if we waste hours and hours of their time every week on calls that don't apply to them, unnecessary reports, etc.

I'm a big fan of fiercely protecting my time. Managers out there also need to fiercely protect the time of their sales reps and most importantly, equip their team to prospect and build the funnel. That way, no one is standing around at the end of the month/quarter/year wondering where all the deals are.

We must fertilize our plants before they grow. Dry funnels are bad.