Except When They Don't

You can do everything right and still lose. You can do a lot of things wrong and still win. Welcome to sales.

I used to read Oh, the Places You'll Go to my kids when they were little. Most of it is triumphant:

“You’ll join the high flyers who soar to high heights. Kid, you'll move mountains.”

But right in the middle of all that optimism, twice, is this…

"Except when they don't, because sometimes they won't."

That's the one that’s stuck with me this week.

Success takes time. There are good days, frustrating days, and no obvious reason for the difference. You can do everything right and lose. You can do a lot of things wrong and still win. The sales gods giveth and taketh away, and they don't owe you an explanation.

The wily veterans among us have learned when it's just a blip and not a trend. Rookies tend to get bent out of shape quickly and start tinkering with things that are better left alone. Discipline looks like knowing the difference and continuing to put yourself in a position to win even when the results aren't cooperating.

Hidden among the frustration are often positives. Hearing yourself deliver your value prop over and over again through LinkedIn voice messages is a workshop in disguise. It’s the best way I know of to sand down the rough edges on what you’re really trying to say.

This Week's Read

Seven weeks ago, I told you that most sales leaders have their teams default to prospecting when they should be working warmer channels first. I meant it. I still mean it.

But warmer channels aren't infinite. At some point, the pipeline still needs to be fed, and prospecting stops being the default and becomes a deliberate choice.

This week's blog is the payoff on that series, and the honest answer to the question I've been deferring.

Read it →

Deeper Thought

Last week's prompt: What kind of schedule feels best to you?

For me… up early. A little quiet time before the day starts. A quick workout before I watch the sun come up through my back window with a coffee in hand (soon enough, I’ll be able to sit outside).

My brain has never recognized the constraints of the traditional workday. My energy ebbs and flows through the afternoon, and there's usually a mid-evening burst before I wind down around 10.

I actually like doing a little work on weekends. It’s a different mental environment. I leverage the opportunity to be creative without the background noise of the rest of the work.

This week's prompt: What kind of life sounds fun? This was a fun discussion around the dinner table last week, too…

Take a walk. Think about it. Reply or leave a comment and tell me yours. I'll share mine next week.

What I'm Into

I was on the Rural Sales Show this week. Different audience than I usually talk to, and I always find that sharpens the message in ways I don't expect. Worth a listen or a watch if you're curious.

I also started playing around with Kondo. It’s early, and this is not a sponsored post, but from what I’m hearing, it’s perfectly designed for how I’m trying to leverage LinkedIn.

The Shoutout

Speaking of LinkedIn, earlier this week, I passed 14,000 followers.

A medium-sized stadium. More people than at most concerts I go to.

Here's what I wrote when I noticed: it's easy to look around at everybody else's numbers and feel like yours don't matter. We manage what we can measure, and this measurement is publicly displayed all around us. It's easy to forget that 500 to the right people is worth more than 50,000 to the wrong ones.

The number doesn't matter in any context except the one you give it.

If you're one of those 14,000, and if you're reading this, thank you. I’m humbled, and I'm going to keep trying to earn that attention.

If you’re not, let’s fix that…

The Nudge

Prospecting works best when your team doesn’t have to make assumptions. That's where Know Why You Win comes in, and it's now available as an ebook and via audio.

Finish the whole thing in 35 minutes or less.

Get it here →

Cheers,
JB

P.S. You might actually have a prospecting problem. But after six weeks of this series, you definitely know what to do about it.