Running and Sales Leadership
New year, #running and #sales.
Last year I ran hard personally, professionally, and physically. Most of my running was at a pace I was trying to improve (in all the areas listed above). However, the pace for physical running, while improving slightly, was leaving me in pain at the end of every run and the faster I went, the shorter distance I could cover. The returns were diminishing the harder I pushed. So, after beating my head against that wall for a year, I have decided to focus on farther. Going farther, with a focus on pushing the distance, not the time.
Today I covered seven miles, not my usual three to four miles. And, while it took me longer per mile, I found that the pain at the end of the run was the same and resolved itself in the same amount of time. To go farther, I had to slow down. I also realized some of my other limiting factors are not endurance based, they are related to core strength, appropriate gear for the weather, and nutrition.
The corollary to sales, for 2024, you may need to focus on the distance, not the speed. For any leader to improve the sales performance of the team, look to the limiting factors and the component levels of the goal. How much rework or redelivery are you doing (quality). Are you prospecting at lightning speed only to be so tired at the end of the sprint, you find it hard to deliver and reengage to refill your pipeline? These are problems that, if left unaddressed, will cripple an organization in terms of employee retention, customer retention, compressing profitability, and it will remove any glimmer of fun from owning the business. When sales or prospecting becomes a distasteful task, you need a system, process, and consistency to drive the results that do not pull the joy from owning and running the business.
You must train your sales organization like you train for athletic performance, systematically. I was watching a documentary about a woman who ran a 250 mile race this year (it was her 4th 200+ mile race in 2023) and she never talked about pushing pace in the race. Instead, she talked about the mental aspects of tackling a huge goal, her race strategy and sticking to it for the entire race. She had a consistent pulse of nutrition, rest, hydration, gear management, first aid, wither the support of her team along the way and at different checkpoints. She related all these components to her training regimen. Not too different from a sales and sales leadership sales plan. Account for people, marketing, client growth and attrition, resources available and needed, then execute with a laser focus o the goal.
Sales leadership for 2024 will, no doubt, have challenges and obstacles to navigate for teams and individuals. Have a plan, stick with it, and do not negotiate your goals, chase them!
Your checklist for starting off on the right path is simple.
Specific Revenue Goal with incremental check points (How much and by when)
Simple Strategy for Attaining the Goal (How & an aligned compensation plan)
Well Defined ICP (Who – Demographic & Psychographic)
Clear Value Proposition (What the customer gets)
Differentiation Message (Why you are different- **you cannot say: “It’s our people”)
People Plan (Territories, Hiring & Training Budgets)
Need help getting started?
Overcoming difficult sales challenges and situations is something every business owner faces. Fractional leaders are a resource for driving incremental success. We know what to do, when, and help businesses add revenue and sales strength with the necessary components to achieve more in a shorter period of time.
If you, or someone in your network could benefit from a conversation about growth, scale, or a turnaround I would like to meet them for a free conversation about their business and goals. Happy New Year!