Mike Clark's Business Bites: Sales reps need a more consistent, measured rhythm to their weeks

Take some time and think about what you would really like to achieve before the year draws to an end. Photo / Freepix

OPINION:

Rudyard Kipling's poem If includes the lines "if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run".

Doing what we can with what we have, where we are, right now, is one of the mantras Theodore Roosevelt used to encourage Americans to lift themselves out of the Depression.

One of the most common tendencies that befall salespeople is the inevitable rush at the end of the month. The intensity of pressure to meet targets increases dramatically and the last week tends to be a flurry of activity.

This, of course, comes with multiple negative consequences. From being target focused rather than people focused, to being too pushy in your last week and ending the week tired. Reps then tend to convince themselves they need a bit of a break the following week (after all they have just followed up all their leads), and that starts the pattern all over again.

Sales reps who can get urgent early and make the best use of the time they have right now are inevitably more successful. The reduction in immediate pressure allows them to be more relationship focused than target focused and gives a more consistent, measured rhythm to their weeks.

As spring announces its arrival with bright flowers and lengthening days, it also signals you have before you the final four months of the year. For many factories and production companies, this means that "cut-off" dates are about to dominate conversation and then there will be discussions about end-of-year events and clients' presents.

It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of all that has to be done. My encouragement for you is to take some time and think about what you would really like to achieve before the year draws to an end. Clearly list these out, stating what you want and what done looks like.

Prioritise your list of ideals and then work with your team to ensure the important gets the attention and focused action needed to succeed. Opportunity is most often disguised as hard work and success is usually the cumulative result of the right actions repeated consistently.

If you are to make every day count then aim to live with no regrets. This does not mean you will not make mistakes. Often you will find that in hindsight you regret the things you didn't do far more than the mistakes you make trying to achieve your goals.

A lovely quote reminds us that if we focus on the loss we will continue to suffer, but if we focus on the lessons we will continue to grow. May this spring give you a growth spurt that allows you to finish the year with a flourish and set yourself up to harvest the fruit for many seasons to come!

Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company