The December Burn

It came early this year............the end of the year burn-out.  The Holiday Season brings an interesting mixture of my favorite time of year, combined with the end of the year sales hustle.  Now is the time when we hustle for every last opportunity left for this year, and really begin looking into next year.  Not to mention that we're all running on fumes at this point, with a much needed kick-start.

School is winding down for the semester, kids are home more, the weather is changing, decorations are out, Christmas music is on, extended family is getting together...............all of these things bring a distraction that we're not used to eleven months out of the year.  I always do a mass cleanout of computer and paperwork after Christmas, which leaves me right now with more of a mess than ever since "I'll get to it later."  I think we all go through a similar cycle this time of year.

So why do I enjoy it so much?  First of all, because of everything I mention in the paragraph above.  Second, simply because it's a change of pace.  Something different.  A challenge that I struggle to manage every year but always seem to get a little bit better than last year.  And third, because things are about to start over.  We're about to get a "do over."  January 1 for us means everything goes back to zero.  Everything thats been turning us in circles and consuming our focus gets put in a different persepective.  Some years, going back to zero is like a punch in the stomach.  That is, some years are good, and some years are great.  On the great years, good news turns to old news overnight.  And yes, some years you are happy to get behind you....and the do-over is much needed.

Regardless of the good years and bad years, a clean slate is exciting.  It means we get to start succeeding or start sucking right now, all over again.  It's amazing how a short break over Christmas and New Years can fill your tank, and bring the excitement back to everything we do.  I guess we just all need a good excuse to start over sometimes, to get a clean slate, and to start off better than we did last year.

The Red-Eye Adventure

So we're going to see how this one works, and we're going to see very soon. An unforeseen scheduling conflict has me flying on a red eye that departs from Los Angeles at 1:00am and arrives in Dallas at 6:00am.........just in time for a very important 9:30am presentation.

My objectives for the night are: fine-tune my presentation, sleep when I can, and strategically pump coffee so that I don't crash until approximately 11:00am tomorrow........in no particular order. Perhaps I'll be so wired that I will deliver my best presentation ever? Perhaps I'll win the project and develop a superstition that forces me to pull an all-nighter the night before every important presentation?

As miserable as I may be tomorrow afternoon, events like this are one of the many great things about sales. You just never know where the sales adventure will take you. When it comes time for the presentation, nobody will care how I got there, or what my previous 12 hours were like. They will only care to hear why they should buy from me. Now I just have to go win.

as Mr. T would say.............

I love it when a plan comes together.

This is one of the most gratifying parts of sales. When a big opportunity arises, we round up the troops, and devise what we think is the best possible plan to win that opportunity. Decide who is involved and who is not, and who does what. Not everyone can be in the middle, or at the forefront. Egos get pushed aside, and strengths get utilized. These are big decisions, and will be reflected on..........win or lose. It's known that in sales, we lose more than we win. So we are accustomed to questioning our decisions after the fact.

But we do win. And when we win, we give high-fives, congratulate each other.........and reflect on what a good job our team did. The strategy worked, and everyone did their job. The plan came together. Success like this is why we love our jobs.

At Some Point.......

I've always believed that in sales, there's no such thing as No.  I've practiced it, I've preached it, and I've believed it.............the answer is always Yes.  I'm learning that at some point, you have to say No.  Business is not built by agreeing to everything, it's built by agreeing to the right things.  This is a difficult lesson for me, as I tend to see the upside in everything..........even when an upside barely exists.

Saying No to a client goes against everything a sales person has engrained within them.  It's uncomfortable, and virtually unnatural.  We will avoid this at all costs, and with any luck, will only have to embrace it on an infrequent basis.

Todays marketplace is one where we are all trying to extend the resources that are available.  From a buyers perspective, this means to get more for your dollar, which means negotiate diligently with your vendors.  From a business perspective, this means there are fewer dollars to give out.  Marketing, PR, Entertainment, Incentives, etc.... are all fighting for these dollars.  This has created a dynamic of an increased number of requests and a decreased number of acceptances to these requests.  Hence, an increased rate of having to say No.  It's not easy, it's not fun, and in some cases it's not understood.  But it's business, and we'll learn to get better.

I don't think saying No will ever become natural, and it will always be the last resort.  But, I'm learning what "some point" is, and how to make the best of it.