Unbound Growth Blog

It's that time of year when sales executives and salespeople are re-examining their strategies- what worked and what didn't?

Unfortunately, I have talked with more than a few that are re-examining their job prospects because things didn't work out as planned.

At the same time my husband and I celebrated 11 years of marriage last fall. Wow, it has gone by fast! But as they say, time flies when you're having fun. Which I know is true, because my first marriage was for 7 years and it felt like 70...

But that's another story.

Getting fired and getting divorced can feel similar in many ways. And the factors to succeed in both also have a few things in common.

So what makes for a successful marriage, and a successful sales year or career?

Ok, before you read on, answer the question for yourself. When does the close start in your sales process?

One of the things that we ask new clients to do is create a dirty laundry list. What are all the ways they have a lost a deal in the past? What obstacles came up? What last minute surprises derailed the process? Who put a halt to the deal that was about to go to procurement?

Eventually the list grows to include things that created unhappy customers. What expectations were unclear? What things went wrong that were out of your control?

There is a lot of content and conversation about the need to prepare and do your homework before you get on a sales call or into a meeting. And that’s a good thing. But like note-taking, when is too much of a good thing? When does preparation become a bad thing? What should you look out for to know when enough is enough?

***This is a client guest post by Kristin Dennewill who started her career in international management consulting and has lived and worked on four continents. This background gives her a unique perspective which she brings to her clients at Denamico, the inbound marketing and COS web development agency she co-founded in Minneapolis, MN.***