"Show me a salesperson who says they don't need a big pipeline because they have a high closing ratio and I'll show you a future customer service rep."
While size does matter, the quality of the pipeline is equally as important. There are many factors that go into developing a qualified prospect and by extension a solid pipeline. The one thing that doesn't change is the basic truth that the more qualified prospects you have in your pipeline, the less pressure there is on YOU for any one prospect to close. Why is this important? Let's take a look at our friend below.
If you sell for a living, you have quota. It doesn't matter if you sell computers, time shares, drugs or diamonds, someone has assigned you a required dollar amount to sell within a specified period of time. Our friend above has a quota and he has a problem.
His block of quota is putting way too much pressure on the few qualified prospects he has. Because he has so few identified "suspects" in his universe from which to build his pipeline, he worries incessantly about the few prospects he does have. Worse yet, with so few prospects he has WAY too much time on his hands. Rather than focusing more if his time on developing "new" prospects be begins to pick away at the prospects he does have. He has many ways to do this including, but not limited to:
- Sending 3 emails a day asking if "there is anything else you need from me in order to make your decision".
- Calling 3 times a day saying "my phone has been acting up so I was just calling to see if you had tried to leave a message".
- Texting every time you are on the phone with another prospect to make sure that they know that if they call, you will "break away" to take "their" call.
This chipping away becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy. I don't have enough prospects to hit my quota unless I close 100%! So, what few I do have I pick at like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy. I chip away at the ones I have like a fresh scab - never giving the wound time enough to heal. So, it never heals and ultimately dies of infection. Because I don't have any fresh bodies to replace the dead, I miss my quota and....
The point of this story is that it is amazing what happens when you focus not on the destination, but the trip instead. Believe it or not, your sale is not the top priority of your prospect. Sometimes we just have to let nature take its course and let things play out. When you focus on navigating the highway rather than worrying about what the weather is going to be like at your final destination, you don't miss the wonderful opportunities for sight seeing along the way.
Focus on building your pipeline and you can be as cool as our friend below:
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