Sales is not black and white

It’s end of month and every minute your manager either requests a 1:1 or emails you a status update on your numbers. That’s usually what happens- you either closed the deal or you didn’t. Sounds pretty black and white to me. When the pressure is on, our focus narrows, our options become smaller and we lose sight of our creativity.

I recently went out and bought a box of Crayola Crayons- you know the kind that has the sharpener.

I realized that I tend to go after the brighter shades in my choices - I choose the brilliants that have passion, excitement, risk, and speed. I need to spend time with the muted tones, which are more calming, down the earth, centered and solid.

I’ve seen a lot of sales forecasts in my day but never saw it in the color of a rainbow. You know the 25-50-75-95-100% of close, these numbers we know. But what if we were to color code our opportunities? Or better yet, analyse and strategize on an account based on color. It may have started off in some muted tones but after a demo, you may have added red because the interest was getting stronger. But then your coach in the account went on maternity leave so you had to throw some grey or brown into the deal. Get the picture? Get some crayons and good luck end of month!