Here we are at the end of Q2. Those of us in the U.S. are ready for a long Independence Day weekend. Then it’s back to work for the next big sales push.
Where do you stand at midyear?
- Did you meet your revenue targets for last year?
- Did you meet your revenue targets for the first half of this year?
- Do you have a pipeline that will produce the desired sales results by year end?
- Do you have a replicable, reliable method to keep your pipeline full?
- Do you know in detail the percentage of deals that you will close based on their current step in your sales process?
- Are you confident that you will meet your revenue goals for 2010?
If you answered “no” to any of those questions, there are steps you can take now to change the end of year outcomes.
- Work on your metrics. Track every large deal through every step of your process. Pay attention to the point at which they almost always close and the points at which they often stall or drop off. Learn from these data and make process improvements. Train your team to pay attention to these details.
- Review and refine your Target Filter. If your market is changing, if you are going into new markets, if you have new products and services–create a new Target Filter for each one. Be certain that you have accurately defined your ideal “whale” customer–one that can bring you a deal 10 to 20 times your average.
- Review every company, every deal, in your pipeline. Determine whether the revenue opportunity is large enough to warrant pursuing it. Transferring at least some of your company’s energy from multiple small accounts to a few large accounts pays dividends.
If you have other midyear tactics to share, we’d love to hear them. Meantime, happy 4th!
