The calm after the storm

Last quarter I blew my number out of the water. At the end of month 1 I was already at 100% of my number, month 2 over 200%, and month 3 ended just shy of 300%.


9 days into the new quarter and...man I'm struggling. Calendar basically empty, methods that killed it last quarter to get meetings getting 0 results, and virtually no pipeline (this part I expected after blowing out my entire pipeline last quarter).


All in all, I'm not really surprised. I went nuts last quarter, it was bound to drop off at some point. My manager's theory is that between last quarter and my previous (also over 200% of my number), I just very effectively crushed my territory so now it's going to take some time for it to cool down.


My theory is that I need to go back to the drawing board and find a new method to get in front of people. I may have blasted the territory and gotten everything out of it that I could with my old strategy, but there's still plenty of people who may be open to the conversation if I approach it a different way.


Not really much of a point to this post. Mostly just venting about how annoying it is being so slow coming off such a hot streak. How does everyone else here stir things up when it feels like they're stagnating?

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10
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
4
Bravado's Resident Asshole
congrats on the huge numbers for last quarter. Sales has its ebbs and flows like anything else. Just need to figure out what your basics are and then go back to them
jefe
Arsonist
4
๐Ÿ
Wow, you KILLED it. Bask in that, but don't let it get to your head (sounds like you're not, so good stuff).

Regroup as you mentioned and figure out how to make it happen again!
butwhy
Politicker
1
Solutions Engineer
I have never had a situation like this (lucky bastard), but if I were you, I might take the calm to learn and absorb first before heading back into a pivot of action. Review some of the deals you lost the last year, read about the territory or the product, read a personal development book that might stir you to think a new way, is there any new enablement or new releases coming that can spur a new area of excitement? Take some time to reflect and that should give you insight into your next quarter build.
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
I am excited about a new internal training program we have coming down the pipeline. We hired a new enablement person who's building a full internal academy for learning how to do the next role in the progression (sdr's learning how to be a commercial AE, commercial AE's learning how to be mid market AE's, etc). So that will be a cool new program I plan to dive all the way into.

I'm also okay with some down time. I had some great paychecks and worked my ass off so some free time sounds nice ๐Ÿ˜‚ but I don't want to totally let things fall to the wayside either
GDO
Politicker
1
BDM
Congrats on those numbers. This is sales for you. Up and downs. However trust the proces and keep going.
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
yeah, been in this game since 2015. I've never been good at just trusting the process in the ups and downs though ๐Ÿ˜‚ one slow month and I immediately start evaluating how to change my approach and what is and isn't working. I'm sure that's part of my success is from always trying to improve. But I'm also sure it's caused me to stop doing things that would/could be beneficial.
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
Testing and trying to improve is crucial. But give every test enough time ๐Ÿ˜Š
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
Having check ins with will all the clients, maybe now will be a good time for the upsell of the product they thought about but decided against.

Plus they are easy to book meetings with so it will fill up your calendar
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
Sounds like you flushed your pipeline and now need to get it healthy again. In an ideal world, we would have opportunities at different stages throughout the pipe, but somehow it never seems to work out that way for most of us. I wouldn't be too sure your approach needs adjusting too much, sounds like you just have to build that pipe back up.

Congratulations on the two excellent quarters!
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
yeah I think the pipeline (or lack thereof) is the real issue. So really just pounding the phones and getting some meetings on the calendar is the real way to go
Notmyrealname
Politicker
1
AE
Echoing everyone else, congrats obviously.

I've seen with my own eyes (or heard with my own ears even) how success can breed complacency. Not saying this is the issue, but what I've seen help in the past is comparing call/meeting recordings from a good period and a bad period to see if you've dropped the ball any bit. I promise you, the results can be shocking. Worst case, you find out its definitely not you that changed, and maybe even find that objections have shifted.
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Sales is cyclical. But you need to be prospecting daily in order to have consistent sales.
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
prospecting is the main thing I've been trying to get back into the swing of. I have a lot of that automated using outreach to send emails. But that doesn't get me where I want to be entirely on its own. And I think that's part of why things are slow now. I spent so much time focusing on what I had in the works the past few months that I let the prospecting for new leads fall off. Gotta spin that back up again
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Itโ€™s tough to balance prospering, selling, and closing. When I sold solutions which had a short sales cycle I always made sure I made at least 2 cold calls per day. That may not seem like much, but itโ€™s often 2 more than my colleagues made.
Error32
Politicker
0
ISR
I put in time at Cisco (via acquisition). It sucks.
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