End of Month Sales Quota Pressure
End of Month Sales Quota Pressure –
How to Deal When Deals Are Short
“I’m struggling to hit my sales quota, and the month ends in a few days… What can I do?”
OK, so here’s the problem:
You’re stressed. Bills are piling up, and the month is closing in on you fast. Deals you thought were rock solid have been pushed back to next quarter, and your boss is breathing down your neck about how you better not miss another sales quota.
So you scramble to get approval for some pricing incentives and start calling back prospects that were once hot but are now dragging their feet, and you offer them special “end of month” deals.
Most still don’t buy, and you miss your quota. And I’m not sure what’s worse… the fact that your paycheck is going to be light or the fact that when your prospects are ready to buy next quarter, they will now want that new “lower price”.
It’s a recipe for disaster. And I’ve been there.
The problem with scrambling in the 11th-hour is that your stress comes through over the phone to your prospects.
The “hey, I need to hit my numbers, and I don’t care about your situation right now, just mine” comes through loud and clear. And that creates distrust. All the work you’ve done to build yourself up as a trusted value-added resource got blown out of the water with just one phone call — a phone call you made.
As a straight-commissioned inside salesperson, I’ve lived this scenario more than once. Here’s how I solved it.
Overcoming Sales Quota Pressure
Rather than making sales calls to try and “close out the month” in desperation, I started making sales calls to line up next month’s pipeline.
When I do that, my demeanor is different. I’m no longer “stressed” at the moment. I’m able to focus on a goal and make more productive sales calls. I’m allowing myself to remove the pressure of closing now, to line up sales for next month so I won’t have to repeat this gut-wrenching feeling next month. And guess what happens?
Since I’m calmer and focused on my prospect’s needs, almost always, opportunities arise where possible deals can happen now, rather than later.
The Key to Sales Quota Stress Management
“Inside Sales” is a stressful job. And just like any position (think “Quarterback” down by 5, less than two minutes to go), how you handle stress will be a massive factor in your success or failure.
Allow yourself to have an opportunity to succeed. Remove (or at least manage) the stress factor, and your chances of hitting your target increases.
By focusing on picking up the phone to see if you can help your prospect solve their business challenges and help them be more successful – your intention, focus and demeanor will allow those sales opportunities to develop.
These are the same sales opportunities that would be lost if you were selling in desperation mode.
The lesson is to find ways to manage your stress levels so that your prospects feel that you have their best interests in mind rather than your own. You can never go wrong in sales by focusing on your prospect’s best interests.
What if I Still Missed My Sales Quota?
We all occasionally will miss hitting our numbers. And yes, if you string together one too many missed quotas in a row, you rightfully so will be shown the door. After all, your number one job is to generate new business. And if that’s not happening to the level required by your company that employee’s you, it’s time to move on.
But if you happen to miss quota once in a blue moon, beating yourself up over it will only further damage your chances for next month. Sure, be upset, hold yourself accountable, identify areas that you could and should have done better and what skills you need to improve on to be better going forward, but when the 1st of next month comes, take the advice from Ted Lasso:
Missing one month of quota isn’t the end of the world.
Up your focus, skill level, and output to ensure one month doesn’t turn into two or three.
– Michael Pedone
Michael Pedone is the founder of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company that teaches Phone Sales Tips, Techniques & Strategies that Increase Revenue. Instructor-led & On-demand Sales Training Programs.
