None Of This Is Easy. Bring Your A-Game.

Selling well isn’t easy; it never has been. It’s heavy lifting, and it isn’t getting any easier, either.

Prospecting is more difficult than ever. Even though we have better research tools, more ways to touch our dream clients, and countless ways to vie for their time and attention, it’s get more and more difficult to connect. It’s more difficult to open the relationships that open opportunities because our dream clients are being asked to do more with less. They have less time. There’s too many of us asking for their time and attention and too many that don’t, can’t, or won’t create value.

Prospecting isn’t easy.

Differentiating yourself and your offering is also becoming more and more difficult. We live in a global economy that insists on commoditizing almost everything as quickly and efficiently as it can. Much of what we offer in the way of differentiation would require that our clients invest more in getting the results that they seek. Too many companies focus on price when they should focus on cost. Too many of us still let them, focusing on me-too offerings and failing to move from price to cost.

Differentiation isn’t easy.

Your business acumen and your situational knowledge can differentiate you, and you can bring it to bear during your needs analysis. If it isn’t difficult to do a good and thorough needs analysis, it’s surely more difficult and complicated to help your dream client with the constraints that prevent them from achieving the results that they desperately need—especially the financial constraints. It’s more difficult to get agreement on solving the big problems and tackling the big constraints.

Diagnosing and building solutions isn’t easy.

It isn’t easy to present well, even in a world of bad PowerPoint. It’s hard to tell a meaningful and compelling story when so many are cynical. It’s even more difficult for some clients that don’t share with you the information that you need or give you access to the people who have it. Some are so busy they can’t break free from their laptops or smart phones long enough to give your story their full attention.

Presenting your solution isn’t easy.

Delivering results is more difficult than ever. Most of us are being asked to do more with fewer resources. Our clients are being asked to do the same. Many of the people that make up our team and their team are stretched too thin already, let alone taking on another change initiative. But the expectations and demands are high nonetheless.

Delivering results isn’t easy.

Strong Enough, and Improving Still

But, we are still getting better. With all of the challenges, all of the obstacles, and all of the difficulties that we face, we are still succeeding and making sales.

We are still prospecting and we are still scheduling appointments with our dream clients.

We are still working with our dream clients to uncover their needs in a meaningful way.

We are still helping build solutions that produce better results, and we are still presenting compelling stories.

We are still delivering. We are still succeeding in sales.

We are, in fact, getting better and better. If we aren’t ahead of the curve on all of these challenges, we are at the very least keeping pace. When we do fall behind the changes the business environment throws our way, we are quickly recovering our footing; we catch up.

To keep this pace, we have to continue to work diligently and with greater effort to be both the salespeople and businesspeople that we need to be. We are going to have to continue to bring our A-game, and an A-game that is always improving.