Okay, so you don't want to hear it could be your fault. Margins are eroding, forecasts are just, well, unpredictable, and the excuses for lost customers just keep piling up. Why do these problems keep hitting you in the face?

You ask yourself, "What can I do about it anyway? It's tough out there and the economy's eating us alive."

I've heard the laments around the globe - all the despairing comments on pressure, helplessness and fear, especially FEAR - that's reality in today's marketplace. Its effects ripple through corporations from Fortune 500's all the way down. Fear of lost revenue and best customers, fear of blame and one's own job security.

This is a significant time in economic history. It's tough to move ahead, but it's even tougher to do nothing. The result of doing nothing is simply putting your team at the mercy of the economy, and that's not where you want them to be.

Is there an alternative? Yes! There is a window of opportunity to drive revenue during volatile economic times. You can better position your team to grab market share now. If it's fear that's driving us to do something, well, so be it. Whatever it takes to get us to turn around the situation, let's embrace it and move on. It took courage to stand up to the bully in school, but we all did it at some time, even if only once. We acted on fear, did something about our situation and moved forward.

So, brace yourself! You may get some arrows in your back, but the best leaders do. So let's consider that you decided to move forward.

This demanding marketplace creates constant competitive movement, fluctuating threats and lucrative opportunities. To acquire, expand and retain long-term profitable relationships, companies need to not only protect their turf, but aggressively challenge their market space with a team of skilled professionals; however, "skilled" has a new definition today.

This economy is forcing customers to change the way they do business. Are you changing the way you do yours? Do yesterday's skilled professionals measure up in the complex sales arena today?

Acquisitions, mergers, tightening supply chain management and severe pricing pressures on both sides of the table, add to the complexity of managing the decisions of buyers. Decisions move higher in organizations, yet customers tend to commoditize even the most complex solutions.

Challenge and validate your thinking now. You've heard the poem "I took the path less taken," well, I'm suggesting that you take that path. This will be different, but you haven't seen the economy quite like this before either. So, it's time to consider a new approach.

The old 80/20 rule does not apply today. This traditional, standard business practice is a model for maintaining mediocrity. It's tough to compete in mediocrity.

In today's complex sales arena, the top 5% are the movers and shakers. 15% are struggling to keep their elite "20 Percenter" status, the middle group is losing ground and the bottom may already have been eliminated in the downsizing process. So let's take a closer look at the top 5%, because that's where the revenue is, and everyone on your team should be given the opportunity to perform at that same skill level.

In the top 5%, each individual brings unique expertise and experience to your company and to your customers. Some work extremely hard and some just work smart. Working smart is where we all want to be, and in the sales process, working smart is all about building skills and credibility with our customers, and sustaining credibility through a mutual, long-term business development relationship that drives revenue for you and your customers.

Here's a good example of not working smart. Most sales methodologies teach how to determine the customer's decision-making process: what they need, what's important, how they measure and what they compare. They're assuming that your customer has a good decision process in place when your salesperson walks in the door. Armed with information, salespeople are told how to position and present benefits and solutions. There is a flaw in this strategy, and it's dangerous, because if your customer does not have a quality decision process in place, your people will present good information into a bad process. The result is random and unpredictable. Good assumptions have lost many sales. Top performers don't assume anything. Let's take a closer look at it.

Consider, and rightly so, that your customer does not have a good decision process in place regarding the uniqueness of the products or services you provide. If they don't have a good decision process in place, how can they clearly determine the impact of your solution on their job responsibility and the multiple disciplines in their company? Are all the disciplines even addressed? Can the customer ask the right questions to understand the cost of their problem in absence of your solution? Customers are confused. They need our help in managing their decisions.

An easier decision for the customer is comparing cost. That they understand. If your team is playing that game, you're looking at the lowest common denominator of the sales process...negotiating price, and that's not where you want them to be.

How the customer's decision process is managed is unique to top performing professionals. A thorough understanding of the process is required to compete effectively, especially in today's volatile economy. The smart performer today, and the smart leader, finds a system that shows the roadmap to getting the job done right. After all, if you're working to make money, why not figure out a way to get everyone to make more?

You don't have to settle for mediocrity or give in to failure. You don't have to allow your team to be at the mercy of the economy. You don't have to take the blame for poor revenue results. You can win more sales and drive revenue to produce superior sales results. It requires a highly-skilled, "unique" team of sales professionals. You can make it happen!!!

Pat Thull, COO / Partner  
Prime Resource Group, Inc.

Prime Resource Group is a consulting and training company
based in Minneapolis, MN, focusing on the complex sales of
technology, capital equipment and high-level professional services.