Change the Goal
I was speaking to a very talented salesperson recently and they asked me about a plateau. They were concerned about the tension between the “gaming” customers and how it doesn’t feel good – but the numbers are up.
He was in tune with himself enough to know that the numerical goal didn’t feel sustainable and that gaming customers is never a good move.
I asked him a simple question: what if you changed the goal? What if DIALOGUE is the goal and not NUMBERS?
His whole body changed. His eyes cleared and his voice became more resonant.
“That makes sense.”
Reality Check
I am not downplaying the pressure of number performance. It will always be there. But the fact is that a number is easy to judge but it can also lie “bigly.”
A great month looks nice and comes out clearly on a year over year comparison — But what if meeting your numbers this month just damaged your potential for dialogue forever?
Is it worth it?
“ I go to zero in number every month, but I never go to zero dialogue.
A wine sales career demands dialogue. You want those who you seek to serve to want to engage with you for a real reason.
Don’t just pour some stuff in a glass. Pour it for the person you are sharing with.
Don’t just take that order. Listen to them.
Change the goal.