We should never underestimate the power of momentum and what happens when we allow things to come to a stop. It’s winter right now and for a lot of us, that means there is often snow on the ground. With snow comes a change in how you drive. For those of you that live in warm climates and never get to experience driving in the snow, let me give you a quick lesson.
If you’re driving on a snow packed or icy street, it is much more difficult to accelerate after being at a complete stop. As your tires spin and nothing happens, you tend to want to give the engine more power, but that only makes your wheels spin more. Still, the car doesn’t move. The best way to drive on snow packed or icy roads is to never allow the wheels to stop turning. It is all about making sure they are always in continuous motion. If the wheels are turning even just slightly, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to increase speed.
Being successful in sales is the same way. It’s all about creating momentum just like keeping your wheels moving when driving in snow or ice. The key is to never allow yourself to come to a complete stop. This is why I believe so strongly that you must always be prospecting. You cannot allow your pipeline to ever become empty, otherwise you’ll be like the car stuck on a snow packed or icy road unable to move.
Are you committed to prospecting each week? You might be an account manager who doesn’t prospect, but that does not exclude you from working on opening up new opportunities in your accounts. The same goes for every other step in your sales process / sales pipeline. You must ensure there is at least some kind of opportunity at every level.
When there is a complete lack of momentum, your brain will flip out. You’ll suddenly panic and think you need to do something drastic to make it. The panic causes you to freak out, like slamming your foot down on the accelerator. That’s not helpful; however, because your wheels have already come to a dead stop. It also doesn’t help that at this point you’re in a rush. The clock keeps ticking and you constantly have tasks to complete and deadlines to meet. You’ll find it difficult to get moving again and notice yourself just becoming more stuck. Whenever you find yourself in this type of situation without momentum, the key is to look for the smallest opportunity to capitalize on. Don’t worry about its size. Don’t look at the clock. Your goal is to simply gain the slightest bit of momentum to help get you rolling again. By achieving a tiny bit of momentum, you’ll then be able to seek out slightly larger opportunities. Don’t panic and think you don’t have time. The more you panic about the lack of time, the more your wheels will just spin and not get you anywhere.
Creating momentum in sales is identical to driving in snow or ice. If you remember how to drive in those conditions, you’ll be just fine whenever you find yourself at a low point in sales.
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Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results
