Is Short Term Focus In Sales Good or Bad?

I was inspired recently when I was again invited to do a sales workshop for the NSW Young Achievers Awards.  And it got me thinking about the question of whether having a short term focus in sales is a good or a bad thing?

This wonderful program invites high school students in years 11 and 12 as well as first year university students to form small teams and create a company, finance the development of a product, market the product, sell the product, with the aim to make as much profit as possible, then at the end of a 3 month period, to close the company down.

Fascinating!

Each student is allocated a company position including, general manager, finance, human resources, marketing, sales, production/distribution etc. I get to present to the sales people. And what an energetic bunch they always are…..keen to learn….lots of questions they want answers to….and mostly, looking for ways to ‘close’ as many sales as possible.

While many of them have been put in the sales role because they are good talkers and confident, some have ‘landed’ the role because all of the others were taken.

What has been most inspiring for me, is that in each of the three years now that I’ve been invited to present my sales workshop for the program, there have been a number of students who believe that even when they close the business down as part of the program, that they have a future in sales…..and that their business idea that they have been part of creating, just might be the business that they continue with when they complete their education.

The tough part for many of the students as ‘salespeople’ is that they really are focused on just getting the sale and making a profit…..and for many, because the start up and close down reality of the business is so short, there’s a danger that almost anything goes. Each year, I’ve been impressed that the winning company that makes the most profit, has been a company that has really identified a problem that they can fix for people, and have focused on fixing the problem with the best service they can provide in the short time that the program is in operation.

In Our World

In the current economic environment, I sense that for many salespeople, there is pressure for them to have a short term focus and that this can cause some internal conflict with their values – especially when most if not all of us understand that selling is about building long term trust.

The reality is that in sales, having a short term focus IS important.

That doesn’t mean do things that will jeopardise the long term relationship. However, it is incumbent on us all in sales to keep up the sales and marketing activity levels to ensure that we are creating sufficient revenue and cash flow for our businesses to remain healthy.

I was recently reminded of a great question that all of us in sales needs to be constantly asking.

The question is…. “What am I doing to make some cash today?”

It’s a really good question.

It’s even a better question when you ask

“What can I do to create value for my existing or potential clients today that will result in me increasing my sales?”

Who haven’t you been in contact with for a while?

Whose situation might have changed recently that could put you and your product or service offerings in a different light?

Who have you been meaning to contact, but just haven’t got around to it?

 What value can you discover for your potential and existing clients, other than your products and services, that they would be interested in?

Where’s Your Low Hanging Fruit Of Opportunity?

Sometimes the low hanging fruits of opportunity are so close to us that we don’t see them. So just a gentle reminder for all of us in sales, that there’s nothing wrong with a short term focus as long as it’s building on long term trust relationships.