Were your winners really winners?
05 Jan
You won accounts last year that you expected would help you put up big numbers. You had the ability to generate massive value for those clients, and you expected that to turn into big revenue for you. Well, did it?
Were your winners really winners? Did they produce the revenue that you forecasted? How close do those numbers match the numbers you expected when you first opened the opportunity?
If your new clients’ numbers aren’t what you thought they would be, do you know why? Are you not creating the value you needed to create? Do you not deserve to capture all your new clients’ business? What can you do differently in the future to win all their business? How are you going to get your new opportunities all the way over the line?
Singles and doubles. What about the small, transactional, “gimme” accounts you won? Are any of them over-performing? Are any of what you thought to be small wins actually bigger wins than you expected? Now that you know your single or double is actually a home run in disguise, how should your approach change?
Nightmares. Did you win some accounts expecting them to be dream clients only to discover they’re really nightmares? How much of your time and energy is being drained trying to please a client who doesn’t value what you do, saps the energy from your organization, treats you like a commodity and will only say bad things about you when asked?
Are you going to carry those clients into the new year with you? Or are you going to devote your limited time to your dream clients, the ones who value what you do and allow you to capture some of the value you create?
As you make your plan for the new year, take the time to evaluate your portfolio of wins from last year. I guarantee you’ll learn something.
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Anthony Iannarino is the managing director of B2B Sales Coach Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company, and an adjunct faculty member at Capital University’s School of Management and Leadership. For more information, go http://thesalesblog.com/s-anthony-iannarino/
