Diagnose the Sales Disease Rather Than Treating the Symptoms

In a recent conversation with a new client, we discussed a struggling salesperson.

We decided to call the salesperson into the office and sort things out.

When we asked the salesperson why she thought the goals were not being met, she shared that she was not comfortable prospecting.

After a few more questions about prospecting, the owner pointed out that the prior week, the salesperson shared that she didn't like to close.

So, rather than working on prospecting or closing techniques (managing the symptoms), it became evident that the real problem for the salesperson was fear (the disease).

It was not that she didn't know how to prospect or close. It was the fact that both prospecting and closing represented risk.

We needed to fix the salespersons' aversion to taking risks and fear of rejection. Treating those symptoms wouldn't do any good in the long run.

We must ensure we are working on the right part of the problem!

When diagnosing problems with your sales process, take time to articulate and explore the disease behind the symptoms.