Isn’t it funny what life has to teach us under our noses?
We acquired a new cat that had been dumped out at a friends’ farm. This same friend already has about 15 felines (last time she counted), so we were recruited into providing a lovely year old kitty with a new home. All in our household were in favor, but no one asked Caesar, our 5 year old feline, whether he supported the new addition. And let me tell you the first day he was not happy at all! (My mom is still healing from their first face to face meeting….)
First day the hostilities were abounding, then Caesar changed tactics. Knowing who the ‘pack leaders’ in the household were, he has abandoned the former post of sleeping with whichever body was the largest and warmest (formerly held by our 17 year old 6’+son) to my husband and myself. He has become our shadow. We haven’t had a cat sleeping with us since he moved in 4 years ago and now he wants to be right between us at night. So, last night he jumped up and we knocked him down, jumped up again and down again he went. Finally after tossing him out of the room 5 times he snuck up and found his spot at the foot of the bed where he didn’t get booted out. This cat knows to protect his territory…
Do you?
How hard do we work when we get booted off? Right now our current economy requires we work very smart with each and every opportunity we are presented. So your ‘no’goal that you are after each day has increased, but just because you get the 1st no doesn’t mean you can move on to the next, especially if you have a limited market. I can’t count how many times I tell a salesperson I coach, change direction, regroup, go a different path-but go. We have no time to lick our wounds – we have to go right back at it again.
The statistics before the recession supported that most sales around 85% were made from existing budget and 15% from discretionary, now the numbers are nearly all are made from existing budget, but the budgets now have decreased substantially so our opportunity pool is substantially smaller. Giving up at the first time now means you probably won’t have sales.
Caesar didn’t come back to my side of the bed and ask the same person if he could snuggle up. He went between the two of us and finally found an acceptable entrance from my feline ambivalent husband who told me to ‘just leave him alone and go to sleep.’
The same is true for you. Go find another entrance or decision maker, preferably higher up in the organization who has more to lose by not changing what they are doing. Show them that their current tactics are costing them money and they will be receptive to you bringing them solutions to address their economic challenges.