Selling and a sense of urgency

If you read the title and thought you’d find information about how having weekly, monthly and annual sales goals keeps you pushing and working, that’s not this post. I’m talking about the sense of urgency you have to instill in your own team.

There are always three sides in a sale

I suspect you’re thinking there are not three sides to a sale and that there are two: a customer and a person or company selling the product or service. Stop and consider that the first person (or side) I have to convince of the value proposition I’m presenting is me. That’s side number one.

Then you have to work with the prospective customer to agree on a value proposition that works for both sides. Depending on what you are selling, this part can takes months or years. So while successful selling requires a constant sense of urgency, it must be tempered with patience and perseverance.

The last, and often times most difficult party to instill urgency in, is your own team. These are the players who have to deliver the agreed upon value proposition on time and on budget. Because the customer is energized and excited once the value proposition is agreed upon, your own team often ends up being put in the difficult position of staying fired up and feeling the same sense of urgency.

While it may not be perfect …

Here’s the crux of the issue: While the solution your team has built by deadline day might not be perfect, it’s certainly better than what the customer has. If for some reason it’s not, your business has deeper issues than we can solve in this post. While I respect the pursuit of perfection, I’ve also seen it close the doors of far too many businesses in my time.

“Good enough” can be an elusive term to define. I’ve come up with this simple definition for our own business.

1. We’ve consumed all the resources allocated to the project.
2. The promised due date is upon us.
3. The solution is functional and better than what the client now has.

It’s as simple as that. Put what you’ve created in the hands of the client and let them work with you to make it better. Who knows? They might even start asking for more features and functionality that increase the size of the ongoing value proposition.

Delivery matters

If you are not consistently delivering your projects on time, on budget and meeting specifications, then it’s time to reassess your team’s internal sense of urgency. There is not a private sector job or business I am aware of that stays in business long without constant and consistent productivity. Coast when you must to regain perspective, but make sure you don’t coast right past a promised deadline.

Photo Credit