Productivity

COVID-19 created a world-wide crisis and is negatively impacting many businesses. It’s important we don’t stop working during this time, but rather, keep our revenue engines running. When the crisis slows or ends, you don’t want to have an empty pipeline. It will take time to rebuild the revenue flow and it will create a larger revenue gap for the companies who stop investing in pipeline building activities. The companies that continue to sell and market during this crisis will likely avoid potential fatal gaps in cash flow throughout the end of the year.

At Xbox, my boss Don Mattrick used to ask this question every time we met: “Val, did you make more than a week’s progress last week?” He would want to know what he could do to speed up how I delivered my goals, what was in the way that he could help move, whether there was anything at risk of not being completed on time, and what else I needed to do to improve the probability of success.

In order to be a quota crusher, you have to know how to ask the right questions. Understanding your prospect’s problem better than the next salesperson (and making sure your prospect sees that you understand) will set you apart from the competition. To get there, you need to create an advanced, structured approach to questioning. I won’t sugarcoat it: This is extra work! When you become an advanced questioner, you’re going above and beyond what most salespeople are doing—but that’s exactly why you should be doing it.

This past week Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon all advised corporate employees to temporarily work from home resulting in a flurry of meetings switching to the dreaded Zoom/Teams/BlueJeans/webEx video alternatives. Most problems with video calls are solvable, but you have to prepare before, during, and after the call. Here are some fast tips for making your video calls far less painful: