Failure Modes
Here is a list of some common reasons reps fail:
No Real Commitment. Just visiting, on “vacation” from present job.
All Talk. No walk, bravado and bragging with no delivery.
Blame Game. Always “their” fault, excuses for every event.
Life is Unfair. So? And your strategy is to moan and whine and for 70+yrs?.
Entitlement. Welfare mentality, the world “owes” me.
Dinosaurs. Won’t adapt or change.
Sell and Pitch. If it ever worked it doesn’t now.
Lazy and Spoiled. Work is a 4-letter word.
Don’t Have to Work. Spouse, parents, or savings so no big hurry.
I’m Pretty. Bow down before me – doesn’t work to well on the phone.
Schmoozer Extraordinaire. Everybody’s best friend, should have been a dog.
Connections. Won’t help you get a sale.
Pedigreed Elitist. I can care less if you’re on the board at Georgetown, we are a meritocracy not a monarchy.
College Degrees. Nice to have but hard to monetize.
Engineers and Attorneys. Left brain, analytical – endless questions, think too much for their own good and can talk themselves out of a great job.
Consultants. Not held accountable for results, paid to bullshit and look good.
MBAs. Theoretical bs. Welcome to the real world – now get back on the phone.
Favors. If you do them you won’t have to deliver. Wrong.
Politics. Maneuvering for position instead of a sale. Run for office on your own time.
Too Nice. Roll over, good doggie! Park it at the door.
Manic Depressive Roller Coaster. Make a sale they’re up. If not they are down. 10 second rule – get a sale you have 10 seconds to celebrate, if not 10 seconds to moan about it. Then shut up and get back on the phone.
Money. No financial resources = DOA.
Desperation. Smell the fear, next step panic.
Touchy Feely Phobic. Is your EQ as high as your IQ?
Conflict Phobic. Go along to get along and you will be long gone.
Lack of Perspective. One bad day does not predict a bad month. Takes days or weeks to recover form a lost deal.
Easy Money. Where?
Salary. Guaranteed poverty but addictive.
Comfort Zone. Stops selling when makes enough to pay the rent.
Lack of Initiative. Not a self starter, needs constant prodding and “motivation” to do anything.
Ego. Divorce your ego from the process, facilitate.
Attached to Outcomes. Thinking of co-mission instead of mission.
Control Freak. Micro-manage everything to death.
Negativity and Paranoia. Maybe the world is out to get you because nobody likes you? I’ve got news for you, the world is out to get everybody, not just you, and nobody gets out alive.
Grandiosity. Going after the big deals, small deals daily not good enough for pie-in-the-sky dreamers and megalomaniacs.
Cynical. I won’t believe even if you prove it.
Reinvent the Wheel. Won’t follow process – arrogant, or stupid?
Great Ideas!. Way more fun than working.
My boss is an Asshole. A great all-purpose excuse not to work or to quit. Different job, different boss, another asshole. Surprised?
You Can Do It – but I Can’t. How convenient! This lets you off the hook, but the rest of us have no easy way out.