I love playoff hockey. I especially love it when the Bruins are winning. As the Bruins continue through another series against the Penguins, you can easily see their sense of urgency – and it always begins right at game one of each series.
A sense of urgency is something that athletes possess; it’s definitely something inside sales reps need to possess as well. Just like the Bruins give it their all from game one of every series, sales reps need to give it their all from the first of every month, quarter, year, etc. This is a good time to be thinking about this as we’ve just begun the month of June.
One of the common questions I get when interviewing a candidate is, “What are you looking for in a rep on your team?” and I always respond with, “Someone with a high sense of urgency.” I then go on to explain the definition of a “sense of urgency” as being able to automatically detect the things that affect achieving goals which call for immediate attention, and then acting on them until they have been successfully completed. (That’s the formal definition. Mine, in a nutshell, is showing effort, persistence and a “can-do” attitude consistently so goals are met and exceeded, and doing whatever it takes to get there!)
As we start out on the first week of June, start thinking about whether or not you are doing everything you can to get ahead of your goals sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until week two or three to get into gear; develop that sense of urgency ASAP to make yourself more content (not to mention your boss). I’m pretty sure that’s the attitude the Bruins have right now as they get ready for game two tonight. Here are some ways that you can be better at demonstrating a sense of urgency this month. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see the correlation between your actions and your increasing lead volume:
Take advantage of the idea of team work. If you are in an inside sales role, odds are that you are surrounded by a high-energy group of reps who have great ideas. If you were below-goal or not satisfied about where you ended up last month, ask a top performer to sit in with you this month to offer some tips and tricks to help you. Or ask them to take a look at your scripts and offer their thoughts. Achieve goals by working together – that’s how Tuukka and Chara do it, right?
Seek guidance from your coach. Your boss is very busy, but not too busy to help you achieve your goals, so never feel like you can’t go talk to them. If you are struggling, they’d prefer it much more if you approached them on the first day of the month with that sense of urgency, saying, “I didn’t hit my goal last month. I am very concerned. Can you help me come up with a plan for how I can prevent that from happening this month?” I know Claude Julien would never turn down his team when asking for help.
Don’t get discouraged. If you feel like you are doing everything you can and you haven’t uncovered a lead within the first couple of days in the month, don’t get discouraged. Make smarter dials, and continue to ask for suggestions from your team and boss on scripting and lists to keep that sense of urgency up. Despite Cooke ending Savard’s career a few years ago, the Bruins became even more fueled, and it’s already shown in this series that they aren’t going to let anything hold them back, even Cooke’s cheap shots.
Put your time management skills to use. I had a rep on my team approach me recently, saying, “I am struggling to get everything done, can you help me get organized? I need to hit my goal.” We sat down and we reorganized his calendar, blocking off times each day for him to call into his territory. We factored in time for administrative tasks as well. His decision to come to me demonstrated a huge sense of urgency, and I loved it! The Bruins travel all over the country and still get it done, so there are no excuses for not being able to manage your time well as we head into this fresh month!
Do the unexpected. A person that demonstrates a strong sense of urgency constantly hits their goals by doing what’s unexpected of them by going above and beyond. For example, they stay late, come in early, present new ideas, develop new messaging templates without being asked, and the list goes on. Everyone was saying the Bruins weren’t expected to win on Saturday, and look how they closed out the game: 3-0! They’ll continue this perseverance throughout the series, just like you will throughout the month! Your extra efforts won’t go unnoticed.
It’s the first business day of a new month. Take a look at yourself and ask yourself if you are consistently portraying a strong sense of urgency, whether it’s the first, 15th, or last of the month. And lastly…Go B’s!
