Focus on what you can control!

As someone who has led multiple sales teams for small and large companies I have heard many stories about why a deal is not going to close at the expected close date. And most of the reasons are ‘blamed’ on circumstances outside the sales reps control.

In sales, understanding what you can control versus what you can’t is crucial to stay focused, productive, and driving success.?

Some things you Can Control in Sales

1. Your Activity Levels

Example: You can control how many calls, emails and follow-ups you complete each day. Setting personal goals, such as making 50 calls or sending 20 follow-up emails, keeps you accountable and ensures consistent effort.

Why it Matters: The more actions you take, the greater your chances of converting leads into customers.

2. Who You Target

Example: You can control the quality of your leads by being selective about who you target. Use tools like CRM data, customer profiles and market research to focus on prospects most likely to convert.

Why it Matters: Focusing on high-quality leads increases your chances of success, rather than wasting time on leads with low conversion potential.

3. The Questions You Ask

Example: You can control how you structure your conversations with prospects. Asking open-ended questions like, “What challenges are you facing?” or “How does this affect your business goals?” uncovers pain points and builds rapport.

Why it Matters: Good questions lead to better understanding of the prospect’s needs, allowing you to tailor your solution and build a stronger case for why they should choose you.

4. Your Preparation

Example: You can control how prepared you are for every meeting, demo or pitch. Research the prospect's business, know their industry challenges and be ready to offer relevant solutions.

Why it Matters: Preparation builds credibility and allows you to address specific pain points, making you more persuasive and increasing your chances of closing the deal.

5. How You Handle Objections

Example: You can control your response to objections. Rather than seeing them as setbacks, view them as opportunities to provide clarity. Use techniques like acknowledging the objection, asking clarifying questions and providing examples of how you’ve solved similar issues for other clients.

Why it Matters: Handling objections effectively can turn a "no" into a "yes" and keep the conversation moving forward.

Some things you Can’t Control in Sales (But Can Influence)

1. Your Prospect’s Decision Timeline

Example: You can’t control when a prospect decides to make a purchase. However, you can ask questions like, “What is your timeline for making a decision?” and “Are there upcoming deadlines we can help you meet?” to better understand and potentially influence their timeline.

How to Manage: Create urgency by highlighting the risks of inaction or offering incentives for quicker decision-making. Make sure you know their decision making process i.e. Do they need to go to tender or do they need board approval?

2. Budget Cuts

Example: You can’t control when a prospect experiences budget cuts. However, you can manage this by selling on value, showing how your product or service addresses their key pain points and can even save money or generate revenue.

How to Manage: Use data and case studies to demonstrate ROI, showing how your solution can actually help them do more with less, even in a tight budget environment.

3. Internal Changes at the Prospect's Company

Example: You can't control when a key contact goes on maternity/paternity leave or when there’s an organisational restructuring. What you can do is ask for introductions to their temporary replacement or stay in contact with other decision-makers.

How to Manage: Always multithread and maintain relationships with multiple contacts within the company to avoid being caught off guard by sudden changes.

Focus on the controllable aspects of your daily work—activity levels, targeting, questions, preparation and handling objections. Stay consistent in these areas to influence outcomes positively.

Next week I will be talking about what sales leaders can control.

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