Gardening and Sales!
Below is how growing a garden can be related to sales. Each company will have different percentages/stages but the concepts are the same!
Your company is the Garden – Each different type of Fruit/vegetable is a specific account set (Territory) within the company.
Sales Rep/Account MGR is a Type of Fruit/Vegetable – Each person has a different crop and a countless number of seeds they can grow.
When you cultivate the dirt and add some fertilizer to prepare for your seeds – 0% - Just waiting for the seeds to be planted
Each seed is planted with just the dirt to protect it – 10% – You must water it, hope it gets light but be patient until it begins to grow
When the seed becomes a seedling and emerges from the soil – 20% - You begin to see what shape the deal will take (You have the Budget, Authority, Need, Time Frame), but you must tread lightly, too much sun or water will kill the deal.
The plant is now growing taller and more full - 40% - This is where you know the opportunity has life (Technical specialists/Demo’s/follow-up questions) but there are still a lot of dangers out there – water, birds, bugs (Competition) – You must protect this early stage to win in the end.
Flowers are abundant - 60% - This is where the customer has quotes for your solution and you own the #1 option – There can still be hiccups but there is a lot of confidence that fruit will be produced.
Early forms of fruit/vegetable but not ready for harvest - 80% - There is a now a verbal commitment and we are just waiting for that final paperwork. You must pick the fruit/vegetable at just the right time because too long could result in a rotten fruit. Too early and the customer could have a bad taste in their mouth and not want to buy fruit from you again!
Finally the fruit/vegetable is harvested – 100% - Now you can enjoy the benefits of an amazing win in the garden.
Of course nobody wants to go hungry so you must constantly be planting seeds to have a consistent harvest.
Remember that the fruits/vegetables you produce have seeds that can be planted to continue helping your garden produce!! Your solution can be purchased by a customer but that could lead to another opportunity!
How many vegetables do you have growing in your garden?
