Unpacking My Recent “Business Sentiment Whiplash” and Having to Tell Procurement to "Pound Sand”

In the episode Mike talks about two recent experiences with great
relevance for sales leaders.


First, he shares his reaction to what he is calling “business
sentiment whiplash.” In just a period of a few weeks it feels
like business momentum and sentiment has shifted from boom to
bust. Mike expresses his bewilderment that we so quickly pivoted
from go, go, go, hire, hire, hire, spend, spend, spend to a
posture of pessimism as job offers are being rescinded,
conferences being postponed, and companies talking about cutting
back. There are enormous sales management implications as we
work through this whiplash. The strong reaction to this
post prompted Mike to unpack his thoughts further in this
episode.


Next, Mike reveals a recent painful experience with a large
company’s procurement department that would be humorous if it
wasn’t true. The reaction to this LinkedIn
post inspired him to share more of the story in this
episode. 


Hear Mike’s reaction to receiving a 36-page guide to help his
team navigate this company’s procurement portal. That’s right. A
36-page guide on how to get set up as a “vendor.”  If you’re
familiar with Sales Truth, you can imagine that this
did not end well. Quoting Chapter 13, he offers a
strong reminder on why we need to own our rules
of engagement, and that it’s imperative to maintain a full
pipeline of opportunities so we can sell from an abundance
mentality.


“…we decided a few years ago that 100 percent of my effort goes
into creating value for clients; I promised myself and my clients
that all of our energy will be focused solely on creating and
delivering the best speaking/workshop/coaching/consulting
engagement possible. Due to that commitment to my clients, I
refuse to put even one ounce of energy jumping through
procurement hoops…”


Books mentioned in Episode 33:


Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play by Mahan Khalsa

Baseline Selling by Dave Kurlan



Finally, Mike wraps the episode with an announcement about a new
offering, The Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort. You can hear the
“why” and the “what” behind this coaching cohort in this
short video.


 


Upcoming Opportunities for Sales Leaders:


September 14th, London, UK  – Mike is co-hosting SALES
EXECUTION SIMPLIFIED, a special one-day event for sales execs,
leaders and managers. More info here:
 https://event.growthmattersintl.com/ses22/


 


October 11th, Atlanta, GA – Supercharge Your Sales
Leadership, one-day intensive at The Porsche Experience Center.
Just 6 spots (of 50) are still available. More info
here: https://mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2022/