Creating your own single source of truth

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Tue, Jun 30, 2020

covid-19Rarely, as in never, do I get into a discussion in this blog about politics, and to a large degree this post is not about politics, it's just about the science, the data and the sources of the truth behind the pandemic and its impact.

What each of us should be doing at this time is to identify our own "single sources of truth" regarding the disease, the impact that it's making on our physical and mental health, and the devastating effect on our businesses and our jobs.

The only way we can fight back is with discipline in what we do, how we act, and how we sell and market our products

Six months into this, we clearly know the facts...

  • Covid kills without judgement as to climate, borders, race, social status or economics.
  • We know the number of infections and realize now that those are probably 20% less than actual.
  • We know the number of deaths and the velocity of the increases by city and state.
  • We know that the infection and death rates are less in those states that mandated firmer shutdowns
  • We now see the huge increases where rules continue to be vague about masks and social distancing 
  • A vaccine that will impact a large percentage of the population is at least a year away.

One full quarter into this, we're also now directly experiencing the impact on our businesses. In a few sectors, largely in trucking, healthcare, and tech, that impact has been net positive, or at least it hasn't been negative.  In other markets, of course, such as tourism, travel and restaurants, the impact has been severe with huge numbers of companies projected to shut down permanently.  I've done a lot of webinars since February and couple recently for tourism associations, and it's heart-wrenching to listen to the owners of these inns, hotels and restaurants.  

Clearly, we're still in the beginning phases of this pandemic and still do not have enough data to be able to forecast accurately, but the overall impact economically and personally to millions of people and their businesses has been devastating.  I purposefully chose in the bullets above not to add much in the way of metrics since I did not want to get in a dispute on whether the numbers came from the CDC, the NIH or the WHO. I have my own "single sources of truth" about the infection data (CDC), the potential cures (NIH) and the financial impact (Bloomberg) on jobs and specific markets, but they personally fit what I want to know.  I also believe that it's important for all of us in business to adopt our own "single sources of truth" that will provide us individually with a firmer platform for decision making rather than the fluff of the 6:30 nightly news. 



The Big Three:  

three-1The facts are that the virus is highly contagious, it kills indiscriminately, it remains out of control, and it can be sharply reduced by the same Big 3 of washing hands, face masks and social distancing that we've been hearing and talking about for months.    Hopefully, we will all become more personally cautious as a result of the recent surge in infections. More than hope, which I never believe in, it would be best to experience strong leadership and mandates at the federal level and less vagueness among many state governors about what to do and how to do it. 
 

In the meantime, with this quarter ending today, we can now make an initial judgement on the beginning impact of the virus on our businesses.  Still not enough data to make meaningful forecasts for the next six months, but enough now to be able to project Q3, and come Labor Day, we should be able to provide a higher level of accuracy to what the end of 2020 will look like.   

Managing Sales Successfully in a Covid World:  August 24th--25th 

 

Sales Boot Camp It's for this reason that we are scheduling our next online Sales Management Boot Camp at the end of August, so that we can arm our sales leaders with impactful battle plans and proven sales tactics that will enable their salespeople to achieve success during the unknowns of the last four months of 2020:

For two mornings of August 24th & 25th, we're holding our Sales Management Boot Camp online. 

The next day, August 26th, we're available to work one-on-one with team members.

 

  • Focused on sales management for CEOs, presidents and sales managers at all levels
  • We're totally focused on tactics to insure a successful September & Q4.
  • Focus will be specific tactics within the categories of process, tools, technologies, & people
  • Skills training, process-building, lead gen, forecasting, closing, and managing & hiring in 2020.
  • Proven sales management experts:  Jack & George plus...
  • James Stone, Director, Mid Market Sales, Hubspot & Colleen Honan, CSO, Building Engines
  • Mike Schumann, VP Sales, SYRG, & John Routhier, CSO, Skill Survey, just signed up. 
  • We will specifically customize our content around the specific needs of our attendee team.  Now's the time to sign up and let us know where you want us to tactically focus. 

Different from big numbers of people and formulaic programs, our boot camps are focused at 20ish managers so that there is plenty of opportunity for customization and active engagement through the sessions.  

Click here for more information, and then my suggestion would be to connect with me directly at jack@derbymanagement.com, and we can set up a call to answer questions.  

HAVE A GREAT DAY SELLING (VIRTUALLY) TODAY on the last day of the Q!  

Jack and Tufts Entrepreneurship Center -1

If at any time, you have a need for a confidential sounding board in business planning or for Sales or Marketing , just connect with me at any time.  Text or email me, and I will quickly set up a call. 

I'm a pretty good listener.  Obviously, no cost for a call or two; just an opportunity to listen intently and make a few recommendations based on decades of experience.

Be safe, be positive and be tactical! 

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Tags: Sales Management Best Practices, sales enablement, sales management boot camp, sales boot camps, how to write a sales plan, 2020 sales plans, Selling Successfully in a Covid World