Sales as a profession has always had its share of stress. In the early days of my career, the activity that caused stress levels to redline for most sellers was the dreaded deal review.
Back then deal reviews were most often ritual beat-ups, dominated by smartest-guy-in-the-room (and they were most often guys) commentary, chest-poking and grandstanding. Other than occasionally lighting a fire under a complacent seller, typically little was accomplished. Times definitely have changed, but I am amazed by how often I still observe this “culture of fear” approach.
I wrote a few weeks ago about the negative flow-on effect that ramping up the pressure can have on forecasting – and the same is true with reviewing deals. If a seller believes the safe path through a deal review to paint the most positive picture possible, cracks get papered over and problems get swept under carpets. The review becomes a sales pitch to persuade the gathered brains-trust their deal is “all green”.
The outcome is a deal infected with optimism bias: close date, value, sales stage, milestone score and overall deal probability all trend positive, based not on reality but because it fits the narrative. Its a set up for disappointment and missed forecasts.
But worse than that, this optimism bias also increases the likelihood that the mitigating strategies and corrective tactics that would result from a more balanced deal assessment don’t actually happen. Which makes the deal less likely to close. Performance drops and the forecast gap widens.
When it comes to reviewing deals, “perfect” is about finding the imperfect. It’s about finding the red flags – identifying the obstacles, risks and knowledge gaps that stand between us and success. In fact, the most productive review sessions happen when a seller has a clear-eyed picture of their deal and comes to the table with many risks already identified, seeking the collective wisdom of the extended team to overcome obstacles to success.
How do you achieve this? I’ll provide some tips in my next post. Watch this space!
