"That Will Close in Q2, Boss!" (Pssst. Tell Us Why It Might Not)

Smoking.
Obesity.
Texting while driving.

Duh! It’s right after New Year’s. We’re well aware of what increases our personal risks.

If only there was a similar consensus for sales risks. Nobody wants to be risky, but the problem is, many people have an incomplete picture of the selling risks that surround them. As my cousin Jim (not his real name) who manages a venture capital company once told me, “we don’t worry about selling risks for our funded companies. If a VP of sales doesn’t make his number, we fire him!”

For Jim, managing sales risks boils down to “don’t hire a Sales VP capable of flawed judgment.” Good luck, Jim. As for the rest of us, it helps to know what sales risks matter. What could prevent you or your organization from meeting its revenue targets? And how do you manage those risks?

We completed a survey of sales risks on February 15th, and received approximately 100 responses from sales, marketing, and business development professionals from around the world. The findings were posted in June in the 2010 Sales Risk Survey.