[Note: As I wrote this, I couldn’t stop myself from going deeper into the topic. So this has become a 2-part blog article.]

Here is the cycle (and if your cycle time is different, you can replace the timing if your team is playing a weekly game, quarterly game, or annual game):

The Monthly Sales Cycle

• Goals for the month are set.
• Month begins.
• The beginning of the month starts slow.
• Week one’s revenue/sales are below what it should have been.
• You push the team to do better in week two.
• Week two is a little bit better. On target for what is needed but didn’t make up for what week one missed for numbers.
• Second half goal is adjusted to make up for where the team is at relative to the monthly goal.
• Week three is better. The team is pushing harder.
• Monthly goal is now looking like it could get achieved.
• Final week of the month – week four – all hands on deck pushing.
• Energy is high, team is doing all they can with every opportunity, follow up calls are being made.
• Month ends with the team achieving (or exceeding) the goal.
• Team and managers breathe a sigh of relief.
• Cycle repeats the following month.

Variations of the Cycle

If you are playing a weekly game with your team (their goals and comp plan are based on weekly sales performance) – then your cycle is Monday through Friday, where Monday is low, Thursday is strong, Friday could be a down performance day. If you are on a quarterly cycle, then you will have an underwhelming month 1, month 2 will be decent, month 3 is the driver of results.

Why Does This Cycle Happen?

Answer: Humans and human nature.

Most humans can’t sprint a marathon. Either you are a sprinter or a marathon runner, but not both (except for those few people who literally sprint a marathon and come in under 3 hours).

Which means as someone tries to sprint through something, especially to get to the finish line, they will use up what they had in the energy tank. Could be a mental task. Could be physical. Whatever the project is, if there was a flurry of energy and focus required to finish on target then there will be a recovery period. This is why the thought of pulling an all-nighter for school or even for work seems like it works well to get the project done, but the cost after will balance it out.

Personal Anecdote: I remember one time at work I got 2 hours of sleep in a 36-hour period – not because of procrastination but trying to get a last-minute deal done. The cost was that it took me two days to get back on track, plus I had a small fender bender on the way home because I was so exhausted. Pull that all-nighter writing or study session in school – then days of recovering mentally and physically.

For salespeople, it’s a mental bandwidth and energy-intensive role. Either giving all you have during sales conversations or on edge waiting and ready for the next opportunity. If you are a seasoned professional and have built up the sales muscles, then you can get through it reliably but still need some recovery time on the weekends.

The Endless Spiral

The problem with this is that the cycle causes the cycle. It’s an endless spiral. And it will always end badly before a reset. Humans have a limit, albeit very high. Lack of recovery time will lead them to break.

Now this could come out in the form of getting sick, calling in sick to take a mental health day, or quitting. It could equal showing up (because they need the job) but literally doing nothing while at work because the hamster on the wheel is taking a nap. Lights are on, but no one is currently home, if you know what I mean.

What Managers Normally Do

They push when the game is on the line. They see the goal, they are reminded of the goal by their leadership, and they feel the pressure. So, they put that on the team to get the results.

Usually at the start of week 3, it will feel like a half-time speech for a team that is losing. They are back in the locker room, the stats don’t look good, and they won’t win unless something, anything, everything changes. The coach can take various approaches – soft, gentle, understanding, or loud, upset, or passionate, excited, and fired up.

It depends on the mood, the scoreboard, and the effort of the team during the first half, but sales managers will do the same thing. I have done the same thing before. If the team has been doing all they could, then the half-time speech will be different than if they have all been mailing it in and need to be fired up (or just fired, as it feels like sometimes).

After the half-time speech, there could be some bribing (second half contest/spiff) to get results, threats (cut off leads, reduction in the team) to instill the right amount of fear, or begging.

Then the team comes out, fired up, and wins the month/game. But like that basketball team that spends all season underperforming in the first half of each game and then comes out in the third quarter fired up and ready to play – this is a tough cycle.

Conclusion

Playing from behind is stressful, and you can’t win every game at the buzzer (there is no 100% shot) and win every month during the last week or days. There are countless factors that you and they cannot control, and it puts too much pressure on them and the potential customers. By the way, you don’t think they can, but your potential customers who interact with your pressured team at the end of the cycle can feel that pressure as well.

Check out Part 2: How To Stop The Cycle [https://go.sellingeffectiveness.com/7.30.LI.AM]