Why Do People Wait Until New Year to Create Change?
A few weeks ago, Andrew was panicking about his cash flow and sales. His team just weren’t closing the deals, all their most promising prospects had muttered excuses about ‘waiting until January’ to move forward, and he didn’t feel as though he could count on the outcome.
“I can’t afford to just sit around and wait and hope that things improve in January, Chandell. You taught me that. But I don’t know what else to do! If you think you can help me, I’d like you to start working with my team ASAP.”
If you’re in business, I’m sure you’ve heard this kind of response before and wondered what is going through people’s heads when they make that comment. After all, a successful business demands a proactive approach.
When I hear these words, I have a series of questions that help me discover what’s behind the delay and identify the real reasons. After all, if you’re seriously considering a key business purchase that will increase your profits or effectiveness in November, why would you wait until January to do so?
On the surface that suggests that either:
- You aren’t sure about the value; or
- You aren’t sure if you can afford it.
- Neither of those issues are timing issues.
Here’s the question I worked on with Andrew’s team in our first sales team training.