This is a guest post by Jo Shaer. She is the founder of Lollipop and a trusted advisor to directors in the professional services sector who want to use the internet to grow their business. 

I posted an update on LinkedIn yesterday that was a screenshot of someone that didn't want to be identified.

So, how are sales?

• Awesome! Best year ever!
• Better than last year, but not what I was hoping for.
• Same old. Same old. Hit my quota. Miss my quota. Still at it.
• Might be time to look for a new job.

You ever wonder which of those answers results in someone hiring me to coach them and which become a lot more successful?

Sometimes, you have to walk into a freakin' wall before you get the whole lesson.

My work year ends 12/15. What would you like? A referral? A closing technique? Role play a situation? Get a prospect that's gone dark back in play? Squeeze one more sale out of your pipeline? Help with setting goals? A fresh prospecting script? Something else? Merry Christmas! One call - no charge.

I had an inquiry today from a sales manager that was looking for some help for a couple of his salespeople. I asked him, "If you had to pick three sales issues to focus on, what would they be?" He replied,

Three different stories with the same ending. Here's what happened.

There's a gazillion ways, but 

I was on a coaching call with a client while they were waiting for a flight. The call was short, but long enough for them to share a brilliant analogy with me. So, I will share it with you.

This scenario plays out every day in millions of households every day.