Hey there, buddy.
Sounds like you had a rough day today. That Speakman account didn’t close and the boss is on your butt for being short for the month. What does he know; he’s not here in the trenches, right? Well, you have three days left in the month, so you can totally pull through on this one. Let’s do this! Ugh…
Does this sound like a story you told yourself recently?
As a salesperson, I know this story to the letter, and I have told it to myself more often than I want to admit. “It doesn’t have to be like this” the sales experts and consultants say. Yet, I feel the traditional sales slump is a VERY important part of the life and health of a salesperson.
Let’s talk about the lows:
When being in sales sucks, well, it sucks, hard. Everything and everyone is working against you. Your manager is badgering you to bring in deals while the whole month he sat on his butt “managing” the “process” to “promote synergies.” Good deal of help he gave you. That’s just the start…
Prospects start to smell the fear of a missed quota and the desperation of closing hard. It’s as obvious as a high school kid trying to close on senior prom. She knows you’re out of options dude; you’re not winning this one. That and you’ve lost all sense of respect and dignity by throwing every discount you have available on the table. You forgot your basic sales skills, so you have no idea whether or not this account is going to close. It gets worse…
Prospecting and activity go right down the chute because you don’t give a sh*t anymore because this month is screwed. F**k it, we’re done here. You’re going home and checking out until quota resets. The mortgage is going on a credit card this month, and you’re going to the bar because you didn’t hit your number and this whole situation is so terrible that you don’t even want to be here.
To anyone who is not in sales, this is the “slump.” Think of chewing on nails while playing the oboe at Carnegie hall in front of thousands of people. It’s awkward as all hell, physically / mentally painful and degrading.
Let’s talk about the highs:
Next to getting married and having your child(ren), being on a sales high is the most amazing feeling you will ever have. Crushing your quota feels like being Emperor Caesar, running Rome with true power and zeal. You control every sales call, know your prospects’ objections before they can even say them. Deals close on a whim because you have so much confidence in what you sell and why you sell it. People trust you because you speak the truth as if a prophet and have the momentum that THEY want to be part of. WHOA. What a rush.
To anyone who is not in sales, this is why we sell. Imagine flying a unicorn into the sunset surrounded by supermodels throwing painfully large stacks of $100 bills at your face. Bruises are optional but inevitable.
What does it all mean?
Guess what, kiddo? You, as a human being that loves to sell, will experience BOTH. Not just the highs, but you will also experience the lows. If you’re in a normal job like the rest of us, then you will actually get equal portions of both. Some days will rock so hard that Jimi Hendrix will grind away guitar solos as if he’s on a caffeine drip from beyond the grave. Some days, things will suck so hard that the guy from the Dyson commercials will buy your suckiness off you for his next vacuum. It’s OK. It’s NORMAL. Moreover, it should be EXPECTED.
What you can do:
I don’t suggest anything that could possibly do long term damage to your career or personal life, but there are some ways to “flush out” the slump.
1. Get the hell out of the office:
Had enough? Can’t push anymore? Have you reached a point where you really, honestly cannot give another flying f**k what anyone says? Get out of the office, fast. You’re poison to the rest of the team and yourself. Tell your manager that. In addition, truly mean that. It’s almost like we, as salespeople deserve an extra “sick-day” for this. If your manger can’t handle giving you an afternoon to blow off steam, then reconsider jobs.
Now, you had better get out of the office, cancel all appointments and focus your energy that afternoon on ridding yourself of all the negative energy that you are carrying. If you take a day to “clear the emotional pores” and you come back not ready to dance, you just wasted everyone’s time and confidence. Get away, breathe and don’t half-relax.
2. Rally the troops:
Many sales people rely on themselves to do many of the tasks they need to hit their quota. Sometimes during a slump, even scheduling an appointment for next month is completely overwhelming and depressing. Now, my friend, may be a time to rely on your colleagues (and everyone else you can sucker into a simple task). Your peers want you to win and hit your quota. Especially immediately after they hit their own quota. If they don’t want to help, slash their tires (NO DON’T, I was kidding).
Ask your closest sales colleagues (NOT your family, this is a VERY bad mistake) to help you with the basic tasks. Ask them to do you a favor, confirm an appointment or two and set up just one appointment for you. You’re in a slump, and they will be there in the future. It is a great feeling that you have a “get out of slump free card.” Many, if not all, of your fellow sales reps (whom are at quota) will help you to get one of these cards for when they too are in a slump.
3. Get real:
Nobody has ever been fired for missing his or her quota. Right?
HA! We’re all fighting for survival as reps and we all know we’re going to get fired someday. It’s super cutthroat and the profession is designed to churn people through and keep only the best. Now that we’ve been morbid about the facts, let’s look at reality in a different light.
You, by nature of being a salesperson, sold something to someone.
A very small percentage of the world can claim that fact. You will sell more things to more people. In a few years, those “things” won’t matter and those “people” will be a long list of names that bought your stuff. They won’t remember why (or maybe what) they bought, and neither will you. However, for some reason, they needed it so badly after speaking with you that they signed that purchase order on the spot and you closed the deal. You solved a problem: for your company, yourself and your prospect. Your work paid the wages of the CEO, the engineers, the marketers, the IT person and everyone else under the roof that they call an “office.”
Every company builds itself up on the shoulders of its sales people. You know this, as does everyone else in the company, so say to yourself, “Slump be damned, I’m going to lift up this company on MY own shoulders! I WILL close this deal. I WILL pick up the phone. I WILL not give up, roll over and die.” If you don’t bring home the bacon, nobody will. Get out there and be a provider, for yourself and the company.
Now, what were you saying about a slump…?
tagged: Social Sales
