Getting Out of a Sales Slump
We’ve all been there. We find ourselves striking out with clients every single time, no matter how much effort we’ve put into making a sale. Days go by, then weeks. Nothing. Months. Still nothing.
Uh-oh.
The alarm starts ringing in your head. Negative thoughts start creeping into your mind. You expect rejections even before meeting clients now, although you used to condition yourself into being bulletproof to refusals. Your hard-earned skill of turning a “no thanks” into a “hell yeah!” has suddenly vanished along with your confidence and your thirst for commission.
Before you reach for the panic button and phone the company on the classifieds page looking for somebody to do a dead-end desk-bound job for one-quarter of your best-ever sales profit, just take a moment and breathe. Maybe these tips will help.
Give Up Thoughts Of Giving Up
Quitting isn’t an option. You chose this career path and you’re sticking to it. Everytime you think of throwing in the towel, remind yourself why you started in the first place. Take yourself back to the first moments when you were full of hope, and seeing a bright future in front of you. Then ask yourself “do I want to throw all that away?” (Also applicable for relationships.)
Tighten Those Screws
Keep working on your sales techniques. Find new ways of sealing deals. Experiment. This is the perfect opportunity for you to be innovative and explore other methods of winning over your clients’ trust and heart.
Let Go Of Ego
It doesn’t matter what your rank is within your company. If there’s someone else – regardless a senior or a rookie – doing really well, have coffee with them and ask for tips and tricks. Find out what it is they’re doing that brings in incredible results. You can also read sales books, watch videos of successful entrepreneurs, anything that will increase your knowledge and motivate you. Put ego aside and learn, whomever the teacher may be.
Apply
Nobody’s ever learned to swim solely by reading a book on swimming. You have to have the guts to put your knowledge into practice. Perfect your techniques. And do not be afraid to fail. Ever.
It’s a slump. It won’t last. And it happens to the best of us. Have a little bit of faith. At the end of this seemingly bleak tunnel, you’ll bask in the bright lights again, stronger and better.