We all hit sales slumps. They are universal in the sales world. It’s not a matter of if, but when. The important question is what will we do about the slump when it comes our way? If you fail to act quickly, a sales slump will have deep and long-term impact.
Is a sales slump affecting your mindset? Start with a mental check-up. Do you see yourself in any of the following descriptions?
- Lack of positive energy
- Lack of motivation / determination / drive
- Increased discomfort and lack of confidence in sales conversations
- Coming up with excuses for why you can’t sell
- Creating a negative impact on others
Allow me to offer two pieces of advice to help you out of a slump.
First, you must be aware that your next customer has no idea that you are in a slump! Every new customer is a fresh start. As far as they are concerned you’re writing a contract every two hours. So don’t show the new prospect anything but positive energy. Read more…
Categories: Overcoming, Uncategorized Tags: behaviors, determination, discomfort, drive, motivation, negative impact, positive energy, results, sales, slump
The futurist Joel Barker offers an interesting perspective on a phenomenon that he calls “Paradigm Paralysis”. He says,
“Whatever our current level of success, we accept it as ‘normal’ and so continue with the activities, actions, and behaviors that keep us at that point.”
That is paradigm paralysis – being crippled by our own limiting self-perspective. Do you accept your current level of performance as being all you are capable of achieving? If so, your actions and behaviors will follow suit. Our actions and behaviors are always consistent with the way we see ourselves.
This phenomenon works both ways. Think of something that you are really good at: listening skills, or golf, or demonstration technique. If you think you are successful in any of those things, a very large portion of your success is based on your self-perception. Read more…
(Note: For this article, it might be helpful to have something in mind that frustrates you about your own performance – a hang-up, fear, or general sense of inadequacy. Think about that for a moment before you read on.)
If you’re like… well, everyone, you’ve got your fair share of hang-ups and frustrations that affect your performance in the sales arena. When we face a challenge or a doubt about our own abilities we have two options: 1) Work around it; 2) Work through it. The natural tendency is to work around it – to compensate by applying a strength in another area.
For example, perhaps you find that you are really strong in a face-to-face conversation, but not so strong on the telephone. Your tendency will be to rely on electronic communication (e-mails) and stay away from phone calls as much as possible.
This could be related to any number of different topics: closing skills, model demonstration technique, overcoming objections, listening skills, difficulty with certain buyer profiles – we all struggle somewhere. Read more…
