Written by Paul Murskov
We’ve all been here before. Your monthly sales goal feels impossible to meet, your last few calls have gone nowhere, and healthy concern has turned to paranoia. Is my phone voice annoying? How is my boss going to take this?
Breathe. Slumps happen, and they’re usually easier to fix than you’d think. Below are some words of wisdom to help you get back into your groove.
“This too shall pass.” –Persian Sufi proverb
One of the easiest ways to start recovering from a sales slump is simply to avoid a negative mindset. Remember that slumps are natural, and don’t be too quick to blame yourself (or anyone else) for a few hiccups in your performance. Optimism when dealing with stress is correlated to higher returns in call centers, as demonstrated by this Maastricht University study.
“When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” –Will Rogers
When your sales are sub-par, it’s natural to panic a little bit and start working harder without actually looking at what’s wrong. A much more helpful reaction is to step back and do a little analysis. Business owners use sales data to improve their performance; you can too. After pinpointing your biggest revenue sources, you may find that your so-called slump is simply a case of misguided focus.
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” –Ernest Hemmingway
Confidence is a salesperson’s best friend, but pride can be their worst enemy. There’s nothing wrong with asking your peers for advice; in fact doing so is linked to long-term productivity growth in a sales force. This is yet another reason to get to know your coworkers— the cure to your sales trouble could be sitting next to you.
“100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.” –Wayne Gretzky
This aphorism from the hockey legend illustrates another cardinal rule of recovering from a slump: No matter how low your morale may have dipped, you cannot reduce your efforts. I shouldn’t need to show you data that links frequency of calls and sales results; it’s common sense that when faced with a rough patch, you have to keep trying— whether that means making more calls, changing up your calls, or phoning a friend.
Experiencing highs and lows is part of being a salesperson. The lows are a lot less gloomy if you stop thinking of them as a reason to freak out, and start thinking of them as an opportunity to improve yourself. Hopefully these sayings will not only help you beat your slump, but also enable you to help your colleagues beat theirs. As I said at the beginning of this article, we’ve all been here before.
