The Slump
You’ve all heard of it, no doubt seen someone in it, and if you haven’t had it happen to you, your time will most likely come. So, what’s it all about and how can you overcome it?
At some point in your sales career, a time will come when things aren’t going your way, the luck of the draw isn’t in your favour, and those sales you’re so used to closing or getting over the line just aren’t anymore. You feel and believe that your approach hasn’t changed in fact, you feel you’re getting better, however, for one reason or another, those results aren’t stacking up.
Your peers around you are getting results, you see them progressing towards their targets, and that ‘imposter syndrome’ is well and truly kicking in and self-doubt is now becoming a daily occurrence. Easy leads that are closing, happening to others, and often think ‘if that was only me’. Your approach and conversations start to become more desperate as you need that one result to get you back on track.
However, the more you try, the more you move away from your typical approach, and the more likely those results aren’t going to come your way.
So how can we overcome this?
I’m not a big fan of setting KPI’s but I am a big supporter of understanding the key areas that allow you to achieve your goals and improve results. You need to go back to the basics and understand what elements you need to complete that will move you closer to that goal. Don’t skip or brush over the parts you feel most comfortable with, be an absolute expert in every part of the process, don’t leave any stone unturned. This will allow you to truly believe in yourself and know that you’re not doing anything differently from anyone else, it will also allow others to see that the effort and belief are still strong and still there.
It's easy to get your head in a spin, your mindset turning negative and your attitude turning almost sour. However, the key here is to be even more of a champion of the above, tell yourself the tide will turn, keep believing in yourself and your ability, and still celebrate the wins of others around you.
We can’t control our thoughts or feelings, but we can control our behaviours. You can control the output, you can control the effort and you can control the attitude, these are the pillars of success, that when done right will allow you to overcome this short slump.
Luck isn’t real, we create our own luck. We work towards the result by adhering to and working on key elements prior to the result, it’s not about luck, it’s about how we get to the result, the hard work put in behind the scenes.
Who can help?
Anyone. A supportive team will always understand the situation you’re in, most would have been there themselves. Depending on the length of your slump and the thoughts in your mind, you may even feel your position is on the line. When this is the case, any good manager will reassure you, if they see those key pillars still being done well, your mind should be put at ease.
Have conversations with others, including your manager, this will hopefully eliminate an extra element of pressure added to your load. Any decent, collaborative team will be going out of their way to celebrate the small wins towards your success, building and helping with that positive mindset and rebuilding confidence levels that were once part of what made you, you.
The slump can be one of the worst feelings in your sales career yet overcoming it is such a feeling that it’s soon forgotten about. It will build your character, will develop you as a person and professional, and furthermore, it will be a great learning curve in your successful sales career.
If you’re in a slump right now, keep going, and keep being an expert in the areas you can control. If you see someone in a slump, reach out, offer a hand, and be that positive input they so need right now.
You’ve got this.