Sales jobs may seem like the most commoditized position in any company, but it is also the most unique job within the organization. At the core you are meeting new people all the time which will always keep things interesting. Closing a deal, getting your commission check, and reaching your goal will always put a smile on your face for sure. What happens when those processes go off course? What else makes a sales job feel like a drag? For some reason there seems to be a lot of people and circumstances that try to suck the love and fun out of what we do. Perhaps it is that misery loves company. Prospects and sometimes clients like to beat you down. The branch manager or sales manager likes to micromanage and tell you how to do your job even though they haven’t or couldn’t do what you do. It doesn’t matter how the fun gets sucked out, but it’s important to know that no one can suck out your fun without your permission. We all know that your attitude is what is going to control whether or not you love your job or if you find sales as much fun as I do. Still, we all need some simple tools to help adjust our attitude so we can get back on track and keep the fun in sales. After all, what other position in the company has at least some element of fun built into it? In most cases, it is only sales. So here are 7 simple corrections you can make to help you fall in love with being a salesperson again. Have a plan. Most salespeople who fall off course either stopped following their plan, or never had a plan to begin with. Adventures are fun, but not when you are lost. You are just scared or annoyed. The same is true with sales. If you don’t have a map to get you through the process you will be upset, angry and perhaps frightened from time to time. A sales plan can be your road map to happiness and career satisfaction. Course correct. Most salespeople, when they are honest with themselves, no when they have gone off course and lost their way. We find ourselves in our ruts and it happens to all of us. Most often course correction can be simple. Get back in touch with your old clients. Revisit some warm leads. Start prospecting like you did when you first started in your job. It’s never too late. Fill the pipeline. And by that I mean start prospecting. That may not make sense because I am asking you to jump into a deep freezing cold pool of water filled with rejection. But you also are meeting a lot of new people along the way and with new people come new opportunities. A full pipeline gives salespeople a purpose and can put a smile on our face. Create a new sales promotion. Not all of us have the ability to do this, but if you have a good idea, most sales managers or CEOs will be more than willing to listen. Remember, if you are having a sales problem, that means your boss is also having that problem and should be open to your solutions. Sales promotions breathe new life into our company, products and services and gets us excited about our jobs when it is done properly. It is a great way to mildly modify your sales process. Sales contests. Why not? When was the last time you participated in a sales contest that was meaningful, reinforced great selling processes and had a reward that mattered? Healthy competition is always a good thing, but the best competition is the one you have with yourself. Even if you can’t get your team or company on board with a sales contest, there is nothing stopping you from having one with yourself. Or a friendly competition between you and one or two from your sales team. Find a coach. All the best athletes have a coach, so why shouldn’t you? A good sales coach knows how to properly motivate you. They know how to help you to achieve your goals. They know how to make you love your job again. The hardest part is admitting that you need help. The other part is justifying the cost if there is a cost involved. Investing a sales coach is investing in yourself, and when you are exceeding your goals again, imagine how much fun you’ll be having again. Listen to your heart. Salespeople do not do this often enough. Our hearts know what we need to be happy. Take a quiet moment to listen, pray and reflect to balance the noise in your mind. Do not stop until the answer reveals itself. Your heart wants you to be happy because the heart wants to be happy. And be certain to follow your heart to that happiness.
