No one likes pain because, well, it’s painful. It’s unavoidable, unpleasant, and unappealing. Most people don’t see the benefit of pain and so they wait it out and suffer through it just to wait and get back to where they were; possibly exposing them to the same risk of pain again. But what if pain, and whatever is causing it, is your opportunity to advance to something new and better? Pain is both your mind and body’s way of telling you something has to change. The same could also be said about the universe. The pain will not go away until you do something different and change whatever caused the pain in the first place. You need to expect a certain amount of pain in order to grow.
The world of sales is full of pain. We get rejected from prospects. We lost a deal we thought for certain was going to close. We are behind in our sales goals. The volume of new sales calls has become painfully small. It all comes with the territory, but if you want to make progress as a salesperson then you have to deal with these pains and turn them into opportunities. Challenge yourself to embrace the things that trouble you and use them to your advantage.
- Look for trends – Reflection is the first step in dealing with pain. How did you get here and what does it mean. Most importantly look for the trends and you will likely see yourself as the common denominator. The good news is that once you identify this, usually making a little change can make a big difference in your sales.
- Put it into perspective – We spend our entire lives seeking out pleasure while avoiding pain. That’s the name of the game. But pain clouds our perspective. For example, when you have a really bad headache, we forget that the other 95% of our bodies feel just fine because we can only focus on the pain. In sales, don’t get too caught up in the sale that didn’t close. Recall your victories and put your focus and energy into that and you will help your new sales opportunities to self actualize.
- Try something new – Most of us approach the same old problem the same way almost every time. We are creatures of habit. We all act like hammers looking for a nail even though there are a lot of screws in the world. It is time to challenge yourself to try something new for whatever is causing your pain. Don’t get caught up in whether or not you made the right decision in what you will do differently because experimentation also leads to growth. Switching things up in sales can lead to some pretty cool discoveries.
- Rise above your inner critic – I don’t know why each of us was programmed with a sense of doubt, but we have to deal with it nonetheless. Pain can make you stronger, but it can also make you weaker and most times that choice is yours. Pain can be hurtful, embarrassing, and discouraging, but it doesn’t have to be limiting. You have to remind yourself that when you get knocked down, you have to get up, brush the dirt off, and try again.
- Seek a mentor and learn – You’re not in this alone and you are not the first person to deal with this pain. In fact, there are countless others who confronted this pain and defeated it. Don’t keep your issues bottled up. No one expects you to. Instead, find someone to confide in whom you respect that may be able to guide you to a solution based on their example and experience. Every salesperson should have at least one great mentor or coach to help them through the bad times and celebrate the good times.
