Considering what all of us and the wide world are going through, it isn’t surprising that feelings of futility and helplessness spill over into what we do on a daily basis. There may be days where you don’t feel like working, particularly when it comes to reaching out to new people.
The good news is that this is hardly surprising behavior. What you need to keep in mind is how sales is a career that’s constantly in motion, even when it seems your prospects are nil. Entrepreneur Yaro Starak observes that during moments like this, “Negative emotion breeds negative action.” This isn’t an observation, but a warning. It is during times like these that we need to regroup, reframe our intentions, and keep pressing ahead.
As a sales coach, my first recommendation would be embrace training that will give you new insights and revamp your career. Our upcoming 2-part live online training, Learn the Secrets of Selling in a Recession, is now open for enrollment. If you feel stuck, diving into this timely and vital workshop may be the quickest way to get moving again. The program is available both online/live and online/on-demand, so it’s super-convenient to access regardless of your schedule.
On a related note, part of moving past burnout or a string of disappointments is realizing what got you there in the first place. Could you be demanding too much of yourself? Everyone has certain tendencies we default to whether we’re pushing ourselves too hard or simply coasting along until the end of our workday. These become blind spots that psychologists call the Dunning-Kruger effect, a phenomenon in which people evaluate themselves as being more competent than they actually are.
Sales strategist Jill Konrath has observed that if you don’t keep these tendencies in check, your productivity and closing rate will inevitably suffer. Sales trainer Shari Levitin takes it one step further with her acronym HELL, which spells out these hazardous default modes that inhibit our progress and learning:
H = Habits
E = Ego
L = Lack of knowledge
L = Laziness
Both of these sales experts provide different solutions on how to avoid this kind of fatigue. Once you realize what they are, you’re one step closer to renewing your purpose and setting new parameters for the future. You’ll realize the warning signs sooner next time and prevent yourself from feeling this kind of discouragement again.
