Sales isn’t steady. Since salespeople can’t guarantee when deals will close, sales results will always be somewhat inconsistent. And it’s hard to take inconsistent sales results and maintain a consistent sales motivation.
Do you find yourself in a sales rut? Lacking the drive to go out there and chase down new business?
Don’t panic. You’re not alone. And we have some good news: there are a few things that you can do as a sales rep that can help you maintain your motivation.
After all, salespeople can’t control results, but they can control the type of behavior that consistently drive results. Here are 5 ways that you can regulate your behavior and keep on top of your personal motivation:
Sales Motivation Tip #1: Determine The Cause Of Your Demotivation
The most important thing you can do when facing a lack of motivation is to figure out why you lost it to begin with.
Some people feel disenchanted with their sales jobs in general, without fully understanding the cause of their feelings to begin with. If you don’t understand the cause, you won’t be able to fix the issue.
Be clear on what your feelings mean to you. After all, humans are emotional creatures. We all have our ups and downs. You may be upset or deflated over any number of things.
Some of them may not even be work related! Having trouble at home? Not getting enough sleep, or has your diet suffered recently? These types of things can absolutely impact the level of sales motivation that you bring to your job.
And, of course, there are work related factors too. Having a bad week or month of sales numbers can certainly cause a lack of motivation. So can transitioning between products, offers, industries or jobs. Also, you may just not quite be at the level in your career that you were hoping for.
Whatever the cause- it’s important to admit it. Be honest about your feelings. Only after you acknowledge those issues and take ownership of them will you be able to move forward and change the things you need to change to get your motivation back.
Avoid putting the blame on others, or on your circumstances. You are responsible for your feelings… after all, if you were motivated once, you can be motivated again.
Sales Motivation Tip #2: Go Back To Your ‘WHY’
Once you’ve dug down deep and discovered what it is that’s causing your lack of motivation… your work isn’t done! You’ve got to dig even deeper.
Think about the reason why you get out of bed in the morning. Why you go to work everyday. Why your life matters to you as a human.
Everybody has a ‘why.’ (And if you haven’t seen Simon Sinek’s TED Talk on the topic, we highly recommend checking that out.)
Do you want nice things because you remember what it was like to not afford them? Is providing for your family the thing that drives you? Are you motivated by a desire to teach and help others?
Regardless of your why, find it. Cherish it. Harness it and attach it to your job.
If you’re just showing up for a paycheck, it will be hard to maintain motivation. That’s why it’s so crucial for your job to be helping you, in some way, achieve your ‘why.’ If it isn’t, you need to apply it in a way that it does… or consider looking for a different job. It’s that important.
Sales Motivation Tip #3: Make A SMART Goal Plan
Once you’ve been honest about your lack of motivation, put your finger on the cause, and realized ‘why’ it’s important to you in the first place… now it’s time to start thinking about action.
Most people make a big mistake here. They come up with a massive, wildly important stretch goal. They then try to pump themselves up by saying “I can do it!” over and over, like a mantra. But when the wildly important goal is harder than they thought, or the plan of attack didn’t quite pan out… well, they end up right back where they started. Unmotivated.
Instead of picking a giant, difficult goal and saying “I think I can” like the little engine that could, we recommend taking the opposite approach. Start small.
Sure, you need big goals. But you should start with small SMART goals first. These goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-specific. They’re tangible. Within reach.
With these types of goals, you don’t need to psych yourself up. You don’t need to say “I can do it!”… instead, ask yourself an honest question: “Can I do it?”
When you ask yourself whether you can, you will remember all the times that you’ve accomplished similar goals in the past. And nothing builds sales motivation like confident expectation in your own abilities.
Sales Motivation Tip #4: Surround Yourself With Motivated People
Let’s engage in a little thought experiment and consider two different workplace environments.
Environment A is full of bright-eyed, energetic people. They ask questions in sales meetings. They see the team’s sales goals not as quotas or ultimatums, but as opportunities for personal growth. Also encourage one another when they win, and when the inevitable losses happen as well.
Environment B is full of people who, frankly, don’t want to be there. Sales meetings are a chore, filled with yawns, eye-rolls, or caustic comments. Team goals are quotas, and once the quotas are met the reps stop trying. They ignore or try and take advantage of other members of the team, thinking of them as a waste of time, or even a threat.
Which environment is going to motivate you to push harder? To stay focused on your goals? Do be a better person, and achieve your why?
… not much of a question, is it? If you want to stay motivated, surround yourself with motivated people.
Sales Motivation Tip #5: Find A Mentor
Finding a mentor can be a game-changer when it comes to sales motivation.
You’ve thought about the cause of your lack of motivation, and you’ve thought about why it’s important, and you’ve put yourself in a position to do something about it. But there’s still something that you lack: perspective.
An experienced mentor, someone who’s been around the block a time or two and has seen these types of issues before, will be able to see your behaviors more clearly than you do.
Find a mentor with experience in the area you struggle in. Rough patch in the marriage? Find someone who’s been successfully married for 35 years. Struggling to hit sales numbers? Find someone who has consistently been a top sales performer. Not healthy? Find someone who has trained for marathons and is a clean eating expert.
Regardless, having someone who can help you in your areas of struggle and can help keep you on your roadmap to achieving your goals can help ignite that spark of motivation and get you back on your grind.
If you’re a motivated sales agent looking to advance your career, then Solcomm wants to hear from you. We’re direct sales leaders in the telecom industry and we love supporting and motivating sales reps to achieve their goals. Apply today and learn more!