HTSS56 - How to prepare for the worst day in sales - Scott Sylvan Bell

The worst day of your sales life

Rejection comes in all forms when it comes to being in sales. At some point everything in your sales world will fall apart. The worst day of your sales life is one you do need to prepare for. You will find that sometimes the problems or issues are your fault and sometimes they have nothing to do with you.

How you prepare right now does matter and can help you out when you get some bad news. Most salespeople try to pretend these issues exist.

Anytime you invest a combination of time, energy, effort and or money your emotions can become entangled in your work. If you have any of these 4 items work against you there is probably be feelings of despair or rejection.  

 

The 5 scenarios where you can struggle

When you take a look at what could lead to the worst day of your sales life there are really 5 main items. These concerns may be caused by you or others. Whatever the case may be your internal thoughts now can help you when these events happen:

Scenario 1 – You lose a big client

You can lose a huge client if you were not paying attention. If you are not taking care of clients someone will exploit your lack of attention. There are times where someone will take you out of the equation from lying.  Not everyone in sales and business tells the truth. Face it there is a punch to the gut when you lose a big client.  

It may be you lost the deal or the client because of quality and service issues. These issues may not have even been your fault, it could be the fault of someone who was not paying attention to the needs of your client.    

 

Scenario 2 - The project folds or is closed

It may not be you that stops a client. Mother nature or weather could event an event or a project. The plug gets pulled and it still hurts even if you had nothing to do with the problem.  

 

Scenario 3 - Squeezed out

A Business owner or manager can decide they don’t like you anymore and they do what they can to get you to leave. It may even be a group of people or employees that you are a threat to because you don’t fit in. If you know about nefarious activity this person or people may try to ruin you.

If you are being squeezed out you have 2 options:

• Fight for what you have and work through the problems
• Leave on your own terms and deal with the rumors, the lost sales and the lost commissions.

The third item is legal action but you will need to find someone with legal skills and capabilities (Scott Sylvan Bell and the How To Sell Show are not giving legal advice – find an attorney)

 

Scenario 4 – You got fired

If you get fired from your sales job it can be real or caused by someone else. Sometimes people can modify reports pulled against you causing your down fall. It may be 100% your fault and  you may have been horrible at sales and deserve it. If you lost your job because you were not good at sales you have to own up to it. You have to get back into the game and work your skills.  

 

Scenario 5 – Your company gets sold or shut down

When nobody knows about a company closing down or being sold it can hurt. There is no way to prepare for every contingency when it comes to sales. You may work for a company that gets sold.

When a company buys new one your job may be redundant and they don’t know you so you gotta go.  

 

Salespeople should always have a Plan B

You should always have a Plan B when it comes to sales and your sales job. You need to always have good contacts and a well written resume. If you lose a big client all the way to getting fired there are things that you can do to help get back on with your life.

 

How to fix your worst day in sales

Emotional torture happens when you have loss. Nobody prepares you about this because most people don’t want to talk about what happens in sales. Anytime you put time, effort, energy and money into anything there can be a feeling of loss.

When a consistent life goes away there is panic and anxiety that can happen.  There is a whole list of emotional issues you can live through:

• Frustration
• Anger
• Loneliness
• Rejection
• Regret

You may have real questions about staying as long as you did, working on other projects and other things you would have never considered. You may ask, Was it me? What you will find is that there are times where it was you.

You go back and try to relive the moments in your head and look for where you were wrong and where it was your fault.  You may even try to mend the fences if you didn’t do your job and it may be too late.  

The normal problems created of loss created by a bad day  

When you have loss or rejection there are normal feelings and emotions for you to live through. Some of these emotions you face may be tough to live through. There is a shame or a possibility of loss when it comes to:

• Losing a client even if it wasn’t your fault
• Project gets shut down – you didn’t work hard enough – accountant
• Squeezed out of a company or position
• Fired from a sales job
• Company was sold and you didn’t see it coming

So what to do when you are faced with the worst day:

• Cry
• Scream – yell
• Sleep

 You may even ask what will people think?

How can I deal with this?

What will I do?

What you do see is that it is normal for people to turn to their vices and problems. Some of these activities can cause you problems not just in the short term but also the long term.

• Drinking
• Drugs
• Dangerous activities
• Buying something
• Treat others poorly

 

It will help you to have a checklist ready for your worst day in sales:

• Have a plan b with contacts and an up to date resume

 

• The feeling of loss is normal because you have put in time, energy, effort and money
• Give yourself time to grieve and it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman

Steps to take after your worst day in sales

You can always find another job, salespeople are needed everywhere. If you are a closer you are the prize.

You can get some therapy or professional help  

Treat the others around you well because they are the base of contacts you need

 

Scott Sylvan Bell

@scottsbell

#sales #closer #success #Podcast #Howtosellshow #Sacramento

This episode was recorded in Sacramento California