An edited excerpt from “Now Go Sell Somebody Something” by Bryan Flanagan

Sales professionals have something in common with professional baseball players… slumps. Ball players have batting slumps, sales pros sales slumps.

Let’s look at six methods to shorten the length of theses sales slumps (if you allow a slump to last too long you will walk around your office looking like the picture on your driver’s license! That’s not a pretty sight.)

1. Return to the basics. What activities were you doing when things were going well that you are not doing now?
2. Keep a mental victory list. Remind yourself of your past sales success and victories. Think in terms of persistence, you selling skills and your sensitivity to meeting the needs of your prospects.
3. Visit a satisfied customer. Contact them so you will be reminded of the good service you have provided.
4. Enroll in “Automobile University”. Plug a motivational CD in while you drive. When you are in a slump you need pure, clean, powerful and positive brain food.
5. Develop selective memory. FIDO forget it and drive on. Don’t focus on past problems; focus on your major strengths.
6. Don’t compare your Abilities to Your Experiences. You have no control over most of what happens around you … you only have control over your response to those circumstances. You gotta believe in yourself.

Sales slumps are going to happen. You must shorten their duration and work you way out of the slump. If you follow the above methods, you’ll improve your sales effectiveness and consistency.

Moving Forward,

Jeff Roach