Do you have beliefs that will sink your career?
I’m sharing a list of 3 toxic beliefs that Sales professionals can develop. My experience has shown any one of these beliefs will sink you as a salesperson if left unchecked. I ask sales leaders to consider; Is anyone on your team suffering from these beliefs? Sales professionals, are you suffering from these beliefs?
You might find these are the three core beliefs that cause burnout in sales professionals that result in long term poor performance.
1. You don’t believe in yourself
• You believe some aspect of your ability to communicate, connect and/or compel your prospects is insufficient or ineffective
2. You don’t believe in your company
• You don’t believe your company can deliver the products and/or services you are selling at the price and/or quality you expect
3. You don’t believe in the market
• You think there is an insufficient market for your product and/or service at the price and/or quality the market expects
What to do:
If you, or someone on your team, hasn’t been succeeding in sales for a longer than usual timeframe, I suggest taking an honest and objective look at the root cause. In my experience, one of these three beliefs exists.
If you, or someone on your team does have one of these beliefs, don’t despair.
If you have the belief, challenge yourself to really dive into the belief and understand what is causing it. Ask some of the following questions:
Is this belief caused by a situation that is permanent, or temporary?
Did something specific happen to change your belief?
Is the belief really based in fact, or just a reaction to a situation or setback?
Can the belief be changed?
What would change the belief?
Are you still in the right career?
Are you at the right company?
Are you in the right market?
Hey Sales Leaders!
If someone on your team has one of these beliefs, you may want to try leading them through the questions above with genuine concern, care and empathy while providing clear, honest, candid feedback. Search for root causes, and determine if they can be solved.
Consider this. It is likely far easier to help a person along a career path to another company, or to assist in finding another position within their existing company before underperformance leads to a PIP and forces exit.
I have counseled new and seasoned professionals alike who find themselves with one of these beliefs. I have had some of the following outcomes, they recognize the belief, we found the cause, fixed it, and their sales performance improves. I have also had occasions where they resign from the company on good terms before their performance warrants a PIP and are appreciative of the direct and honest counseling. Some have found another position within the company outside the sales department and gone on to grow and thrive. I failed with a very small number and had to go the termination route, but those were the exceptions.
Where to find help
If you have sales challenges, please reach out. Look at my “about” section on LinkedIn to see what others say about working with me, and/or check out my other posts.
I am available for consulting and coaching. I will also consider full-time offers, where they make sense. You can reach out though LinkedIn or in the comments below.
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Thanks!