Sales is an awesome profession. You get to focus on helping people solve their problems and it’s financially rewarding. If that’s true, why don’t more people succeed at sales? It’s because of the rollercoaster ride. If you can’t get off the emotional sales rollercoaster, it’s no fun. You sell less than you’d like, burn-out, and leave the profession. The tragedy is that you think it was sales you hated, but it was really the rollercoaster.
Here are three signs you’re on the emotional sales rollercoaster and what you can do to get off.
You Don’t Know Why You’re Selling
I sold metal roofing for 10 years. Our product was great, but I was not “passionate” about metal roofing. I enjoyed helping my customers, but I was more passionate about being able to pay for a beautiful home, and put my daughters through sports. Having a great income made those things possible.
Knowing your why is what will keep you going. Without a strong purpose, you’ll be tempted to quit. You’ll think selling sucks because you got stuck on the rollercoaster.
If you want to find your why, the best way is to know your values. A values assessment will help you get clear on what matters most to you. I take every client through the process and it’s always eye opening.
When you’re living your life based on what matters most, you have clarity. You can build the drive it takes to push through. And, you have motivation to improve your skills. Your rollercoaster ride won’t last long, and you’ll be able to ride it out.
You Jump Into Your Client’s Brain
“I have to know it all.” That’s what I used to tell myself. Reality was, I didn’t know it all, in fact, I knew very little in the beginning. I still sold.
“I have to be able to give the client EVERYTHING they want.” I can’t tell you the stress I put myself through over this thought. Of course, I wanted to give them everything! Reality was, it’s not always possible. I still sold.
“They won’t buy if the price is too high.” It took me years to see that this thought, although it might be true, isn’t for me to decide. Even when I thought the price was high, I still sold.
If you’re thinking these thoughts, chances are you’re doing what I did, jumping into your client’s brain to try to figure it all out ahead of time. You think they’re thinking the same thoughts you’re thinking. They’re not. They're counting on you to help them solve their problem. You show them how you can help—they DECIDE to buy, or not.
Once you stop jumping into their brain, the ride gets easier.
You Make Your Clients Responsible for Your Happiness
Making the sale feels so good! Not making the sale, especially when you’ve put in a ton of effort, doesn’t feel so good! I doubt any salesperson bypasses these feelings in the beginning. It’s OK to be happy about sales, but to become great at sales, your clients can never be in charge of your emotional state.
The fastest way to get over this is to have a process and a plan. Your process is what you do. Your plan is how many times you do it. In other words, how many prospects do you need to present your offer to in order to make a sale? If you know that, then your job becomes getting in front of that many prospects. It’s never about any one sale.
You’re one step closer to getting off the rollercoaster.
Getting Off the Emotional Sales Rollercoaster
Sales is a career that I believe anyone can be good at. There are all types of buyers, so there needs to be all styles of salespeople.
If you want to help people solve problems, learn to be great at sales. Overcoming the things that keep you on the emotional rollercoaster boils down to this: You’ve got to work on your emotional intelligence. You must become a master of your thoughts. You can figure it out. When you do, selling becomes a blast.
You're officially off the rollercoaster.
