{"id":1341,"date":"2007-12-17T12:28:30","date_gmt":"2007-12-17T18:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/12\/busting-a-sales-slump\/"},"modified":"2007-12-17T12:25:29","modified_gmt":"2007-12-17T18:25:29","slug":"busting-a-sales-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/12\/busting-a-sales-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"Busting A Sales Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"

In all honesty, I am a streaky salesperson (at best).\u00a0 I have always been prone to peaks and valleys in my sales which speaks more to my abilities.\u00a0 Nonetheless, this ManageSmarter.com article<\/a> addresses this problem with tips for breaking out of a slump.<\/p>\n

Besides, prospects can smell desperation in sales people. If you panic, your prospects will sense that you’re desperate, and they’ll avoid you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh that is so true.\u00a0 Prospects have an innate ability to detect a salesperson working a deal out of desperation.\u00a0 And, of course, that desperation typically plays out as a sizeable discount in the sale price.<\/p>\n
Then there is this:<\/p>\n
Third, don’t get angry. Anger will be misinterpreted by your clients, peers and managers as being emotional or out of control. Whenever you find yourself becoming angry, try to be as honest as possible, and focus on solutions and options\u2014not on laying blame.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Anger is the common outcropping when a desperate deal falls through.\u00a0 Nothing hurts worse than losing a good deal when you are in a sales slump.<\/p>\n
There are 7 steps in the article that provide guidance for getting out of a slump.\u00a0 The steps are worth the read so here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:<\/p>\n
2. Get back to basics.<\/strong>
\nOnce, after Tiger Woods had spent hours on the practice green sinking hundreds of puts, a commentator asked him why he was still practicing considering how consistent he had been. Tiger responded: “I don’t like the way the ball is rolling into the cup.” That’s mastering the basics.<\/p>\n
Slumps are almost always caused by not having enough qualified buyers in the pipeline\u2014in other words, not enough prospecting. If you find yourself in a slump, start by looking internally, not externally. Remember that the slump is your slump, not someone else’s. Be strong enough to realize this, and take corrective action.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In all honesty, I am a streaky salesperson (at best).\u00a0 I have always been prone to peaks and valleys in my sales which speaks more to my abilities.\u00a0 Nonetheless, this ManageSmarter.com article addresses this problem with tips for breaking out of a slump. First, a great point: Besides, prospects can smell desperation in sales people. If you panic, your prospects will sense that you’re desperate, and they’ll avoid you. Oh that is so true.\u00a0 Prospects have an innate ability to detect a salesperson working a deal out of desperation.\u00a0 And, of course, that desperation typically plays out as a sizeable discount in the sale price. Then there is this: Third,… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[1750,141,143,142],"class_list":["post-1341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sales-management","category-sales-techniques","tag-sales-management","tag-sales-slump","tag-sales-success","tag-sales-technique"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-lD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2344,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2010\/06\/getting-back-to-the-basics\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":0},"title":"Getting Back To The Basics","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been assessing many existing salespeople over the past couple weeks and have seen many different levels of abilities.\u00a0 The ones that stick in my mind are the salespeople who are presently struggling with their revenue production.\u00a0 Sales is one of, if not the most stressful positions within any company.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessing"","block_context":{"text":"Assessing","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/assessing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1437,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/reasons-you-are-not-selling\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":1},"title":"Reasons You Are Not Selling","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"February 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This article is from the Salesopedia website.\u00a0 The article is excellent and rather amusing to read (probably since I am guilty of many of the author's items).\u00a0 For instance: If you\u2019re a professional salesperson and you\u2019re not selling, it could be because: \u2022 You are boring. Do customers cut you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":995,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/06\/the-sales-mindset\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":2},"title":"The Sales Mindset","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"June 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Yogi Berra once said, \"Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.\" Sales slumps are a fact of sales management life. I personally think most sales slumps occur because salespeople get complacent and out of the good behaviors that lead to closed deals. As a sales manager, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/windowslivewriterthesalesmindset-5ddchome-plate.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23153,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2019\/03\/the-shrinking-attention-span-vs-relationship-sales\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":3},"title":"The Shrinking Attention Span vs. Relationship Sales","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"March 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a problem I have seen developing in sales over the past 10 years - shorter attention spans in salespeople having to deal with longer sales cycles. First, some background from a quick American Management Association: Whenever I teach students, I tell them, \u201cYour chance of being successful has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Techniques"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Techniques","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-techniques\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Stopwatch.png?fit=560%2C315&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Stopwatch.png?fit=560%2C315&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Stopwatch.png?fit=560%2C315&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2447,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2010\/10\/roe-over-roi\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":4},"title":"ROE Over ROI","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"October 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a somewhat ethereal concept I have been encountering in this present economy.\u00a0 It starts with this \u2013 return on investment (ROI).\u00a0 ROI has been the backbone of sales since time immortal.\u00a0 This is the basis of sales in that customers pay the money to receive the solution.\u00a0 As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":175,"url":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/07\/selling-the-complex\/","url_meta":{"origin":1341,"position":5},"title":"Selling the Complex","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Jeff Thull is a successful sales trainer in the Twin Cities who works extensively with companies that have a complex sale. I just read this article - How to Prevent \"Unpaid Consulting\" - and found it full of tactical advice for salespeople. A few gems from the piece (emphasis mine):\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}