I’ve been through countless sales slumps over my past 14 years in business.
And let me tell you, holding a dance card that’s filled with “NO, NO, NO” can be one of the most demoralizing experiences a business owner can face.
Dealing with these slumps is isolating, embarrassing and a real ego-buster. But as sure as the sun sets every day, it’s bound to happen.
Three of my most memorable (and painful) dips were…
1. My first year in business
Even though I’d gone out on top from a successful sales career in Corporate America, I could not close a deal to save my life in my new business.
With loads of advice from legions of colleagues, I finally eked out two paying clients somewhere between months 10-12 which kept me in the game.
As a result of earning less than 10% of my prior year corporate income, I had to rearrange a lot of financial obligations in order to stay afloat. Talk about a major reality check.
2. Following my first live event in NYC
I had just moved to New York and was so excited because the event was sold out 2 weeks in advance. Even people without tickets showed up on event day with the hope of getting a coveted seat. The room was electric. I was living the dream!
Yet it turned out to be a quite possibly the worst day of my life.
Despite the popularity of the event and 88 people in the room, only one person bought the program I offered.
In hindsight, I know it’s because I was out of alignment with the offer I made.
But worse yet, I felt maligned. Rejected. Like a big fat loser.
The shrapnel from that single event sent me to the sofa for months afterward. Those were quite possibly the worst months of my life.
I went from the highest high to having lost all confidence in myself and questioning everything.
What am I doing with my life? When am I ever going to figure out my business? How can I afford to stay in NYC if nobody will buy from me? What’s wrooooooong with me? I’m no good!
3. During a major losing streak
I had a period where I had a bunch of sales conversations, but nobody, and I mean nobody, was buying.
I felt so defeated. I’m the sales coach. How could I be screwing up so many opportunities?
I stepped back for awhile before half-heartedly trying to do more outreach. But that wasn’t doing the trick. My prospects could sense that I didn’t believe in myself — so why should they believe in me?
I felt like I was “wasting” good prospects so I plain old stopped trying. Just hoping I’d get out of my slump ASAP.
Like inaction would do me any good. Riiiiiight.
Those slumps destroyed any shred of confidence I had left. And when I did have a sales conversation, my prospects were saying NO because they sensed something was off.
It’s crucial to move through the slump as quickly as humanly possible!
The quickest way to get out of it is to follow these 2 pieces of advice:
DO NOT “compare and despair.”
Resist the urge to look around and obsess over how successful everyone else appears. And then shame yourself for not being right up there with them.
It did no good to sit around wondering why I couldn’t be more successful, skinny and gorgeous like Ali Brown. Especially if I did it while eating a sleeve or two of Oreos while I stewed. That only made me angry.
Get off of Facebook if it makes you feel crappy. Unsubscribe from the “shiny happy people” emails if they depress you. It’s okay to seclude yourself from that stuff for awhile. It’s only temporary.
DO take immediate steps to restore your confidence.
The secret of every successful entrepreneur is knowing how to get out of a sales slump as quickly as possible by getting the YESES rolling in again. Because YESES and money solve a lot of problems. 🙂
For 3 go-to secrets that have lifted me out of innumerable slumps over the years, go ahead and help yourself to 3 Secrets That Boost Confidence & Inspire Your Prospects To Readily Say YES! by clicking on the image below:
Slumps are bound to happen. And looking back, those dips are a right of passage. BUT… that doesn’t mean you can’t find the quickest way through, around or across any slumps and bumps you hit along the way!
