MOTIVATION


optimistic salesperson’s projections, and to continue to frequently review the plan with the reps over the course of the year – making adjustments as needed. With lower-tier team mem- bers, this review is especially critical. “If someone isn’t doing well, I think it’s because he or she has gotten off track somewhere,” she emphasizes. A regular analysis and update of the business plan is a key element in increasing performance. Both trainer and improvement expert urge other managers to try to salvage the bottom-dwellers and bring them up to par rather than simply cut them off and show them the door. “You don’t want to fire people who are within 20 percent of success,” says the improvement ex- pert. With the market for competent salespeople as tight as it is, if you let someone go, you will need to fill that position. “You will not hire somebody who’s better. You’ll probably end up in a big hole,” he says.


Plus, nearly every salesperson has found himself or herself classified as a poor performer at one time or another,


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Four Ways to Overcome Everyday Disappointments


Are you suffering from a minor disappointment? Con- gratulate yourself. It means you’re growing. Constant gratification would be like living in a 100 percent sterile environment. That’s totally unrealistic. Generally, minor disappointments are challenges for self-management and opportunities for personal growth. Here are four tips for overcoming everyday disappointments. 1. Establish new priorities. Stop running. Think. Review your experience. If you feel alone, put it on paper. Talk with a good friend about disap- pointment you’re feeling. If the disappointment is related to your job, discuss it with your spouse or trusted mentor first. Isolate minor disappointments before you see your next customer.


2. Minimize your exposure to disappointment. One major source of disappointment: unrealistic expec- tations. We often overestimate what we can do,


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says the trainer. Sometimes you’re breaking into a new industry or terri- tory. “Often it can be that we simply get into ruts,” she says, and that’s es- pecially true if you’ve been serving the same customers or handling the same territory for an extended period. “It happens to everyone,” the trainer says. So how do you know whether to fish or cut bait with a particular rep? The simple answer is, you can see it in their eyes. “You look at somebody and you make a judgment: Do they want to do what’s needed? Do they have what it takes to get the job


done?” says the improvement expert. The trainer also recommends laying out very clearly what’s expected of the rep – and putting a time frame on it. “Say, ‘These are the changes that must happen for you to stay,’” she says. Then put a time limit on it and monitor it closely. If the rep is really determined to make a change, you’ll know – and, if they are just playing games, you’ll know that, too. “Not everybody responds to support and team playing,” says the improvement expert. “But, if you’re just there to take a paycheck, it doesn’t work.” 


what money can do, what authority can do, what contracts can do, and what other people will do for us. Disappointment in expectations helps us learn about the practical opportunities in life. Unrealistic self-expectations can lead to unnecessary disap- pointment.


3. Increase your resilience. You need to develop resilience to lessen your chances of suffering disap- pointment. How? Don’t mistake customer indiffer- ence for anything other than what it is. In selling, some prospects will accept you and some will reject you. Understand that a rejection may be real or imagined; it may also be just indifference or noth- ing but a reflection of the other person’s world and particular situation.


4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Monitor your expectations. Know your abilities and limits. Renew your commitments every day. Learn to accept other people’s negative feelings. Accept your vulnerability. Maintain conscious control over what drives you. Build close relationships. Keep reaching higher than you expect to achieve.


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