A sales slump can reduce productivity and impede success. Here’s what to do if you find yourself mired in one.
Experiencing a sales slump can derail your progress and make you question your ability to close deals. It involves a vicious circle of disappointment, low conversion rates, and rejection. Everyone goes through them, but the best salespeople learn how to successfully navigate slumps and come out stronger than before. Here’s how:
Review your sales numbers
Just one or two unsuccessful deals can sap your momentum and drive. But they only tell part of the story. Review your numbers from the previous quarter or month to get a clear picture of your sales progress. Here are some of the metrics you should be tracking through your CRM:
- Calls made
- Emails sent
- Demos booked
- Meetings scheduled
There’s always something you can work on improving when you experience a sales slump, and these numbers can help you identify it. For example, maybe you got so focused on one big deal that let your prospecting slide, which led to a more protracted slump. In that case, turning things around may be as simple as putting in some solid prospecting time.
Create an action plan
It can be hard to stay motivated during a slump, but setting goals can help. Come up with a clear plan to get yourself back on track. If you don’t have the emotional energy to tackle it all at once, devise daily goals you can quickly achieve. And structure ways to conserve energy for the essential tasks you need to complete.
For example, avoid wasting time on social media in the morning and focus instead on your goals. Give yourself time in the middle of every task to slow down, so you aren’t constantly under pressure. Once you can complete your daily tasks, everything else will start to pick up and you’ll be well on your way to pulling out of the slump.
Shift your focus from converting prospects to helping people
When going through a slump in sales, it is easy to get into the trap of focusing solely on closing deals, which only makes things worse, because:
- It can make you seem desperate
- It can turn off prospects who aren’t yet ready to buy
- It can lead to making bad deals that negatively affect your business in the long run
Instead of putting all of your effort into closing deals, take a step back and focus on how your product or service can meet the needs of your customers. Go through all the case studies of happy customers and discover why they loved your product and the tangible benefits they obtained from it. Place your focus on providing real-life solutions that meet your prospects’ needs, and you’ll start closing more deals.
Learn from industry experts
Look for inspiration from the top salespeople in your industry and soak in everything you can from their experiences. No matter how successful they are, they’ve all been through their share of slumps. And learning how they pulled themselves out can help you overcome your own roadblocks.
Listen to podcasts, read motivational books, and watch YouTube videos for inspiration. Learn the best tactics used by industry leaders and use them to take your career to the next level of success.
Take advantage of technology
Make use of technology to streamline your sales processes. Automation can take data from your CRM and other external tools and deliver it to you more straightforwardly. It also makes other monotonous sales activities, such as sending out proposals, easy and fun.
Use machine learning and AI to collect and analyze data at every step in your sales process. AI is great for vetting communications with potential clients, helping you figure out when a prospect is serious about a deal and when they aren’t. This enables you to manage your expectations and goals, thus driving sales.
Instead of spending a lot of time writing, following up, and analyzing your emails, use automatic emails. This allows you to be more effective and efficient, helping reduce some of the routine tasks that can cause burnout, which leads to slumps. Implement automatic email responses that promote engagement with potential clients for increased sales.
Recover from a slump in sales today!
A prolonged sales slump can make you feel like your career is stuck in quicksand, but the most important thing to remember is you already have everything you need to pull yourself out of it. Start small, by reviewing your sales numbers for the previous month, quarter, or even year to chart your progress. That makes it a whole lot easier to put those one or two unsuccessful deals into context.
Then create an action plan with simple, daily goals that can help you move forward one step at a time. Focus on helping people rather than converting prospects. Once your clients see how your product or service can make their lives better, you’ll start to see results. Also, take advantage of AI and machine learning technology to make the whole process easier.
Also understand that you don’t have to go through it alone. Business owners and managers should understand that slumps happen to even the best salespeople. And the best way to handle them is to understand their employees and work to support, train, and motivate them to be their best.
At MetaGrowth, we provide proven hands-on strategies for overcoming sales slumps. Our co-founders, Joe Arioto and Josh Hirsch, utilize a combined 30,000 hours of coaching to help founders and managers focus on the bigger picture of improving sales in your company. our innovative training can help your company develop a world-class sales team that slumps cannot bring down. Contact us today to learn more.
Written by
Joe Arioto