Watch Netflix and chill for 12 hours a day, right?!
Picture Steve Harvey’s look here when a contestant on Family Feud gives him a dumbass answer.
If you’re in sales and stuck at home right now, unsure of what to do, feeling concerned about your future, and unable to stay focused with all the distractions; I understand.
There’s a reason why most salespeople aren’t as effective working remotely as they are working in an office environment.
There’s also a reason most companies demand salespeople work from the office and attend completely useless & valueless sales meetings.
CONTROL.
Companies want to control the situation. They want to control the environment. They want to control the habits, structure, and activities of the people they are paying to generate revenue.
Most salespeople would LOSE CONTROL of the situation if they aren’t in the office. They lose control of their habits, structure, and activities when they’re working from home.
With that being said, how do we TAKE BACK CONTROL of our businesses, our people, and our processes?
Here are a few tips to help you take back control of your situation while social distancing.
#1 – Focus on what you CAN control.
There’s no point worrying about the things that you have no influence over. You can’t control the weather, so why worry about it? You can’t control how much time you’re given, so why stress over it? You can’t control the pandemic situation, so why complain about it?
Here’s what you CAN control:
- Your attitude.
- Your mindset.
- Your habits.
- Your activities.
- Your feelings.
- Your outlook.
That’s just a short list, but you get my gist. Jim Rohn said it best.
“It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts.”
Look adversity in the eye, punch it in the face, and don’t look back.
#2: Provide more value.
Most salespeople are egregiously horrible when it comes to follow up. Not only do they not do it nearly enough, they don’t do it effectively.
Now is not the time to be following up incorrectly and asking people if they still want to buy from you, now is the time to follow up effectively and with care, compassion, and empathy.
Offer something for free that you normally wouldn’t have done before. Offer to make a connection that may help them eliminate expenses or increase revenue in some way. Offer to be a resource for information related to the pandemic and how to best address the situation. Offer them hope, support, and real value during this time.
And I’m BEGGING YOU, please stop sending emails like this:
“Hi Mike, just wanted to let you know I’m here for you.”
What does that even mean?! Seinfeld fans will remember when Jerry and Elaine came up with this ploy to start dating two people (whom they were waiting out their marriage). What ended up working, and what Jerry so eloquently told Elaine was:
“I’ll tell you. That there for you crap, was a stroke of genius!”
Be of value to people, don’t just be there for them. There’s a lot more to it than promising an empty gesture.
#3: Become Masterful
We have all been given a ton more hours than we had before. Not physically, as we all have 24 hours in the day, but figuratively. We now have “the time” we always said we needed, to be able to do the things we promised ourselves.
Remember the 1,400 times you said:
“If I only had more time?”
Guess what? Now you do. Stop the excuses. Stop blaming distractions. Stop, for real.
The average person just added 4.75 hours to their week because they’re not commuting to work.
That’s 19 hours a month you now get to use that was being unused before.
To quote Peter Gibbons from “Office Space” …
“I’d say in a given week, I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.”
Salespeople now have SO MUCH MORE TIME in their day to get better! We all know you weren’t making calls, prospecting, following up, networking or any other activity for eight straight hours.
You have the time to invest in your skill sets, to improve your sales-related competencies, and to strategize & develop a plan to take your business to another level.
The time is now. Build your skill sets, build your mindset, and build your pipeline. If you don’t come out ten times better on the other side of this thing, that’s on you.
Click HERE to learn more about Steve’s weekly, LIVE Six-Figure Sales Accelerator Coaching and Collaboration calls that will keep you motivated, inspired, accountable, and educated.
Steve is the CEO & Founder of Victory Selling and if you’d like more information about how to maximize your performance while working from home, he’s happy to help.
Steve can be reached at steve@victoryselling.com or simply connect with him on LinkedIn!
