In sales, sometimes you’re up; sometimes you’re down. Sales pros know that there will be times when they hit a slump, but when those dry spells pop up, it can be difficult for those reps to find their motivation. If you have a sales rep who’s fallen into a rut, here are some actionable tips to help you motivate and re-engage them.
Organize A Lead Swap
Every sales rep on your team can benefit from a lead swap. Each person has leads on their list that have just gone nowhere. Have every rep bring you a list of 5 leads they’d like to trade, along with a list of the personality traits they think might resonate better with the contact. Swap out leads across the team accordingly. This will benefit everyone, not just the rep in the slump, but it will be most beneficial for that salesperson to make some new contacts and approach a problem with a fresh set of eyes.
Encourage Them To Break Their Patterns
Often times, a sales rut can be just as much about mental fatigue as it is about technique, lead quality or any other factor. Encourage your rep to mix it up by changing their patterns. That doesn’t mean they should change the way the sell. Instead, have them change a few things outside of sales to get their mind thinking, “Things are changing.”
For example, allow them to move to a new cubicle for a change of scenery, encourage them to rearrange the decorations and papers hanging in their cubicle, wear the watch on the opposite wrist, do their paperwork first thing in the morning instead of last thing in the afternoon, etc. Breaking one or more patterns can lead to breaking other patterns, including a sales slump.
Give The Rep a “Reset”
When a sales professional is in a rut, the pressure can become overwhelming and it can be impossible for them to see how they will ever dig out of the hole. For example, say a rep normally closes five out of every ten leads. They start their month with zero closes out of ten and they know now they have to sell the next ten in a row, or 15 out of 20. Seems impossible, doesn’t it?
You can jump-start motivation by giving your reps a reset: “Forgetting” everything that happened earlier in the month by starting fresh with zero and then evaluating them moving forward with a clean slate. However, take care to use this tactic only with talented, seasoned reps who you know are truly in a slump. Don’t make “resetting” a crutch that anyone can rely on at any time.
If you are looking for new ways to attract and retain top salespeople who can breathe new life into your organization, the expert recruiters at CSS ProSearch can help. Contact us today to learn more about the ways in which we can help grow, build and expand your team – and your bottom line.