how to deal with sales pressure

How to deal with sales pressure -

It is quite evident that sales is a high pressure job, your combat begins if you commit to a number your boss wants you to achieve and if it isn't a realistic number that is where the struggle begins. You would need to be quite tactful while you selecting your targets, Just because some peer is not feeling well or going on a long vacation there will be pressure on you to take his target but that will eventually frustrate you to the degree where you will start hating your job without even knowing.

 Ensure you consider all the factors which conclude a sale and based on your pipeline and gut feel try to accept a target which is not a huge burden, Also try to evaluate your target by weeks and calculate the run rate that gives you a fair idea as to how you would need to achieve your targets.

 You have to logically evaluate how much you could achieve and based on the environmental conditions, number of appointments booked and follow up’s.

“Follow up’s” my favorite part, once you identified a potential buyer for the deal you would tend to lose interest if he is not responsive after a certain time and the equation built usually fizzles out. You tend to look for new opportunities and ignore the one’s which may lead to a sale. While following up on the potential clients you would call randomly and say that it is a casual call and you were following up on to see if the decision maker has made up his mind, without any value addition.

Rather you should try to email the potential client some research data and industry trends which will be conversation starters on your follow up calls, One new document should be prepared which could be used to follow up with all your clients at the same time, So by force you keep the potential clients excited and when the time comes for him to pursue evaluating a vendor you have already proved how considerate you are about educating your clients and help them choose the best return on their investments.

Being disciplined and punctual in sales is an essential factor for success and the same applies for life, so you have to be punctual to take your holidays also on time. Once you fall in the sales cycle you will have to keep following up which does not allow you to exit or take a break, Remember it is a cycle which never has an end. You will have to work until you retire so you have to take regular breaks and plan holidays in advance. If you compromise on your holidays you would await some devastating effects on your health.

If there is insurmountable pressure people are forced to choose alcohol and smoking. But that makes the matter worse it would lead you to depression quickly, you will start to procrastinate and hate everything. You will move to brown out stage first and then black out. Once you reach this stage you will start to miss all deadlines. This is not just alarming but a very dangerous zone because coming out of it is very difficult. God forbid if you get fired during this phase getting a job with the psychological condition is very difficult.

In order to avoid the pit you will need to pursue healthy options. Like getting a massage done, travel and fishing or learn a new sport. Usually sales is a collaborative effort and sometimes you get an earful for not your fault, just patiently listen but that has nothing to do with what you need to do.So don’t take it too seriously that your health is compromised. If you don’t like your job or your boss do not hesitate to compromise and continue to live like that. Try to escalate or work harder to find a new job for yourself. Don’t compromise on your health….. It is your only god’s greatest gift no one else has the right to ruin it.
You can also view my other article "how to delegate as a sales manager".
Happy Selling !