It’s inevitable.
No matter how skilled or talented you are, sometimes things don’t go the way you planned.
Occasionally, you might find yourself on a bit of a losing streak and things don’t go well for an extended period of time. In fact, you might call it a slump.
It happens to the best of us.
When this happened to me in a sales role, my manager would always tell me to “smile and dial”, or “the next sale could be your next call—keep going!”
While that is practical advice you can follow in the moment, you may need a more comprehensive strategy for busting out of your current situation.
Let’s look at some ways you can address this on a more global level:
First, assess what happened. Think back to a time where you were having the results you wanted. What are you doing (or not doing) differently now than you were before? Be brutally honest, you aren’t fooling anyone but yourself if aren’t pointing the magnifying glass at yourself. Are you making calls, are you reaching out to potential clients, are you reaching out to satisfied clients and asking for referrals?
If you get so caught up in the day-to-day activities and lose focus on these things that generate your highest results, it’s no wonder things slowed down.
Go back to the fundamentals, remember what worked, and start doing those things again.
Second, forgive yourself for being where you are right now. Beating yourself up over your current results won’t help on the long run. Own what happened and move on.
Third, talk to someone you trust if you are still stuck. I emphasize someone you trust because the most constructive thing you can do is talk to someone who is either part of the problem or part of the solution. Everything else is gossip. Ideally, talking to someone who has already been through your current situation would be the most helpful. If you have a coach, that’s your person to talk to!
Fourth, treat yourself. Sometimes you need to mix things up and doing something nice for yourself. Take yourself out to lunch, go for a peaceful walk, or do anything else that will allow you to get away for a little while. That might be the thing you need to get yourself going again.
Fifth, do affirmations. I say or listen to affirmations every day. Filling your mind with positive input is critical to getting your day started. YouTube has a lot of motivational and wealth videos where you can listen to positive messages. In fact, if you have not taken Deepak Chopra’s “21 Days Of Abundance” challenge, do it! You can find it on YouTube, and it’s free! Each session is about 15 minutes long—you have time for this.
Sixth, practice gratitude. You might be thinking, “What is there to be grateful for right now? I haven’t had a sale in days, I’m bummed out, and no one is returning my calls.” If you haven’t had a sale in a while, go back to step one and assess why this might be the case. If you are bummed out, do something nice for yourself and find things that are good in your life. And finally, if no one is returning your calls, have you considered that in your current state of mind it might actually be a good thing? If you want to make that sale, you need to be at your absolute best.
Write down a list of 10 things to be thankful for, then expand it to 20, then 50. Review that list frequently. The first few things you write down might be easy, but then you will find yourself considering the smaller things—in other words, the things you take for granted.
If you can walk, be thankful. Not everyone can.
If you can read, be thankful. Not everyone can.
You get the idea!
Finally, focus on what’s next instead of focusing on the past. The past is done and can’t be changed. The only alternative is to concentrate on what you can do to make things different next time.
Dial that next number, write that next offer, submit that next magazine article.
Critically assess what productive activities will take you to the next step. Too many people focus on the result without putting in the work.
Do…the…work!
Do it now!
The next time you find yourself in a prolonged slump, apply these steps. I’m confident that if you are honest with yourself, you can figure out what went wrong and then focus on what you can do to reverse the trend.
The difference between high achievers and everyone else is they do these things quickly without wallowing in it for an extended time.
By the way, if you find that not enough people know about your offer or what you are doing, I can help you with that.
Schedule a time to speak with me at www.callwithbrian.com.
