Okay, we get it. Stepping into the breach of sales is no easy task and is as daunting as it is rewarding. But therein lies the key. It is rewarding, and to make the most of it, you’ve just got to dive in.
You may dream of the deals you close, but that’s all they’ll remain if you don’t spring into action soon. We might be drawing ever closer to the Great Christmas Shutdown, but that should be your sign to act whilst everyone else slowing down. Take the initiative and break the paralysis.
Sales paralysis
Sure, rejection is never nice. But that rejection should never paralyse you and prevent you from going again and closing the deal you always dreamed of.
It’s understandable that this time of year brings tiredness, low energy, and hesitancy after we’ve all gone full throttle for 12 months. However, don’t you want to be set up for the year ahead and get a jump start on the competition?
So, ask yourself again: what’s stopping you from solving sales? Is it fear of rejection? Imposter syndrome? Time? Whatever it is, you should be breaking that paralysis immediately. In any climate, but especially today’s, you just can’t afford not to be doubling down on sales.
Think about it this way. How many deals have you missed because you were paralysed by fear and doubt? Too many, I’d imagine. Now think about all the deals everybody else has closed. Was it because they didn’t feel the fear and doubt? Unlikely.
That fear and doubt is within us all, and in sales, there’s just no room for it. Yes, a little dose of it keeps you driven, but you should have confidence in your proposition and offering to go out and deliver time and again.
If it’s a time issue, then think about your processes and where the talent is in your business. Are they in the right places in order to maximise efficiency? Remember, if your sales engine is set up correctly, you shouldn’t have to conduct all the outreach yourself. You should be able to poke your head into your inbox and manage the meetings you book.
As with most things in Q4, the temptation might be to slow down and have half an eye on how you’re going to soften up your sprouts this Christmas. But really, you should have half an eye on next year and getting geared up to find the scale in your sales engine.
Because that’s just it: your sales engine should never be standing still, or idling. It should be revving at full throttle and bursting at the seams so you can scale and produce the results you’re targeting.
That means getting the following items in order for the new year:
- Producing content to hit the ground running in Q1
- Setting up outreach campaigns so all you need to do is hit ‘Go Live’ in the new year
- Organising your diary so that you know exactly what your first few weeks will look like in January
These should be your focuses, but you should also be smashing imposter syndrome to smithereens.
Imposter syndrome
In theory, we could have covered imposter syndrome in the section above. However, we think most people would be lying if they said they didn’t experience just a little bit of imposter syndrome in their daily lives.
Imposter syndrome is just part of the big game we’re all playing, and getting through it requires getting uncomfortable and uneasy.
Don’t feel like you should be conducting outreach? It’s merely an obstacle on your path to success. Struggling to hit send on the pitch you slaved over? You wouldn’t be in a pitching position if you didn’t deserve to be there.
And this is the thing. Ultimately, are any of us ‘qualified’ for this gig? There is no bible for sales and outreach, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. So go out there and trial, iterate, and improve.
Smash imposter syndrome by achieving the results you’re aiming for. If you fail, then learn from it and go again. There are no test runs here, so all you can do is keep showing up and trying your best. No one can ask any more of you than that.
So, just start. Just crack on. The quicker you get up and go, the earlier you’ll realise that you have just as much right to be here as anyone else. Just starting blows away the doubt and demons, while progress and activity drive energy levels and confidence. It’s a magic combination that you can’t afford to miss out on.
So, are you willing to take a hit on the chin every now and again to get to where you want to go? I suspect you are.
The best time to start was yesterday, the next best time is now
As with planting trees, the best time to start sales in earnest was a long time ago. The next best time is now. The longer you put off taking the plunge into outreach and content marketing, the harder it will be to build momentum and scale.
And let’s face it, no one is going to be behind you with a stick prodding you until you do it. You have to get out there and face it, whether you like it or not. Ultimately, the success of your business depends on it.
Momentum is hard to build and takes time, so kicking it off as early as possible is key here.
The final word
So, consider this a call to arms. A call to action. A blast of the battle horn. Now is the time to start in earnest, not tomorrow. You can’t build a business on referrals alone, at least not sustainably.
You should be working on putting the foundations down for your internal sales engine, inside your business where the value belongs.
The easy thing to do would be to outsource to a BD agency, but it has to be you. For authenticity, for scale, and for sustainability. It has to be you.
And forget about imposter syndrome for a moment – you are bigger, better, and stronger than it. Prove it wrong. Break the paralysis, and start closing some deals.