Stuck on the ‘Nay’ Train?

Kerri Guyton

Recently, I was talking to a good friend of mine who started an independent product sales business about six months ago. She was explaining about the rut she had hit in her business development, and she thought she might have made a mistake in choosing to do this. She had run out of contacts, made all the connections she possibly could and was honestly tired of hearing “no” (or some form of the word). Maybe it wasn’t meant to be, she said with a heavy sigh.

Everyone feels this way at one point in their career, especially in the beginning of a new venture. She had a good business plan. She was excited about the possibilities and opportunities that this business was going to bring. She just hit her first dry spell, which can be a valuable time in a professional's career if handled properly. A down time is a good time to revisit your business goals, re-evaluate your strategies and tactics and recharge your batteries, so to speak.

I advised my dear friend to take a vacation from the pressure to sell, and take this time to soak up knowledge and inspiration from others in her business. I suggested that she attend her monthly meetings with the goal of listening to the success stories of others and take time to dig into the company's online training resources to learn more tips and tricks of the trade. This is also a good time for her to evaluate her communication tactics and messages - what parts of her sales pitch are working and what can she do to strengthen her call to action. I told her that for certain, the first step she needs to take is to remove quitting from the list of options and to remember that she can absolutely do this.

Occasionally, it’s just time to step off of the “nay” train and into the motivation station!