I can’t believe I am using the word ‘sucks’ in a title. Last week I cringed when my son used the same word in his first letter written from Marine Boot Camp (imagine how much of boot camp really is awful, so I forgave him quickly). But the word fits today.
You see, as much as I write about sales best practices and what works, sometimes things don’t work out, do they? Then we get the rejection or feedback that stings.
That’s when we need our emotional intelligence strength to get out there and ask for more. That isn’t easy.
After a productive day yesterday with unexpected success, my day abruptly turned south in the last 15 minutes with a phone call from a long-term client. She had to deliver the news that after 3 years of delivering training to her team, the new upper level leaders were no longer interested in using our training. Even though the results were overwhelming positive and 99% of the people who worked through the course recommend it, they wanted something “different.” No discussion, she could not get a meeting scheduled, they were just moving on.
While I am licking my ego, I especially feel bad for her. She was the one who brought me in, who was excited about the results, and couldn’t wait to roll it out further. She feels like a failure and that she let me down.
What does that mean for me? That I failed her? I don’t want her to feel bad. I could have done some things different months ago, but I was caught up in a project that had me working double time already!
While I feel bad, I also realize that forcing something at this point is not worthwhile. The amount of energy to work with the new leader is more than the residual profitability from the relationship. He is a tough cookie–inflexible and not collaborative. Not the client I am successful with. I would probably have to ‘fire’ him at some point in the future. He just beat me to it…and that doesn’t feel good.
So, I let myself groan, made some notes for the future, am being a ‘big girl’ by writing a very nice closing letter, and moving on today.
This failure or rejection will not define me or the rest of my day or week. I’ve got too much good to share and too many good people to serve to let this slow me down.
How about you? When is the last time you realized that sometimes being in Sales Sucks?
Sales can suck!
I find myself in an industry that requires sales to have a successful business but cannot figure out how to be appreciative of that aspect of the company. I work in the Car Wash business selling car washes and auto detailing. I need to be well informed and know what I am selling more so than one might think. It is the difference for the company between a $5 basic wash on a car and a $700 plus detail and complete restoration. Six months ago I had to leaver the company I had worked for the last 8 years with because of the negativity and in the end how the sale team was being instructed to get the sales at any costs to including taking advantage of the customer. At that job I made 10% commission on every sale at a company that averaged between 200 – 400 cars a day. I worked 3 days a week and cleared 50k a year. I found myself at a different company in town that is paying me only 6% right now to start, but we do between 400 – 600+ cars a day. I also work only 3 days a week and my pay will be increased. I am very good at what I do. This a different kind of sales that requires all your skills to be compressed to within a few seconds to make an impression, communicate a point and close with most interactions lasting at the most minutes, making sure to get all special requests and concerns covered and relayed on instantly being ready for the next customer who may have a completely different set of requests along with the other 10 people who are pulling in behind them.
In this industry, I can easily make over 80k a year. The “suck” part comes in because there is such a disparity in pay between what I make and what those who have to do what I’ve sold make. Also, I have never worked at a Car Wash where good sales reps do not make at least close to double what the site manager makes. This always leads to all other employees getting upset when you are good at your job. The more I sell, the more others have to work and the greater the disparity in pay becomes in their eyes, almost as if it seems to completely devalue all the hard work they are doing.
When I left my last company, I never once submitted a resume, contacted anyone or sought out employment again within the Car Wash industry. I was contacted and sought out. They need people who can do this kind of sales. I have seen many people over the years who are good at sales not be able to make it in this type of sales. The pace is to fast, the rejection level to high, etc…but always you are hated for being good at what you do if you can make it here. As well, owners most of the time hate paying their salesmen what they are worth to the company. It is hard I’m sure to hand out 50 plus checks at a site to employees all making less than $10 an hour who mainly live off tips and to then have 1 or 2 checks to hand out that can put that employee close to 100k a year or even sometimes more at some more successful companies.
In this industry, it can really “suck” to be good at what you do and you have to be ready for the hate that can come with that sometimes unfortunately no matter how polite, kind or helpful you try to be anyways. I just know and realize that I have to keep being positive and kind to people. I anyone could do what I do, then they would!