Numbers down? Missing your quota? 3 steps to deal with stress in sales

In this episode Steli talks about how to deal with not meeting your sales quota and how to manage the stress that it causes. We all have stress in life, and that’s not a negative thing as it shows that we care. Steli shares practical advice about how to manage your stress. He also delves into what you can do as a salesperson to deal with missing your quota. He refers to The 5 Why Methodology that helps you identify the root causes of why you’re missing that quota and the RIGHT way to address these root causes for your future success.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

●00:03 – Today’s episode is about how to deal with the stress of missing your sales quota and how to turn it into an opportunity

●00:20 – Sales is results driven and this can be a source of stress, but it is also beautiful because you have to take action for it to be successful

●01:12 – Sales people suffer from a tremendous amount of stress because the company depends on their work as it can affect their income and family

●02:11 – Steli shares a statement shirt he saw saying stress means you care a lot about something

●03:09 – Managing stress is about managing your own emotions ●04:10 – The basic principles of managing stress:

o 04:22 – Sleep enough and make sure you are rested

o 04:59 – Eat healthy and eat well

o 05:31 – Make sure you are physically active

o 06:12 – Take breaks o 06:36 – Meditate

●07:22 – For salespeople, evaluate why you missed your quota

o 07:59 – Use the 5 Why Methodology

o 08:16 – One why is not enough because it will not get you to the root cause of the issue

o 08:47 – Steli shares a scenario using the 5 Why

o 10:11 – The root cause of not meeting the quota is setting an unrealistic goal or not doing the right things to reach the goal

●10:54 – It takes patience and getting over your own resistance to get through the 5 Why

●11:05 – The usual causes of not meeting the quota:

o 11:10 – Setting unrealistic goals

o 11:20 – You didn’t take enough action

o 11:27 – The quality of the action is lacking

o 12:04 – All of these things are in your control

●12:13 – The one thing that is out of your control is whether or not the market has shifted dramatically

●12:55 – The second thing out of your control is that the company did something wrong

●13:18 – Check and analyze if the reason is within your control or not

●13:51 – Staying in a clouded space WITHOUT resolution or clarity will only amplify your stress

●14:12 – Identifying the root cause will ease your stress because you know the problem and can find the solution

●14:50 – You can also ask for help

●15:37 – The number one thing you CANNOT do if you fail to meet your quota is hide from the world

●17:30 – The majority of those who lie believe that they can fix it in the future

●17:43 – Do NOT be that person

●18:09 – Taking shortcuts is setting yourself up for future problems and failure in the long term

●18:41 – Do not hide from the failed numbers and own up to it—plan to change what you did wrong

●19:32 – What defines your sales career is the way you deal with the bad situations

●20:09 – Everybody misses their numbers in sales

●20:56 – Find the root cause of the issue, own up to it, communicate and seek help, and look for mentors who can inspire you

●22:00 – You will feel stress in life, but what you do with that stress is what will define you

●22:11 – Leave your comments on how you have dealt with stress ●22:23 – Subscribe to the blog at Close.io

3 Key Points:

1.Do the 5 Why Methodology to get to the root cause of why you’re not hitting your quota.

2.If you do not meet your sales quota, evaluate if it was within your control or not.

3.Once you identify the mistake, OWN it and get help—what you do in these situations will be what defines you.