What's happened is that they start to think that they "can't do it." ....that they were "good once," and just don't have the "knack" anymore. They are "burned out."
Can This Salesperson Be Saved?
This salesperson is not only salvageable, but can be a super star. Burnout is the body and brain's response to doing something it doesn't want to do....The good news is that the person might only FEEL like they don't want to sell...that they BELIEVE the same way because no one who gets it has come in and done reprogramming...(therapy.)
The person has already proven they have integrity. Whether they were fired or quit doesn't matter. They left the other company and went in search of something they could stand behind. They sought out quality and found it.
But they brought all the emotions, the negative feelings, the guilt, the anger, the disgust with them to THIS company. (If you haven't figured out that this happens in relationships all the time...come back and read this later!)
Here the sales manager tries to motivate his "good person" who "has potential."
Listen closely: THE SALES MANAGER is wasting his time. You can't motivate a person to do something that is emotionally linked to all of those dreadful emotions...not for more than a few days. It can't and won't work.
You can't motivate a person to perform past their deeply ingrained reactions to a certain environment and their unconscious beliefs... EVEN IF THEY ARE SCREWED UP BELIEFS.
The salesperson felt bad about themselves, the old company and the product they sold. The salesperson developed feelings of blame, disgust, internal integrity breaks, internal honesty breaks, for ALL three: themselves (which is NOT necessarily immediately repairable by simply quitting and going somewhere else), for the old company (whose people need to take responsibility for themselves) and the old product (which was THAT product not THIS set of products).
One big pile of engrams (anchors to old, bad feelings). In 1983, those of us who finally escaped selling... junk (a kind word)....We called these things called "cluster _ucks" or something like that....and gave ourselves new life....if we could get there...not only in company and product but in rewiring the reactions from the past relationships and unhooking them from the present.
....Because the feelings were horrible. And then you took your talents somewhere else and were literally afraid to sell things people wanted, needed and would love. The same feelings came back even when you cognitively KNEW you were selling a great product. It's the same as bulimia. You don't know why you aren't selling, you simply aren't...it makes no sense.
Listen, you could be selling hundred dollar bills for a twenty and still feel the same way inside. So the answer is not just:
- Selling a great product.
- Selling for a company that respects you.
If you sell something or manage people who do... pay close attention because this will transform you and your people...
Because most people who work at the good company know they have good products and didn't work for the garbage company, they believe that there is a very different problem and they fail as managers.
This is where the "believe in your product" stuff comes in. Someone stands at the front and says, "you gotta believe in your product."
Uh, no you don't...and you won't as long as the old style motivation strategies which never worked for more than a couple of days are used by managers.
You NEVER hear me tell you to believe in your product.
NEVER!
You don't hear me telling you to believe in your political party, church, religion, NOTHING.
Key Point: Because beliefs and emotional responses that have been shattered in the past must be formed IN NEW WAYS in the future.
It happens by examination and observation....and action.
You CAN choose to BEGIN to find value in your product or service. It has to be a CHOICE. A DECISION. A CONSCIOUS DECISION that, given all the facts is the RIGHT decision.
The person needs to see what their service is doing to help someone or they need to be able to imagine it very clearly. They have to FEEL good about their new set of choices inside. None of this is easy.
I was TOLD plenty of times to "believe in this product." Doesn't work like that when you have sales-bulimia.
What should you do? To be continued...
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