The dreaded sales slump

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Every professional at anything hits a slump from time to time. In 2004, Tiger Woods only won one of the 28 tournaments he participated in. Tiger also had a 2.5 year slump after his now ex-wife wacked him with a 7-iron. Ouch! Every pitcher, batter, quarterback and goalie has run into a slump, and if you haven’t yet, you will too.

Pro athletes usually get paid whether their performance is lagging or not. Unfortunately for you, you don’t. You must sell to survive.

It’s easy to get down in the dumps, start your day later, take longer lunches and slack off hoping the good times will roll again. That just doesn’t work and will only dig your lack of sales hole even deeper.

So, after that unhappy thought, what’s a mobile jobber to do when their sales production sputters or grinds to a halt?

I found this quote by baseball's Hammerin' Hank Aaron.

"My motto was always to keep swinging," Aaron said. "Whether I was in a slump, or feeling badly, or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

Above all else, the advice from Mr. Aaron is perfect. Stay in the batter’s box and keep making those sales calls.

However, as you continue making those sales calls you need to examine what’s hampering your sales results, and how can you improve?

Sticking with the baseball analogy, every year at spring training the first thing the players work on is catching, fielding, throwing, and batting. They do this to get the rust off and insure they are doing the baseball basics correctly.

For you, the spring training basics are as follows.

• Is your mobile store clean, organized, well stocked and attractive? You won’t shop at a grocery store that’s dirty, messy and has lots of out-of-stock items. Your customers won’t either.
• Do you really plan each sales call? Before you walk in the door be prepared for each customer interaction. 
• Don’t blame an outside influence for your lack of sales
• Be your own critic, sales trainer, and coach.
• Ask for help. Yeah, yeah I know. You’re too macho for that or afraid to look weak or helpless by asking for help.

Here’s an idea you probably never thought of: Invest a day or two and do a ride-along with a successful mobile jobber in your area. It could be fun and relaxing, and you may learn a trick or two, and a few days off your truck may be all the spark you need.

A great thing about a career in sales is that it is simply a matter of numbers. If you go stand on a street corner holding a bag of dirt and ask every person walking on that street, "Hey, do you want to buy some dirt?” It may take 100 or 1000 people but sooner or later someone will say yes. As you get better at presenting your dirt, it will take fewer prospects to sell your dirt. The better you get at your dirt presentation, your dirt sales will continue to pick up.  In other words, the better you get, the less people you will need to talk to whom will buy your dirt.

It's no different with pliers, screwdrivers, and tool storage if you prepare well. Make as many presentations as you can. If you learn what went well, and what you could improve after each presentation, and if you trial close and ask for the order, it is guaranteed your sales will improve.

Now, go sell something.

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