After a difficult year for all of us, here is The Humble Sales perspective on How to Make 2021 Your Year to Shine.
It’s fair to say that 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in living memory. Professionally it has been a battle for many as businesses have struggled to adjust to the impacts of the pandemic. Emotionally it has been even tougher with loved ones lost, liberties constrained and our health and way of life disrupted in ways that we are not accustomed to in the modern world.
However, I put it to you that despite these upheavals there has also been a lot to smile about. Our sense of community is returning, new relationships have been forged and people have started to take serious looks at their values and priorities, reflecting on what is really important to them. In fact it is from my own reflections this year that The Humble Sale was born…
Therefore, I thought it may be useful to share some perspectives that may help with any reflections you may be under-taking, linked to your profession or career in Sales. After all, if nothing else, you should make 2021 your year to shine…
How to Shine #1: Enjoy what you do
That sounds simple I know. However, a great cause of de-motivation in sales people is that, fundamentally (and if they were honest) many do not actually enjoy the roles they have or the tasks they perform each day. In a profession as rich and diverse as ours, this does not need to be the case. There are a wide variety of different roles in Sales each requiring different skill sets, which should give everyone choosing Sales as a profession a great opportunity to find, exploit and enjoy their niche.
If you are sitting there all day dreading what you have to do, change roles. Leave. Seriously. An unhappy person at work fast becomes an unproductive person at work. They impact team morale, they are less confident and successful and they suffer personally, often impacting their personal lives.
If you are in a Sales job that involves a lot of outbound prospecting, yet you dread picking up the phone or making fresh approaches, change roles. Maybe you’d prefer more of an Account Manager role? Do you love developing new relationships and the thrill of the chase but quickly lose interest when the deal is signed? Consider more of a “Hunter” role then. Are you brilliant over the phone or via Zoom but nervous and unproductive face to face? Consider Inside Sales… You get the idea.
Sales departments include:
- New Business Development
- Key Account Management
- Inside Sales (covering both of the above)
- Sales Operations
- Sales Analytics
- Direct Sales
- Channel Sales
- Bid and Bid Management
- Sales Project Management
- Proposal Writing
- Enterprise Sales
- International Sales
- Business to Business or Business to Consumer Sales
- Sales Marketing
- Sales Lead Generation
There are so many roles across each of these requiring a multitude of skills, there really is something for everybody! The list could be a lot longer, I am just making a point. Please reflect on what you truly enjoy doing and try to take your career in that direction for improved satisfaction in the year ahead.
How to Shine #2: Get the balance right
If 2020 has shown us anything, it is the fragility of life and the importance of savouring every precious moment with our nearest and dearest. It is easy in Sales to get addicted to the job, especially as the entrepreneurial nature of selling rarely fits neatly with the 9 to 5.
However, what is the point of striving hard to drive great results and improved income if you cannot take time out to truly enjoy it?
The work/life balance will be different for everyone, I acknowledge. However, it has to be beneficial to take time out to enjoy the fruits of your labours, relax or go on adventures with loved ones. Otherwise what’s the point of putting in all that effort?
Getting the balance right isn’t just about spending time with others though. I would also advise taking time out for yourself. This may be to invest in your health and fitness, explore other pursuits and interests, volunteer with a charity or just for some good old-fashioned “alone time”. All of these things enrich your perspective on life, which in turn will enrich your professional Sales existence.
How to Shine #3: Link your work with your values
True professional satisfaction comes from having absolute belief in what you do, what you Sell and how you Sell it. Appreciating that this won’t be easy for everyone, try and link your beliefs with your work.
We’ve all looked deeply at our values in this past year and certainly I know that I would never want to work for an organisation that puts gaining a buck over doing the right thing and I make my choices accordingly. For me it is important to go home at night, look my family in the eye and know that I have not compromised my values during my working day.
This is easier if you work for an organisation that has shared values to you and these days companies are very open about what they stand for. It is simpler than ever to understand where your employer stands on social responsibility, environmental initiatives* and charitable activity for example.
However, I appreciate that, especially in today’s climate, job hopping to your dream employer is easy to talk about and difficult to achieve (at least immediately). So in the meantime, consider simply linking your values to daily situations that arise. This leads me neatly to my next point…
How to Shine #4: Be authentic
Irrespective of corporate policy, your responses to challenges, questions, business hurdles or difficult conversations should all be true to who you are. Your reactions to daily occurrences are the perfect vehicle to link your true values with your daily work, which will leave you feeling more satisfied and positive – helping you to shine.
If you have a strong ethical core that means a lot to you, don’t compromise it at work. Instead, take those ethics to the professional decisions that you make. You’ll be more successful and this will also reflect well on your company.
Being authentic is not just about protecting your values though, it is about being you. We talk lots in Sales about establishing trust, and the best way to do this is simply being yourself. If you try and use the words of your colleagues when meeting customers or robotically spout corporate spiel when pitching, your prospective buyers will lose interest fast. So please remember to display vulnerability, talk from the heart and really work on narrowing the gap between your home-self and your work-self. Those people who are largely the same in both worlds tend to shine and taste more success as a result.
How to Shine #5: Find the right mentor for you
To really shine we have discussed how you need to be authentic, establish the right balance between your professional and personal lives, enjoy your work and ideally match how you work to your values. None of these things would be possible without the right mentoring environment that allows the freedom to explore these areas.
Working with a mentor who understands you and can coach without judging or guide without dictating is a valuable thing, and if you can find the right mentor you will really shine. To start with, see if you can locate them at work.
The best starting point would be your immediate line manager. If they are everything you need them to be – fantastic. However, should it transpire they need some coaching from you so they in turn can provide better help through understanding how you tick, give it. If they are capable they will listen to your advice, adjust their approach and then you can enjoy the benefit of their mentoring. Conversely, if you really feel that despite their best efforts they will only ever exist to you as a manager and not a true mentor, try and find someone else.
This other person could be inside or outside your organisation. They could be junior or senior to your current role. They could be a paid coach or a helpful “listening ear”. You may need more than one mentor to balance perspective. All of these possibilities would work. I just believe that behind every successful person is at least one good mentor they can talk with openly, who understands them and challenges them to grow, in a truly supportive fashion.
Your Year to Shine
Hopefully you’ve found these reflections helpful? (If you have it would be lovely if you could subscribe to The Humble Sale to help us grow our community). Coming out of 2020 the world needs excellent sales professionals more than ever. Economies have been impacted the world over, business decimated and livelihoods lost. Sales is a profession that has a vital role in reversing all of this.
If you can make 2021 your year to shine it just may help us all.
*As an aside, if you are passionate about protecting our natural world, I would recommend helping the World Land Trust, arguably the most important charity for our times.
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
