
1. STRESSOR: QUOTA
It’s not easy to choose the perfect sales quota that will make both management and sales reps happy. Sales targets can come to define your success or failure as a sales professional, but what can you really do to reduce the stress of these all important numbers?
STRATEGY
Remember a sales quota doesn’t exist in isolation. The size of your target market, the mix of customers, prospects, the industry, and the product you are selling, all have an impact on your success. That said, realistic quotas need to be set to each individual. And most importantly, each salesperson must have a say in their sales target when it is being set with – not by – your sales manager.2. STRESSOR: LACK OF CONTROL
There are so many things outside our control as sales professionals, it can sometimes seem overwhelming. That often includes factors like the sales territory you’re assigned to, or how much access you get to internal resources, or perhaps the flow of new leads.
3. STRESSOR: JOB INSECURITY
The days of the “job for life” are pretty much over. Not many people currently aged under 50 will go through their working lives with only one employer, or even just two or three. Continuous, secure employment with one organisation is increasingly difficult to find, particularly if you’re new to the job market. There are many factors that threaten job security. They include globalization, outsourcing, downsizing, recession, new technology, and most recently, a pandemic.STRATEGY
First and foremost, you need to invest your own brand. Having a personal brand allows your prospects to build a stronger connection with you. It gives them something to connect with and also trust. Creating a personal brand is incredible way of creating positive impact on the people you meet, and a lasting one. It also gives you the opportunity of reaching your customers’ needs on a deeper, more meaningful level.4. STRESSOR: BALANCING THE SHORT AND LONG TERM
Sales is all about, well, sales! But when the majority of your ‘worth’ at work is calculated based on last quarter’s revenue-to-quota performance, it can feel like you’re on a treadmill to constantly perform. Every quarter is important, and every quarter the quota increases. But here’s the clencher – you still have the same amount of time in a day to do the job. Balancing the short term goal with the long term goal is very hard. But done right, it is the difference between an average salesperson, and a sales superstar.
5. STRESSOR: COMPLIANCE, ADMIN, INTERNAL POLITICS
When you first move into a sales position, you think that that the selling part is where most of the stress is. How quickly we learn otherwise! Hardened sales pros know that the real stress is the internal selling. The backend data entry. The politics and toing and froing behind the scenes.
STRATEGY
Build strong internal relationships and over-communicate with key stakeholders. Additionally, forecast as accurately as you possibly can. And where possible, stay well away from office politics. That is, in favour of time connecting with your customers.Book your sales team on their Team Building Workshop. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
