The Lost Souls of Sales

I have tons of respect for people that have made a successful career in sales despite the ups and downs they may have experienced.  This article is written to those that didn’t make it in the “sales world” or the ones that float from sales gig to another sales gig, not ever finding a place to grow.  I call these people the "lost souls of sales".  

The question we have to ask is, “Why are they lost”?  I think it comes from 3 main things:

1. Lack of Coaching & Mentorship
2. Lack of Direction 
3. Lack of Mental Toughness

Let’s dive into each of these individually.  The purpose of looking at each of these is to arm yourself against these possible dangers of sales.

Lack of Coaching & Mentorship

I know that every movie depicts sales as if we are warriors going to battle and only need some battle cry from our leader to start prospecting.  In my opinion, this isn’t Wolf of Wall Street, people want to be coached, mentored, & lead to having their job become part of their purpose in life.  Sales Managers as is depicted in the intro of Mike Weinberg’s book Sales Management Simplified, “sales managers will become convinced that much of their time is spent on low-value, low-payoff activities instead of on the sales leadership essentials” are struggling with actually being a leader.   Today’s salesperson, in fact, I’d say that even salespeople 15 years ago, want to be coached. They want to get better but they can’t risk being seen as weak or less than their colleagues to ask for help.  They are in an environment that they aren't willing to be vulnerable and ask for help instead they would rather “figure it out”.  

We need to equip our sales managers to coach and mentor the salespeople that they manage. We need to consider if promoting your best salesperson is the right decision or if they don't have the experience needed to coach and mentor others. There is a reason Michael Jordan never coached basketball.  

Lack of Direction

I won’t spend too long on this point instead I will be very direct and might ruffle some feathers.  People all over have a lack of direction in their lives and careers. I have spent time with a lot of young salespeople and veteran that say one of two things: 1. I need the money. 2. I had nothing else to pursue so I thought sales would be a great avenue for my future.

I am not suggesting that everyone shouldn't have sales skills, but I think this lack of direction leads people to never investing fully in sales and just float around.  This affects the culture of sales teams when you know that people have no idea of how this job is fitting into the direction of their future. This is a much bigger issue than in the sales world, but I would be remiss to not mention it.  We should be helping salespeople try to understand how this job can help them pursue what they are passionate about or how the skills learned in this job could prepare them for their future.

Lack of Mental Toughness

There is a dangerous amount of people that cannot handle people telling them “No”  as often as some salespeople hear it. There are even more people that can’t handle criticism or coaching because they internalize it and makes them feel average.  When I tell people that I am in sales the #1 response back to me is, “How do you do that every day”? I also ask them how do you do what you do everyday…..? There are two ways to have mental toughness: 1. Believe in your product, solutions, or platform.  If you believe in it then you are tough when people don’t accept the help. 2. Know Your Why, Have A Plan, and See the bigger picture, we have all been in a situation where it just feels like no matter what decision we make we don’t meet expectations. If it all has a purpose we will prevail.

To the Lost Souls of Sales:

For those that have given up on the sales profession: I’m sorry that you were not coached or mentored.  I am sorry that you didn't understand how the job would benefit you regardless of your future. I am sorry that you were mentally weak. The truth is that you are selling every day, you sell with your speech, outfit, and your body language.  For the rest of your life, you will be selling, I only hope that you learned a few important lessons while you were selling.

For those that are in the profession but can’t find a home:  I’m sorry that you haven't found a place to grow. I am sorry that you aren't willing to change your ways long enough to become more dynamic.  I am sorry that your lack of mental toughness forces you to find the next green pasture to sell in. I hope that at some point you will realize that you can learn a lot if you will just ask a few questions.

The final question that we should ask is, "How can we help them"? I am going to leave that to you to give your thoughts and feedback towards.

If you are a lost soul, manage lost souls, or know a lost soul…. I am here to help.