Protecting self-confidence when you're not hitting quota

I'm nowhere near hitting my number. There's less than 2 full months before the end of the year. I have a shot at pulling it off, but it's a remote one. Let's just say the path to get there isn't a source of sustained confidence.

I feel like every salesperson does when their numbers are not where they need to be, that my job hangs in the balance.

I don't get the feeling that anyone else in product, marketing, customer support, or even management feels the ever-present uneasiness of losing their income, the way sales pros feel when we're not meeting quota.

I write a lot about mental toughness and confidence for athletes who are training full-time to reach a higher level in their sport.

I've had to use a lot of that coaching on myself.

"The wolf is at the door" is a metaphor every salesperson understands. We picked a profession that is rewarded well when we're bringing in business. It can be punished quickly and harshly when we don't.

Even though it creates some sleepless nights, I love my profession and to some degree…the uncertainty that's part of being a hunter.

It's forced me to develop new skills to maintain my self-belief. I have to continually remind myself of these lessons, especially when my sales track looks like the path of a poorly folded paper airplane.

If an athlete is struggling and not performing to their ability, as their coach, the first thing I'd look at is their daily training process. What training sessions are they doing every day? How much time are they spending? Are they working to improve in the right areas? Are they strengthening their weaknesses?

In many cases, their training volume is too low. They simply have to put in more hours running, lifting, and practicing their sport.

In other cases, their process is solid. They're doing the right things that will eventually produce long term success. Their results just haven caught up yet with their efforts yet.

In that case, I encourage them to stay totally focused on the areas of their training they can control. Keep giving 100% effort and stay patient.

Act as if you've already achieved the results you want, but keep raising your level of intensity and enthusiasm during the daily grind.

And if you're really floundering, get a book about mental toughness/confidence, read at least 5 pages, and see if you can find one idea to apply to your daily training.

Unlike the sales book that's titled "Hope Is Not a Strategy: The 6 Keys to Winning the Complex Sale," I believe the opposite. Hope is the fuel for every strategy you are using.

No hope. No gas for your rocket. No interstellar space travel. No chance of hitting quota.

Well I guess I'll take some of my own medicine and get back to it. There may be less than 2 months to reach my quota, but at least I have about 45 days to do so!