Sales in 2020 = Mission Impossible

The work from home culture has become a near standard across most industries, businesses and professions in 2020. Many are enjoying the short commute. But even more are anxious to return to the energy of their office environment.

Furthering the changes, many companies in the United States are now operating with a frozen budget as they wait to learn the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their business. It has been coined by some as The Great Pause. But to those in the sales profession, it is more suitably labeled as Mission Impossible.

How do you grow your pipeline in 2020?

In short, you will need to work more. And by working more, it will not equate to selling more than you did in the pre-coronavirus from. While there are exceptions to this economic environment, I'm exploring the hard take of where we're at today and the objections most sales reps are hearing. There isn't much of a sale to be made on a frozen budget when companies have developed policies to halt switching services. Unless you are selling a product based solely on cost savings, your sales pitch may only be a presentation for a future transaction once the dust settles.

COVID-19 did not eradicate quotas in 2020, so what are we supposed to do?

2020 is providing a psychological study on delayed gratification. Exercising this basic resistance to produce a more desirable result compared to a faster and easier solution. By working harder, not only will you build your prospects for the future but you will also secure the diamonds in the rough that no other sales rep is finding during this economic climate. You will stay positive with the task at hand by understanding the reward of the delayed gratification of your current work. You are building something grand. And while you might not find the norm from a timeline perspective, the results will be there for those who work through these rough times.

From an early age, we are taught the importance of delayed gratification through the use of fairy tales. The story of The Three Little Pigs teaches children the inherent value in taking the time to build the house out of bricks. This is, of course, so the wolf is unable to blow your house down!

Society further sets up extrinsic rewards for those that are willing to work hard and delay gratification. Those that contribute to a retirement plan at an early age or invest in real estate as opposed to a new car can provide a testimonial to this principal.

The Grass Is Greener concept is alluring as instant gratification provides an immediate reward. While you may be financially worse off down the road, it’s fun to buy that new car! On the contrary, the Grass Is Browner philosophy will delay gratification by the efforts necessary to water and grow your green grass.

Delayed gratification must be learned. Without the belief that there is greater reward to come, instant gratification will occur as long as the variable is desirable. If reliability is not achieved, the basis for delaying gratification becomes unqualified. So, for those who are doubting their sales careers due to their 2020 frustrations, you need to remind yourself there is a light at the end of this coronavirus tunnel.

Delaying gratification is a choice that each individual will make alone. As a result, providing a child or even an adult with appropriate instructions could adjust the results. Walter Mischel ran a study with different instructions to children looking to delay a food reward in order to research the subject at hand.

Well known as the marshmallow test, children are presented with a food reward that would be considered attractive. It could be a marshmallow as the name suggests or a small piece of chocolate cake. The experiment works by allowing the child to have one right away if they want, or they will be provided with two if they wait for the incremental amount of time designed by the experiment.

Other research shares the same results and conclusively sites a greater number of children being unable to delay gratification for the reward. The most common results find that only one out of three children are able to delay gratification with the marshmallow test.

The purpose of Mischel’s experiment was to take a deeper dive on the children that were unable to delay the gratification through instruction and alternative testing. The reason is that through his initial testing Mischel found that the children looking at the reward or focusing on it while attempting delayed gratification were inducing frustration that they were unable to overcome.

Mischel’s experiment attempted to redirect the child’s energy to not look at the marshmallow, think about an assigned topic, and additional variables to see the effects on creating a learned skill to achieve the delay. The findings showed that almost anything serving as cognitive activity distracting the child from immediate gratification was able to reduce frustration and extend the experiment. The biggest difference really becomes the child that needs to be instructed and the child who has learned to develop this cognitive ability on their own to positively create the delay.

In relation to the sales world, the make-up of the team environment provides coaching to stay the course and reinforcement from your peers. Regardless of the positivity of your current work environment, frustration may ensue. Deterring the ultimate frustration of leaving your sales career will require the knowledge and use of delayed gratification to mitigate any job dissatisfaction you are facing this year.

The good news for those that are feeling the stress of 2020 is you can retrain your brain to enjoy this situation. Mischel’s research illustrates that willpower is something that can be strengthened and cognitive skills learned to comfortably delay gratification. These characteristics often occur out of necessity as people gain weight, have financial problems, create interpersonal conflict or experience failure in their professional role. Recognizing the benefits of delayed gratification and working towards the cognitive growth will provide personal and professional benefits.

Learning and growth were an intricate part in the success of children delaying their gratification in a trusting and comfortable environment. There is no doubt that this is also necessary in the current business environment. It is therefore imperative to see through the hardships of this coronavirus era to prevent you from scrambling for the nearest marshmallow. The biggest challenge sales reps are facing right now is their own mental fortitude. But as this article reads, everyone has the ability to stay strong during these times.

Regardless of role within your company, all positions are actively requiring a form of delayed gratification to tackle the daily tasks at hand. You need to remember that the second marshmallow isn't showing up tomorrow. Get comfortable with it being delayed as there will be greater things in store for those who stay the course. Dedication and perseverance to your desired goal will provide your greatest success as you thrive in this most unusual year.

-Jon Markwardt

Markwardt’s series, The Grass Is Browner on the Other Side, was created to help individuals grow their sales and leadership skills. It is particularly geared to a millennial generation in constant search of instant gratification. If you'd like to buy one of the books, please click the image above to purchase through Amazon.

References

Karniol, Rachel; Galili, Lior; Shtilerman, Dafna; Naim, Reut; Stern, Karin; Manjoch, Hadar; Silverman, Rotem. (2011). Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, Vol. 40 Issue 2, 307-317.

Mischel, Walter. (2014). Psychologist, Vol. 27 Issue 12, 942-944.