Life will always hand you uncomfortable moments. You can choose to avoid them or plunge into them head-on. We recommend the latter. Those uncomfortable experiences give us strength, teach us powerful lessons, and allow us to gain the ever-elusive skill of self-control. They also keep us from getting too comfortable and stuck in a rut. If we never experience discomfort, our brains get complacent, and we cease to innovate. We thought of a few tips for facing discomfort that we’ve found helpful to sales careers.
Practicing your public speaking skills
Most people hate public speaking. The all eyes on me nature of giving speeches can be terrifying. Standing in front of a room in the pressure-filled situation of entertaining, convincing, or informing your audience can make you feel like any mistake or idiosyncrasy will be jumped on by your audience. It can feel impossible to succeed.
But public speaking doesn’t have to be such a challenge. All it takes is a little practice and the realization that your audience actually instinctively wants to see you succeed. Once you can make that stick in your head with confidence, most of the secret to public speaking comes down to remembering the gist of your main points and then being your confident self.
Once you have public speaking down, facing even the most impossible prospects is a breeze.
Understanding Metrics
Many sales people leave the reporting and data insights up to higher-level managers and the marketing team, but that’s a mistake. Understanding your own performance metrics can help you identify areas of strength and weakness, which are equally important in maximizing your efficiency and focusing your efforts for optimal success.
If you use a CRM, it’s likely there are built-in features that can help you gain some great insights into your metrics, along with reporting templates and training assistance. If you don’t use a CRM, get one! But if you’re not heading that direction, start small by finding a single metric you’d like to track and start mapping it in a spreadsheet. Just changing your routine to start paying attention any metric will likely improve it.
Adopting New Technologies
Since the advent of computers, technology has advanced at such a rapid rate that it can feel completely overwhelming and sometimes impossible to keep up with it. We all have our obsolete technologies that we refuse to abandon. I still use a clock radio.
But the more technology advances, the more the wheat gets separated from the chaff. Technologies that used to be on the fringe and just seemed like passing trends when they emerged become more and more improved and efficient, make your life better and easier, and can become invaluable to your process and ensure you’re not falling behind your industry peers.
Technologies like smartphone apps, CRMs, data analytics software, and of course, (shameless plug alert) email marketing programs, have become essential in the modern business world. As these technologies become more pervasive and businesses across the board come to realize the benefits, you may find yourself unable to keep up with the improved efficiencies that these technologies bring if you insist on doing things the old-fashioned way.
These are just a few ideas on how to take the plunge into discomfort that helps us all grow as people. Bottom line – as terrible as they may seem at the time, any uncomfortable or unfamiliar experience is likely to help you learn, grow, and improve yourself.