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We all have means of deluding ourselves.  If our favorite baseball team drops to last place, we convince ourselves that it’s only a temporary slump. If stocks lose a lot of points we may tell ourselves that it will come back soon.  If we put off an important task we may kid ourselves by saying that another day is better for it.

Salespeople too, can practice self-delusion.  They may blame bad luck for their failure to get an order.  Or they might make their supervisor the whipping post for their own mistakes.

However, there is another kind of self-deception, which is even worse. This is when a salespeople tell themselves that their problems are simply the result of their being in a rut.  In other words, they seem to think they’ll be on high ground in a week or so.

Maybe they will.  Salespeople have gotten out of ruts and have gone on to top production levels.  But how many are making that rut a grave?

What’s A Rut

Let’s examine this rut business.  We all know that it’s quite possible for a person to slip for a week or longer.  They may even have a series of bad breaks.  Maybe they’re up against a price squeeze that they can’t beat. It’s also possible that a salesperson has an illness that is keeping them below par in sales.  Family troubles may be contributing to their poor showing on the road.

In short, there are several ways in which one can slip into a temporary rut.  But too often the rut is not temporary.  The salesperson is getting deeper and deeper, all the while convincing themselves that they’ll soon be out of it.  Then the day comes when they can’t get out.  They’ve made the rut a grave.

The Easiest Way

Sometimes a person will cross in the middle of the street because it takes less time than going to a corner where there is a traffic light.  But mid-street crossing is dangerous and a pedestrian could lose their life that way.

Salespeople often take the quickest or easiest way.  This is how they may slide into a rut.  Of course, it’s easier not to make cold calls or look for new customers.  It’s easier not to work harder on a tough customer.  It’s easier not to revamp your presentation to make it more interesting and provocative.  It’s easier not to learn more about your
product to make yourself a more effective seller.

One day a salesperson, who refuses to extend himself, finds that they are occupying a rut.  They may think it’s only for a while but they are dead wrong.  They are in it for good.  They have settled for mediocrity.

Self Check

Charlie Baker, an industrial chemical salesman, has developed a way to avoid ruts.  “It’s simple,” said Charley.  “I look up once in a while.” What he means, is that he stops periodically and takes stock of himself.  He takes a good hard look at himself.

“I ask myself honestly if I’ve slipped in the past year or six months,” Charley explained.  “If so I try to find the reason why.  Am I working as hard?  Am I thinking as hard?  Am I too complacent?  These are questions that must be answered or I know that I will slip into a rut--if I’m not already in one.”

Make sure that you try Charley’s system.  Even if everything looks rosy, check yourself anyway.  Ask yourself in all candor if you could have sold that cranky customer last week if you had tried a little harder.  Ask yourself if your sales talk has lost its edge.  Do you notice prospects and customers beginning to drum their fingers or stare at the wall while you are talking?  Does your own presentation sound tired and worn out to you?  Are you looking forward to your calls?

Outside Check

Maybe you don’t trust yourself to rate yourself objectively.  Then get someone else to do it--your supervisor, another salesperson or even your customers.  Ask them to frankly judge your performance.  Tell them not to spare your feelings.

An outside check is especially important if you are already in a rut.  You may be so immersed in self-pity that you aren’t able to see your faults and weaknesses.  The job calls for another person.

Matt Faber, a zinc ingot salesman, once sank into a rut and couldn’t seem to get out.  Even some of his oldest customers began cutting back on their usual orders. Matt realized he needed help and luckily he knew where to turn.  His district manager, a former salesman himself, had always encouraged his team to discuss their selling problems with him.  Matt explained his plight to the manager, Bill Henry. “Matt,” Bill said, “I’ve been worried about you for some time.  I’m glad you came in.  I think you need a vacation.” “A vacation,” Matt replied.  “My vacation isn’t due for six months.” “Nevertheless you’re going to take one,” Bill replied.  “You need a new perspective on yourself and you’re not going to get it on the job.”

Matt took Bill’s advice.  For two weeks he lolled around.  But at the same time he saw himself and his job in a new light.  He saw, for example, where he had been getting stuck in his approach and thinking.  Matt also saw ways to sell to prospects that had been turning him down.

When he returned to work he was both refreshed and brimming with idea.  He increased his sales spectacularly in the next month.

Arouse Your Interest

If a person is in a rut it’s unlikely that they can arouse interest in a prospect.  The main reason for this is that the salesperson has trouble arousing interest in themself.  They give their talk in a dull, spiritless manner that all but puts their listener to sleep.

In this case the salesperson must perk up their enthusiasm, their drive, their will to win.  Here are some ways they can do this:

1. Get new facts and information about your product.
2. Rework your presentation so it sparkles.  Find new ways to excite the customer.
3. Redefine your personal goals.

The last one is crucial. So many people drift aimlessly through their jobs.  Some salespeople look at their work as hourly labor.  They put in a certain amount of time and then go home, completely without plan or purpose.  No wonder they get into a rut.  They were headed for a rut the day they started selling.

You must set goals early in the game.  You must know where you are going and why.  You also must realize that aims cannot be reached unless you make it so.  There are no fairy godmothers or genies in a bottle to make your ambitions come true. And don’t be afraid to experiment, to try new ways to accomplish objectives.

As Sophocles said:

“One must learn by doing the thing; for though you think you know it you have no certainty until you try.”

The Competitive Drag

Does your competition get you down?  Are you tired of fighting them? Is it too much of an effort to try and top your competitors?  Some salespeople would answer yes to all these questions if they were honest.

Many salespeople fall into a rut over their ability to overcome the competition.  They convince themselves after a while that they should settle for second--or third best.  It’s easier, they reason. In the first place, competition is normal and should be expected.  It would be nice if we had the field to ourselves but American industry is far too diversified and dynamic for that.  It’s possible you are selling something that nobody else has, but it is unlikely.  More than likely you have to join the battle.

There is only one secret for matching the competition.  Be ready for it.  You must thoroughly know your competition and you must also know everything about the competitor product.

If the competition’s strong point is service, then you must provide equal or better service.  It won’t do you much to cry or complain about the competition to your boss or spouse.  This is a problem you must lick yourself.

If, despite your best efforts, you are still being trampled by the competition, you’ve got to find out why.  For this I would go to the best source of all--the Customers.  Ask them quite frankly whey they prefer to deal with the ABC Company and not yours.  Ascertain the factors that rate highest in the customer’s mind.  Is it price?  Is quality?  Is it service? Or is it none of these.  Are you doing something wrong?  Ask the Customer to lay it on the line.  Let them know that you honestly are trying to get their business but that you realize you’re not perfect.  Usually a customer will appreciate such candor.

You're Own Boss:

A man once answered an ad for a sales position.  The part of the ad that appealed to him read: “This is your chance to be your own boss.” He got the job and went on the road, secure in the knowledge that he controlled his own destiny.  Well, he did but he didn’t know how to take advantage of it.  In a few weeks the fellow was in a hopeless snarl.  His reports were all balled up, his calls were not producing and his relations with the front office were bad.

The trick in being your own boss is good self-management.  A salesperson must regulate their time, their record keeping and their accounts.  One reason why many salespeople get into a rut is that they are buried in needless detail.  A certain amount of detail is, of course, necessary.  But it should not be the life work of a salesperson.  The creative aspect should be first and foremost.

What’s more? The efficient self-manager can get themselves out of a rut.  Anyone can get into a rut occasionally.  It takes a person with insight and self-understanding to get out of it.  You might start on this road to self-improvement by analyzing your time.  Are you using it to best advantage?  Have you had stretches of a week or two when sales were very low?  If so, what’s the reason?  Perhaps your whole schedule should be revised.

Heed the words of William Shakespeare “Nothing is, but thinking makes it so.”  Ruts are the result of rut thinking.  Try substituting a positive approach instead of dwelling on lost sales, lost customers, lost prospects; concentrate on promising sales, new customers, potential prospects.  Dwell on success patterns.  Review and try to repeat success patterns.  In short change you thinking and look up.

Are you heading towards a rut?