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It doesn't get much rougher than a bad sales day.
We've all had them. You feel like nothing is going right and that every lead is unreachable, completely uninterested, or even rude.
There's no magic solution to suddenly start closing more sales when the going gets tough—although there are certainly easy ways to reach more sales prospects. There are also right and wrong ways to handle a bad sales day that will impact just how much (or how little) that bad day really matters.
Today, we're covering the nine best pieces of advice for those difficult sales periods.
How PhoneBurner Helps Improve Performance for Sales Teams
Having the right tools at your fingertips can help you and your sales team perform more productively and consistently, minimizing the likelihood of bad sales days and making it easier to bounce back. Here are just a few of the features we built into our outbound dialing software:
- A power dialer that helps you reach up to 4x as many prospects with no telemarketer delay or dropped calls.
- Branded Caller ID to improve live answer rates and build trust with prospects.
- Over 200 CRM integrations (plus built-in CRM tools) to track and log prospect notes and data.
- Automated post-call follow-up sequences.
- Smart call lists to turn more leads into opportunities.
By combining these features with the lessons listed below, you’ll find it easier than ever to turn around a bad sales day and prevent it from becoming a streak. Read on for our advice.
1. Focus on What's in Your Control
The results of your sales efforts are never completely in your control. When you're struggling, stick to the elements you can control, such as:
- The number of calls you make
- Your scripts
- How you behave on each call
- Your post-call follow-up sequence
Our platform includes numerous features to help you optimize these simple but important metrics. For example, PhoneBurner’s one-click voicemail and SMS messages help you keep the conversation going seamlessly after each call has ended.
2. Don't Play the Victim
It's easy to sit around and pity yourself because things aren't going your way, but you'll find that the most successful people avoid this like the plague.
Avoid feeling sorry for yourself. This isn't the end of the world; it's one bad sales day.
Learn More: How to Stop Negative Thinking and Make More Sales
3. Consider Other Approaches
When you're having a hard time with the sales calls, see if there's another way you can be productive. Perhaps you switch up your script or contact old or existing customers, instead of new leads.
Learn More: 7 Keys to a Great Sales Script
4. Clear Your Head
It can wear you down to hear rejection after rejection. If you're getting frustrated or losing focus, take a break to clear your head. Go for a walk, take an early lunch, meditate or do anything else that helps you relax.
You might just find yourself in a completely different groove when you return.
5. Appreciate the Challenges
As strange as it may sound to appreciate tough sales days, remember that if sales were easy, your company wouldn't need you. Rather than dreading and despairing over tough situations, learn to embrace and love challenges. It's how you grow.
Dealing with adversity is what separates the average salespeople from the true top performers.
Learn More: 7 Quotes to Help You Out of a Sales Slump
6. Let Go of Bad Calls
Whether things are going well or poorly, you need a short memory in sales.
Yes, see what you can learn from a bat patch. But don't carry the weight of previous rejections into your next call, because that will negatively impact your performance. If you've had one bad call or 10 bad calls, get them out of your head before you talk to the next lead.
The outcome of a call can only impact the next one if you allow it to.
7. Look for Lessons
Sometimes there are valuable lessons to be learned from bad sales days, but only if you're humble and perceptive enough to find them.
See if there are any elements to your calls that stand out as a potential problem you need to correct. Logging notes from each call in your CRM software and reviewing them afterwards can help. Then, ask yourself if you're doing something differently today than other days. With an open mind you might spot an issue that was eluding you.
Learn More: 3 Sales Lessons from 3 Sales Legends
8. Talk to Someone
Sometimes when we can't figure out what's wrong, it's obvious to someone else. If you have a sense that you could be doing better, but can't quite pinpoint the problem, talk to someone—another salesperson, a manager, or a mentor.
Whether they have the answer or just a different perspective, it may be enough to help you alter your approach... and put the day on a different track.
9. Laugh It Off
The best way to avoid getting stressed during a rough day is to find some levity in the situation. One bad day does not a career make.
Leads like talking to upbeat salespeople. Laughing off bad calls keeps you in a positive mood and improves your prospects for the rest of the day.
Moving Past Disappointing Sales Days with PhoneBurner
When you're in sales, bad days happen. You can't always avoid them, but you can make sure they don't break you and even learn from them.
You can also equip yourself to have more control over the variables that affect your success—like call cadence, deliverability, and answer rates. Start a free trial of PhoneBurner here to see how our platform can help.
