Second day of the week and no meetings booked for me. In sales, it is all about ups and downs – we all know that – but you don’t want to go on a down trajectory for a long time. It can suck you in, exhaust you physically and mentally. I sometimes compare it to a black hole – the longer you spend there, the further you drown in the thoughts of frustration, despair and hopeless turnaround. It can be dangerous.
I remember weeks – not days! – of not booking a single meeting last August and September. I completed my onboarding and was expected to start performing and booking meetings. My manager patiently trained me for weeks before letting me swim in the open ocean. I was ready, equipped with scripts, case studies and clients’ problems. I practised. I learned the material. I took the plunge. And almost drowned in the open waters. Days after days, weeks after weeks, I kept seeing the dashboard of my peers booking meetings and my name not even appearing in the report. Now looking back at that time, I realized that it was my real first test of resilience. I didn’t pass it.
Well, I passed it in a way that I didn’t quit. I am still working in the same company, for the same manager, and (gladly) often booking qualified meetings. But at THAT time, I didn’t handle it well. With each week of zero result, I sulked deeper and deeper. I got into a negative mindset, blaming my prospects for being rude or throwing objections at me. I got depressed, and people could definitely feel the fakeness of my positive tone on cold calls. I started to regret my career choice and transition from education into sales. I genuinely thought I was not cut out for this role. I believed I didn’t have thick skin. It hurt. Rejection sucked! And I let it get the better of me.
Almost 2 months with 0 meetings. A test of resilience, patience, and perseverance. I got out of the black hole eventually, booking almost 20 meetings in October. But I would never forget the feeling of the dread. It taught me one lesson: as long as you keep going and trusting the process, things will change. There is no timeline. No promise. You cannot know, but you have to believe – things will get better if you keep showing up every day. Sulking or being miserable makes the prospecting worse. Being depressed makes you lazy and unmotivated. Blaming everything and everyone takes away the joy of connecting with people. Believing in the worst makes the worst come to life.The true strength of character is not just to keep going no matter what. It is believing in the best outcome in future when everything sucks in the present.
Tomorrow is Wednesday:
- Meetings booked this week so far: Zero
- Mindset: Keep grinding
- Attitude: Believing the best is yet to come!
NATABLE 