If you have been in sales more than a few months you have seen the “Roller-Coaster Selling Cycle” or possibly have even fallen victim to it. You know the difficulty it causes, how it erodes your confidence and how hard it is to pull out of. This up and down selling cycle is so common that it could be called an epidemic. And yet it’s so preventable! So what’s going on?

Understanding delayed gratification in the sales cycle What’s happening is that the delay between what you do and what reward you receive is causing you to lose focus. This is something that a Professional Business and Sales Coach is trained to recognize and help you get out of. We live in an instant world that does not know what delayed gratification is. Take a look at this example: When you have a job, your employer asks you to do a certain task and in return you receive a paycheck. When you stop working your money stops coming just as fast. Conversely, in sales there will be actions you take today that may not bring results for weeks or even months. This turnaround time varies from industry to industry and even for different prospecting types. Your ability to stay focused on doing the right daily actions regardless of what economic remuneration you receive will dictate how you will do in sales. How do you think you can stay focused when you can’t see results in the foreseeable future?

Understanding the cycle It’s important to know the flow of your sales cycle. What I mean is how the steps you take work together to produce a sale. Every sales cycle can be broken down into a series of steps that are interlocked together to produce the results you are looking for. From the first time you contact someone to the opening of a relationship there could be 4-6 major steps. Knowing these steps and how long each one will take can help you stay focused on what you have to do.

If you are doing well right now (sales are flowing in and you’re busy), keep your head down and focus on daily activities that will keep your prospect funnel filled. Working with prospects on “now” business is exciting and exhilarating for all sales people. Unfortunately if you do only that you will be buying a ticket for a future roller-coaster ride.

This roller-coaster is no fun – so get off! Here are some coaching tips that can help you off of your own roller-coaster:

1. Get your finances worked out to take the pressure off of yourself for the next three months or so. In this way you can focus on doing what you need to do instead of worrying about the money you need to live.
2. Get a support partner to help keep you focused. A good friend, coach, mentor or boss can help you when you are struggling. Make sure to be in contact with them daily so that you don’t get side tracked.
3. Pick the most productive activities and stay focused on them only. This is no time to be lost in researching a future project or doing bookkeeping.
4. Set a goal for the prospecting action that you will do each day in the form of people you will talk to or contact. Remember, you have to meet a client for them to become one!

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