As I discussed in my last installment, this past year has certainly been a unique and challenging one, to say the least. Perhaps what made it most difficult was the suddenness of the changes that we faced. But this also acted as motivator for every salesperson to assess the importance of resilience: the ability to “recover from or pivot quickly from misfortune or change.” In my series of blogs, I will share with you the lessons I learned this year. You can put these examples into practice to help foster resiliency at work despite unforeseen or overwhelming obstacles, knowing sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel may not be daylight but another train headed your direction!
Whatever new strategies you employ, you need a clear understanding of your progress so you can do even better. Resiliency, therefore, hinges on your ability to assess your processes, what is going well, what’s not, and make rapid adjustments along the way as necessary.
Assess the market
Things to consider: Where is the market moving? What will it look like post-pandemic? Likewise, simply reaching out to your customers—be it a phone call, video conference, text, social media message, and/or service visit—to gather knowledge and insight can be just as helpful. You will find that some people have a preferred channel to connect, be it social, text, phone, or email, etc…. Adjust to what works best for THEM!
Assess the metrics
Savor the small victories. LinkedIn’s Vice President of Marketing Solutions Penry Price suggests that measuring success during a pandemic requires a different perspective, since so many people are working from their homes. Rather than evaluating results quarterly or yearly, salespeople should look toward daily, incremental achievements that will pay off over time. A great source of feedback? Engagement. How many emails did you receive this week? How many customers returned your call? Did you get “likes” on social media posts? “All told,” wrote Mr. Price, “did my content create more engagement with my customers and prospects today than it did the day before?”
Small victories are better than no wins! A wise and successful friend once put it another way: “A slice of bread is better than no bread at all.”
Assess all involved parties
Be sure to involve all stakeholders, not just readers, particularly if you are initiating a new process that will affect others inside and outside of your organization, e.g., distributors, shipping channels (including last mile providers), and advertisers. These are partners who need to be involved in order to measure—and achieve—ultimate success.
How have you fostered resiliency in your professional and personal workspace this year? Let me know in the comments sections or personally reach out to via my contact channels below. I look forward to connecting with you! In the meantime, stay well and in touch.
Email – Gary.Owen@us.mullermartini.com
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/owengary
Tele – +1 717/309-3537