Inspiration is key. So, who or what inspires you?
Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we can find ourselves in a slump.
My son played baseball when he was small, and batting slumps were the worst! Because no matter how hard the boys tried, there was no way to predict when the magic would return.
But, one thing that sometimes helped was a new bat or even to take a swing with someone else’s bat.
The boy and the swing were the same. The bat would sometimes provide just the inspiration needed to breakthrough.
So what inspires you? If you haven’t thought too much about it, I understand. But, I encourage you to put some thought into it.
Because once you know what gives you the courage to try just a little bit harder great things can happen.
I had a terrible sales slump once it lasted for almost two months. It began just before I found out I had won a fabulous trip to Mexico ironically for my sales performance just months earlier.
This was the trip I had won as a result of working so hard for the down payment on our first home.
I found inspiration in the thought of owning our own home. Then when I accomplished that goal, I lost a lot of my steam.
I realize now I probably needed a little rest. But, more than that, I needed fresh inspiration. But at the time, I didn’t think I needed either.
I wasn’t ready to go on the trip and wanted to stay home because this was the worst sales slump of my career, and a week in paradise felt like the last thing I needed.
When I should have been celebrating the opportunity to spend a week in a 5-star resort and the events surrounding the trip. It was amazing!
There were sunset cruises, a meal in a restaurant ocean side that was literally carved into a rock. I had never seen anything like the extravagance of that week.
There were moments I felt like I had a starring role in a Sandra Dee movie. The ocean waves crashed against the side of the restaurant as we enjoyed the music of our private concert.
Then there was another night when we arrived at the restaurant. Long stem red roses awaited every lady and a cigar for each of the guys.
My thoughts around my slump were often overshadowing these beautiful experiences.
I was on this amazing trip as one of the top 50 salespeople in the nation for this manufacturer.
I didn’t see it from that point of view when I was feeling the slump.
During those moments, I had a bad case of impostor syndrome. It would be years before I even heard that term, but now I know.
The truth is my mind, and my heart were out of sorts. My mind was like the average homerun king who can’t get a base hit.
Going from swinging for the fences to a swing and a miss over and over wasn’t fun.
I was relatively new to sales and new to success at that level. I needed inspiration.
It makes no sense. Our minds can play tricks on us. The good thing is we can learn how to bust through the doubt.
My manager at the time had also earned the trip. I had mentioned my slump and doubt to him before the trip. He wasn’t concerned. He shrugged it off.
I felt sure he had never experienced a slump himself. He was wildly successful and confident. If he had experienced a slump, it was probably so long ago he had forgotten.
Earl had gotten to go on the trip as my guest. He didn’t understand my hesitation about going on the trip seeing the slump as just a minor blip.
He came from the service side of the business, so when the phone wasn’t ringing, it meant things were running well for the time being.
Service technicians learned the ebbs and flows. They enjoyed the easy days as the more challenging ones always waited around the corner.
So what broke the slump? Strangely enough, the trip broke my slump.
While I was there, I listened to the others at dinner tables and on the bus rides. I was there with 49 other salespeople at the top of their game in the same field as me. I learned as they talked and shared stories.
Most importantly, I also recognized if I had done well enough to make it here once I could do it again. If my success had been just lucky, I still had time to learn more skills. I realized the others weren’t all that different from me.
Also, even though I wasn’t that excited in the beginning to go on the trip. It turned out to be wonderful and inspirational.
I came back from that trip inspired and with a whole new mindset. My new energy and mindset allowed me the opportunity to close half the month’s quota within my first week back from the trip.
I wish I could tell you it was my last slump. Of course, it wasn’t.
But, I learned from that first slump a slump can be temporary.
But, to get out of the slump, look for inspiration!
Who can you look to that can show you it’s possible? Where can you go to give your mind a break? What can you read or listen to that reminds you it’s possible?
That’s how you break the slump and become inspired when you are tired!
I recently finished a podcast interview as part of my Sales Done Right series. I hope you’ll listen.
My guest in this episode (ep 49) is Jenny Melrose, and she is a source of inspiration.
She’s done some amazing things. Jenny started as a teacher in the inner city and wanted something different. That’s the start of all inspiration. There is something more that requires you to try!
Check out the episode Here and join me as we get inspired together.
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