How to Help Your Salespeople Get Out of a Sales Funk

Lisbeth Calandrino Flooring Specialist and Associate Publisher and Director of Social Media for Fabulous Floors Magazine

This week I worked for a marketing company that sends out 1500–3000 mailers to car owners at a local dealership. The mailer has a substantial offer to the owner of a buyout of their car, which can be applied towards another car or a lease. My job is to talk with the customers about the offer before they meet with a salesperson.

I love the gig and am always excited and in a cheerful mood. Usually, we are swamped with customers but not this Saturday. It was unusually slow, and everyone, including the General Manager, was working on being in a bad mood. Last time, our ten salespeople sold 28 cars in total; ten cars would have been a big number.

The hours were going by, and things weren’t getting better. The General Manager’s attitude rubbed off on the entire sales team; things rapidly worsened.

You’ve probably seen this in your retail store; things are slow, moods turn sour, and energy disappears. Salespeople sit around, making excuses for the problem and not looking for a solution. The longer they do nothing, the worse everyone feels.

Understand how energy works. Every breath we take sends positive and negative energy into the world. My experience tells me that when I send positive energy, I attract the same and vice versa. This energy can change moods and give others a different perspective. This energy doesn’t change what has happened, but it can change the direction of the situation.

First, we should understand why these situations get us down and how we can change the outcome. What gets us down is our expectations of the world and how things should go. When the world goes our way, and we get what we want, we are happy. But, when our planned events go sour, so can our attitude.

This sale was supposed to bring in many customers, just like it had been the week before, but it wasn’t. Everyone was expecting to make money, but it wasn’t going to happen. When it didn’t happen, they became paralyzed.

They expected that his was based on the outcome of previous sales; life doesn’t happen this way. You’ve probably heard that almost all investment literature warns potential investors that past performance does not guarantee future results. Life works the same way.

Consider that you’re on your way to a special dinner; you have a flat tire, causing you to be late, and while changing the tire, your jacket gets grease on it. You say my whole day is ruined, or things always go wrong when I plan something special! You forget cars have flat tires, traffic gets backed up, and jackets get dirty. It’s called “life happens.”

Don’t take everything that happens personally. Things are going on in the world; contrary to what we think, we aren’t the center of the universe. The center of the universe belongs to the universe, and it will do what it wants. We can’t always con- trol what happens, but we can control our attitudes and emotions.

We’ve all seen or heard stories about a person who has nothing and shows how he manages to get out of the situation and become a success. What he does is something different, and he doesn’t look back.

Pay attention to the hints given by the universe. In this case, the day is very hot; people have been cooped up for months, and buying a car may not be first on their list. Understanding how the universe works will help you deal with all situations.

For example, this week was the first hot week, and the last thing you probably wanted to do was buy a car. Possibly your flat tire was caused because you weren’t paying attention to the fact that you needed a new one and were ignoring it.

Ask yourself, what can I do to salvage this day? What can I make happen? Do some prospecting, get on social media, and invite your tribe in.

Are there small changes you can make now? For example, salespeople could call previously sold customers, ask about their purchase, and ask if they have a friend who can benefit from the sale or special event you’re holding. Just making the phone call will put you in control.

The key is to do something you can control, no matter how small. Successful people always have a backup plan. ■

For more info, check out Lisbeth Calandrino on Instagram or reach her at 518-495-5380. #lifewithLis #salestechniques #prospectingcustomers #understandingtheuniverse #backupplans #unresonableexpectations

Women Of The Flooring Business

Michelle Winters and Lisbeth Calandrino recently hosted a GROW discussion for the WFCA. “I believe that women need their own forum to discuss topics that are important to them, says Lisbeth Calandrino, as more women own flooring businesses, they add another dimension to the discussion.” Things are really happening with an upcoming retreat and spa three-day event in Texas—coming up soon.

Michelle Winters, one of the founders, holds Thursday discussions in a private chat room for members that belong to the executive member group. For more information and to sign up, visit https://www.womenflooring.com/. “Women get to share the wins and challenges with other women in the flooring business, says Michelle, these meetings are very exhilarating.”

Women have been asking for sales training, so Lisbeth and Michelle are launching two new dynamite programs. “Are you looking to smash your sales quota?” One is a short intense, “Boot Camp—3 hours, and house and a 7-hour two-day session.” To learn more about it and sign up, https://www.womenflooring.com/upcoming-trainings/. These will be customize for all attendees and have follow-up coaching. (For more information, text Lisbeth at 518-495-5380.