Winston Churchill famously said ‘when you’re going through hell, keep on going.’ We will face challenges, but the key is to keep going. Persistence is the most important skill you can learn in sales and in life.

I bring this up today because we all get caught in the doldrums and odd purgatory of a New Year. It is an odd paradox. Everything is fresh – new goals, new quotas and new resolutions and yet we are in a sort of no mans land. Uncharted territory is hard, especially when you and your prospects are inundated with last years remaining emails and trying to get out of holiday fog.

It is an exciting time of year – but can be tedious. For some sales professionals, January means waiting on territory shifts and uncertainty about their book of business.

This week is hard. Looking out at a New Year from ground zero when you finally finished Q4 and all the stresses that go along with it is daunting. If you are like me you want to accomplish everything for 2022 on Day One – you want to take down those goals. But that is not realistic. It is okay to realize this is a reset and you are starting fresh. You don’t have to do it all right this second. What you do need to do is be open to change, development and start planning for how you can take the next step forward.

I am a positive person by trade – always trying to be upbeat – but I’ll admit I’ve felt that ugh feeling. The trick is to keep working through it. Yes January is hard and your cold calling enthusiasm is a battle – you can have those feelings – but don’t get stuck on the ‘blah,’ ‘ugh,’ ‘how am I going to do this.’ Instead focus on one step forward.

It is easy to feel the weight of the year ahead on Day One -but don’t, take this day by day. Just don’t stop. When you are frustrated, breath. When you feel like no amount cold calling will book a meeting – keep calling, keep emailing – just keep going.

Persistence does pay off. It is a lesson I have to remind myself constantly. Ideation is one of my core strengths – and while I love the process of creating and turning those ideas into reality – I get frustrated when my ‘great idea’ or the work I’m doing doesn’t immediately seem to take off. It is easy to think, well I’ve sent sixty emails and no response – what is the point.

The point is that sales is not instant magic – it takes time, it takes practice, it takes focus and determination.

So take a moment, exhale your frustrations and admit this is mud in a trench, but as long as you keep walking through the difficulty -you will get out. Things will improve if you keep going. Sometimes these ‘ugh’ times allow us to figure how we can improve our process and sometimes our process is perfect, but the timing is off for clients. As long as you keep trying – the timing will come around and you will end up building the pipeline and value you need for customers in 2022!

One theme of my blog is focusing on ‘Why’ – when we feel overwhelmed by the task at hand or stuck in the sand – remembering the why behind the action is empowering.

For me the why behind a cold call is I truly believe my product can help my client to improve the way they work and help them grow their business. I am helping my customers – the why for calling is to be a consultant and help them.

What is your Why? It cannot just be money – money is a driver or course, but why goes beyond money – have a goal, a reason personally and professionally to pick up the phone, to book the meetings.

Be persistent -don’t give up.

Just a Wednesday reminder.

You got this!