Staying motivated isn’t easy, especially when you’ve been trying to keep it going for the long haul. While things have improved over 2020’s conditions, challenges remain. Reps are tired, buyers are tired. Everyone is tired. It can feel impossible to keep on keeping on, but staying motivated will be what sustains you through this next stage. And there are ways to keep yourself going:

1. Plan actions each week
2. Track each week’s progress
3. Block out “investment” time
4. Use positive self-talk

Staying motivated with current challenges

Likely, things won’t ever go back to how they used to be. Research shows that “83% of B2B leaders believe a mix of selling across channels—in-person, remote, and digital self-serve—is a more successful way to develop business compared to exclusively face-​to-​face,” according to Erica Schultz’s recent RAIN Today article. Additionally, two-​thirds of buyers prefer remote interactions with sellers. It’s important to keep these things in mind when motivating yourself in this new sales climate. 

Motivate Yourself With These Tips

Schultz shares tips to help salespeople keep themselves going in the face of these challenges, writing, “The good news is these are challenges you can address. You can build your motivation like a muscle to achieve your sales goals.” Despite the lingering uncertainty, you can keep motivated with these actions: 

1. Plan actions each week. If you don’t do this already, start now. Tackle your work and plan in weekly chunks to make it less overwhelming and more trackable. Having task clarity will keep you focused on and accountable for each to-​do. “Spending 20 minutes a week planning your weekly actions is enough to provide focus, give you task clarity, and help you feel motivated to take action,” Schultz writes.
2. Track each week’s progress. It’s important that you actually track what you’re doing. Otherwise, what’s the point? Even better, boost your accountability by sharing your progress with someone else. Research has shown that this increases the likelihood of getting things done.
3. Block out “investment time.” Staying motivated requires being thoughtful about both what you do and when you do it. What you consider to be investment time depends on your goals and can shift and evolve. What’s important is to identify it and then block that time out on your calendar. “Block out time to devote to your investment activities—the actions that will bring you closer to achieving your goals,” she explains. “For example, this could be conducting an online collaboration session with stakeholders at your top account, or doing prospect outreach, or building an interactive virtual proposal presentation to win a major opportunity.” Once again, research shows that by simply putting a task on your calendar boosts the likelihood you complete it. 

Motivate Via Mindset

Use positive self-​talk. One thing that can definitely keep you from staying motivated is your own self. Your mindset has an incredible impact on your productivity and success. Contemplate your mindset and how you speak to yourself: Is it positive? “We need to look back and ask what are the self-​beliefs that are affecting my career,” Founder and Publisher of Selling Power magazine Gerhard Gschwandtner explains. “Usually it is self-​doubt. You need to accept a new belief that is self-​affirming and self-​believing. Remember: YOU are the director and the actor. You can write your own script. You can rewrite the movie in your mind."

Schultz agrees that how you speak to yourself can impact your motivation. She urges reps to reframe how they practice self-​talk. She even shares an example to give reps an idea of how easy it is to reframe: 

“For example, instead of, ‘I’m terrible at leading virtual sales meetings,’ tell yourself, ‘Joe, you need to learn what a great sales meeting looks like, then you can learn to lead one.’”

Harness your motivation and stay motivated by putting these tips into action. Your sales, and even your mental well-​being, will benefit.

Photo: LinkedIn Sales Solutions