The Seller's Blues

Selling can be a lonely way to make a living.

The rejection, the pressure of hitting targets, the lack of quality time with peers and managers, and “double agent syndrome” (serving your clients and your company at the same time) can leave us feeling drained and isolated.

It’s like there’s a little blue devil sitting on my shoulder telling me to suck it up, and that there’s no time for things like regular peer check-ins.

My devil says, “Get out there and sell, sell, sell, you lazy bum.” Ever hear that voice in your head?

I call this the seller’s blues.

I’ve tried ignoring my devil. That didn’t work.

I’ve tried going along with my devil. He just got louder.

Here’s how I finally beat ‘em!

I found the only way for me to beat the seller’s blues was to cultivate a peer-group. I call my group Action Partners.

My Action Partners are a tribe of like-minded people, who face similar challenges, who I interact with one-on-one for short periods daily, or a few times per week, per month, or per quarter.

My Action Partners remind me that it’s safe to ignore my little blue devil. They help me see what I’m doing well. And they also help me stay accountable to my goals and targets. And they tell me corny jokes.

And I do the same for them. Mutual support is key. Our emotional well-being is too important for these conversations to be a one-way street.

I have Action Partners for many aspects of my professional life; focusing and lightening my weekday mornings, venting my personal challenges that distract me from my workday, keeping me accountable to daily objectives, and also to my monthly and quarterly strategy updates as well.

Five people to keep one little blue devil at bay? It works for me! And just as important, it works for my Action Partners too.