Change Sales Jobs While You Are On Top

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Change Sales Jobs While You Are On Top

Written by Jeb Blount

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Attack Yourself

Nothing feels better than winning. But while you are cashing that big commission check, relaxing on the beach at your sales award trip, or walking on stage at your national sales meeting to pick up your trophy ask yourself this question: What next? You see, winning was hard. It required perseverance, training, hard work and focus. But all too often, after achieving our big goals we take our foot off of the success accelerator and just coast for awhile. Relaxing in the glow of our victory we quickly forget that the game is still on, our competitors are not resting but instead are plotting our demise. I was reminded of this yesterday when I read a marketing slogan for a company that had just received a top award in its industry. The slogan simply read:

You just closed the biggest deal of your career, you blew away your quota, you made the president’s club, you were named sales rep of the year. You just crossed the finish line first . You raised your hands, pumped your fists, and celebrated. You are a winner!

“When you’re in second place attack the leader. When you’re in first place Attack Yourself.”

What a perfect message for winners. In the 21st century there is no time for complacency. We can not afford the luxury of comparing ourselves to those behind us. There is no time to rest easy. And though we must take time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of victory, we must also stop and create new goals for ourselves. We must learn to take each win in stride and raise our own bar so that we keep reaching higher.

It is easy to look back poor performance or a failure with our 20/20 spectacles on and find all of the areas where improvement can be made. But it takes loads of self discipline and the heart of a winner to break down a brilliant performance and then take action to make small adjustments and improvements that keep us ahead of the pack. The great NFL quarter back Steve Young said once that “the principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than the day before.”

In fact this is what all elite athletes and elites sales professionals do. Real winners constantly attack themselves. They pick apart each performance and seek ways to improve. It is the unwavering focus on constant improvement that separates the good from the great.

What is important to understand is that today’s mountain is tomorrow’s valley. All salespeople, and I don’t care who you are, are going to have a slump from time to time. When your time comes, in today’s business environment, it is unlikely that your company is going to cut you a break. Soon you will find yourself searching job boards, sending out resumes, calling recruiters, and begging your friends for help.

{mosimage}As a Sales Professional if you are on top, exceeding your quota, making President’s Club, and basking in the glow of your own brilliance, now may be the very best time for you to look for a new sales job. I realize for some the idea of changing jobs when you are doing well in your current position may seem counter intuitive. But consider this for a moment. When is the best time to close your next deal? Immediately after you just closed your last one. Why? Because you feel confident, you feel great, and you are a much better negotiator. Since you don’t need the sale it is more likely that you will get it.

The same thing is true with your career. While you are on top it is likely that you are getting more calls than ever from executive recruiters, that you have old managers calling you, or that you have people you worked with before talking to you about opportunities in their companies. Juxtapose that against what happens when you are out of work and searching – nobody is calling.

The brutal fact is if you are in sales, sooner or later you are going to be looking for a job. So why not look for your next job when you don’t need it – when you are on top? If you do you will find several things that are in your favor:

• More time and more to choices. You will have much more variety to choose from. More companies, more territories, more industries. You will have more time to explore and choose the very best path for your next move.

• People will talk to you. Because you are on top and you are employed you will be surprised at how open companies, managers, and recruiters will be to sitting down and discussing your next career step with you.

• Make more money. Since you don’t need a job and you are performing at a high level, you will be in a powerful negotiating position. You can demand and expect to receive more salary, better perks, and a bigger signing bonus. You will be handsomely rewarded for being a top performer.

Jeb Blount
		About the author:
		Jeb Blount is a leading expert on sales, leadership and human behavior in the workplace. He helps companies, teams, and individuals transform their organizations and accelerate performance through intense focus on interpersonal relationships. He is the author of five books including People Follow You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Leadership,People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business, Sales Guy’s 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, Business Expert’s Guide to Small Business Success and Power Principles.To learn more call 706-664-0810 x102 or email carrie.martinez@peoplefollowyou.com .