3 Months of misery

[Zues126]

Thanks Coffee.

I agree with your idea and timelines. My last role I was in for 6 years, and before that 10 years. I've had 1 or 2 years where I've had a few false starts, but primarily I'm a loyal employee and very slow to make changes. In my last role I saw a whole lot of people thinking the grass was greener, entitled, weak, unable to navigate through change. There was a perpetual group of people that thought everything was going downhill and they had to leave, yet year after year we hired new people and overall people got paid more, promoted, and good things happened. My personal library is filled with Zig Ziglar, John Spencer (who moved my cheese, peaks and valleys, etc), and many other books on success, leadership, biographies, and so on. And my own personal and professional track record has landed me in the top percent of a percent. So overall I feel very equipped to navigate through a lot of garbage.

The situation is that I'm in a sales role. I have goals to hit to get paid. Last year (in year one) I exceeded those targets, and I did it without really knowing what I was doing. Scrambling around, throwing deals together. This year it is not going that way. I am 10 days out from July starting and I feel like I'm an underdog to hit my goals. My income is about 70% of what it was last year. The winter months are slow. And I get paid based on a rolling 13 month performance. Bottom line, it will be 3-6 months of good production before I get my income where I want it to be. And if I can't get that good production between July-October, I'm darn sure not going to get it between November-February. This means that it would be a year out from making decent money, if I wasn't terminated first, and assuming that I can do something next season I can't do this season.

My plan is to fire up the competitive juices and do everything in my power between now and October to make it rain. I am operating with the assumption that it is all on me, the opportunities are there, and I'm simply not capitalizing the way I need to. I am checking my work ethic, my attitude, and my daily production.

In the end it is difficult though. BECAUSE I have such a strong track record I question the road I'm on when I struggle. The last time I struggled it was with a position that simply didn't allow the opportunity to run, and when I went elsewhere I was #1 within 12 months and was promoted 3 times over the next 4 years. So I'd be a fool not to question the possibility that this role isn't a fit for me, and that I might do better elsewhere.

But, back to your point...3 of the consistent top guys have all been in their roles for 3-5 years. I truly believe that if I can grind it out this year and next that I can succeed as well. I simply cannot picture myself failing unless the opportunity just isn't out there, and with some of the vets making it I still think it's possible.

The sales part is just hard when you start to question whether you can do it or not. It's hard enough when you are full of confidence, when you're down it's a drain because every set back has you second guessing yourself. That is why I'm going with a 4 month personal commitment to kill myself and not second guess my path for at least the remainder of this season.

Hope this makes some sense. Thanks for letting me talk about it on your thread. In the end I'll be ok. I am fortunate to have a skill set that will allow me to provide for my family in some way, shape or form. Losing hurts, but it's not a life or death situation. And of course, there's always the chance that I'll pull a rabbit out of my hat, will be at the top all of 2017, and will laugh about the struggles I faced on my way to the top.

Take care coffee!