Lacking Motivation, Working Alone

[Sage1974]

Hi Everyone

Business is going along smoothly. Self-employed for 12 months now. Finally made decent money and cleared any debt, bought a car. My pipeline is looking healthy but I know I could do a lot better. I have always been good in sales and never feared it.

Lately I have been distracting myself from making the all important sales calls to drum in new business and feed my pipeline. I can only imagine that I must have lost my motivation. All filing, forecasts, admin, correspondence, finance is done. House spotless. Previously, those chores would come last after I have done my sales. Lately it has been the opposite.

My problem is I work on my own at home. I do aim to gather enough capital to get an office and employ sales people to help grow. Also it would be good to have some banter. I am also aware that if I did employ people I aim to set a good example.

All I need to do is make a hundred calls a day. I find myself sometimes just staring at the screen or welcoming a distraction. I wonder if it is because the targets I have set are out of whack? Not unrealistic, but it is a lot of money to accumulate to reach the next stage and employ people.

Does this sound familiar to anyone or does anyone know how to remedy this so I can get this sorted?

I'm starting to become quite tense. I have just joined a gym. Not gone yet but will start this weekend as I am not doing any exercise at the moment.

 

[Jackie606]

Hi
I can really empathise with you.

I am starting a new business in May and have factored in the cost of an office in a serviced business centre so I am still in the routine!

I have worked from home in a previous life ( years and years ago) as my child was young and it suited, but I amazed myself with my abilities to find things to do rather than hit the phone.. ( everything from filing to playing tetris that will tell how long ago it was ) but it was a tough lesson and I have never forgotten it.

If you are ready to go to the next level, I would bite the bullet and formalise... you have come this far and know you can succeed thats not in question, but maybe your personal aims need to stepped up a rachet and formalised.
Good Luck, we all need it, its a lonely place in sole director/sole trader start up! I wish I was a year a long and looking back like you... Hey Ho!

 

[Dan@Printwell]

Hi Everyone

Business is going along smoothly. Self-employed for 12 months now. Finally made decent money and cleared any debt, bought a car. My pipeline is looking healthy but I know I could do a lot better. I have always been good in sales and never feared it.

Lately I have been distracting myself from making the all important sales calls to drum in new business and feed my pipeline. I can only imagine that I must have lost my motivation. All filing, forecasts, admin, correspondence, finance is done. House spotless. Previously, those chores would come last after I have done my sales. Lately it has been the opposite.

My problem is I work on my own at home. I do aim to gather enough capital to get an office and employ sales people to help grow. Also it would be good to have some banter. I am also aware that if I did employ people I aim to set a good example.

All I need to do is make a hundred calls a day. I find myself sometimes just staring at the screen or welcoming a distraction. I wonder if it is because the targets I have set are out of whack? Not unrealistic, but it is a lot of money to accumulate to reach the next stage and employ people.

Does this sound familiar to anyone or does anyone know how to remedy this so I can get this sorted?

I'm starting to become quite tense. I have just joined a gym. Not gone yet but will start this weekend as I am not doing any exercise at the moment.

Very familiar, I work in an office but am very much alone on the sales side and agree it can be difficult to find the motivation some times.

Keeping a to do list helps me, that way it’s all in black and white and you have a constant reminder of what needs to be done.

Also when was the last time you had a break, just some time off to relax and de-stress. It maybe that you have worked yourself to hard and are starting to burn out?

 

Its all a balancing act life vs work.

I know I could earn several times what I do now,but I prefer to have the time to enjoy myself,although that may well be an age thing as I am getting on a bit.

Earl

 

[AndyOwl]

When we started out we tried everything. At one point we drew bowls of raisins on the wall - whenever you made a sales call, you got to colour in a raisin. To be honest nothing worked (but then, we hated cold-calling).

My advice? If you're not looking forward to going to work each day and you've only just started, you either need a different sales channel or a day job!

 

[Montaigne]

Sage, don't worry, I get this all the time too.

I'm a really motivated person. I'm up at 4-5am and starting work at 5-6am and finishing at 5-6pm every day and I work a few hours on the weekend. Having said all that I have periods where I start late (I started at 10am this morning) or seem to lack any desire to keep to the same schedule so I knock off for the afternoon or take a day off.

I used to feel guilty about not being focused 110% every single working day but you get to realise that even working a simple 9-5 work day for yourself you're working a great deal more than somebody who's employed by someone else. I work a minimum of 60 hours a week so every 2 weeks I'm working the equivalent of 3 weeks compared to a 9-5 employee and it's because you're that focused that when you take some time off or slow down you feel guilty for doing so.

I just remind myself that in the big scheme of things a day or two off for someone working a minimum of 60 hours a week isn't really that big a deal, especially when you factor in that most people actually get their weekends completely free and a statutory 28 days holiday a year!

I track everything I do i.e. all the quotes I send out, their values, my total sales, my lost quote values, my pipeline each month etc. When I have a slow period when I am demotivated I then have a corresponding blip in my stats. But I then derive increased motivation from the blip because my sales drop because of this slow down period.

When I was a sales rep' for other firms I had to make calls every day, 9-5. Now I take Friday afternoons off to do something work related but fun as no one wants to talk to a sales rep' on a Friday afternoon.

At the moment I'm teaching myself HTML and CSS in order to build my own websites. It's enjoyable, I'm learning a new skill, it chills me out after a long week of telesales and the end result is that I can lower my future expenses and increase my revenue through what I have just learned.

 

[theleadmachine]

Hi

Hopefully with the replies you'll get on here some inspiration will come out of it.

The most important thing you've done though is recognise the issue; most people will either refuse to believe the problem is themselves and blame everything and everyone else or else bury their head in the sand and hope they get their mojo back at some point.

The lack of colleagues or other people to have banter with can be an issue although some people see this as a blessing.

Finding anything to do other than picking the phone up is a slightly different issue. I run a telemarketing company and we experience similar issues from time to time. What I've found works is to break the day up in to smaller chunks - this way the mountain doesn't seem so big. Set yourself lots of mini targets (dials per hours, decision maker's names gathered, emails sent etc) and see if you can beat them say each hour.

If you're having a bad hour or so then get up and do something else but only for a short while - when you get back to the phone your self determination to make calls should be greater. If you say to yourself "I've got an hour to get hold of 5 decision makers" etc you get to reward yourself more often.

Don't beat yourself up too much though - at the end of the day I think you know deep down what needs to be done but you just need a bit of encouragement and support to get you to do it. We all have bad days, bad weeks and even bad months. The ones that recognise this always bounce back so I'd say you're an inkling away from getting your mojo back and kicking your "not so good this week" stats in to touch

Good luck and remember to remind yourself that its the initial calls that end up generating you the income you're heading towards. Small steps etc etc

Pete

 

[Montaigne]

Don't beat yourself up too much though - at the end of the day I think you know deep down what needs to be done but you just need a bit of encouragement and support to get you to do it. We all have bad days, bad weeks and even bad months. The ones that recognise this always bounce back so I'd say you're an inkling away from getting your mojo back and kicking your "not so good this week" stats in to touch

Perfect advice!

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

If I were you, I would find yourself a small office in a business complex. It's a couple of hundred pounds per month at the very most.

It allows you to get into a work routine, so you're getting up in the morning, physically going to work, getting things done for the day and then going home to relax. It means you have a proper working environment and are able to fill your day with proper work activities.

 

[captaincloser]

In my (never) humble experience and opinion you need to stop working at home. Nobody should be working at home in sales.

Nobody will be fulfilling their true potential if they are :

A) Working alone in sales
B) Working at home in sales.

Needless to say any combination of A and B above is a bit of a win double and you are seriously kidding yourself if you think sales excellence is achieved in a vacuum.

The reasons people work from home and on their tod are many and varied. However none of the reasons put forward by people working at home or on their own in SALES warrants even the most cursory consideration when you consider how much better your results would be working with others as part of even a small 2 man team from an office.

If you are in sales and not getting out and meeting people, mixing it in business with others then you are but a fading candle compared to the flame thrower you could be. (Loosely translated from an ancient Chinese proverb)

 

If you are in sales and not getting out and meeting people, mixing it in business with others then you are but a fading candle compared to the flame thrower you could be. (Loosely translated from an ancient Chinese proverb)

Are well there you go I must be a bazooka.

Huge benefits from working on my own at home.

1 no travelling time wasted.

2 Early start

3 available 24/7

4 No distractions.

5 proper meals.

and yes I do get out to bingo every weds night.

I also go out most afternoons visiting various business's I am involved with.

I guess it depends what type of person you are.

Earl

 

[maxine]

I must admit I set myself mini goals as leadmachine says

apart from that I love being able to just get on with it free of interruptions and as earl says stuff such as travelling etc

But I think you really have to feel why you are doing it and enjoy it.

 

[maxine]

As for banter I have twitter and some friends on Skype to chit chat with in between calls

I have people in the office with me now and think it defo helps

 

[captaincloser]

As for banter I have twitter and some friends on Skype to chit chat with in between calls

I have people in the office with me now and think it defo helps

Banter Chit-chat :| You can't have banter and chit chit you know...what about your call rates and targets and 'coffee is for closers' etc etc

Everyone (except Earl) would benefit from being in the cut and thrust of a team environment..or at least their personal production would benefit...but agreed there would need to be a balance. I am not advocating the draconian call centre model where everyone has become a battery hen and all calls/minutes monitored and recorded by a supervisor in a glass pod. That is counter productive..and breeds what everyone hates...

Bottom line is that working from home in sales, like life itself, is a real potential cop-out. We all tell ourselves a story that allows us to behave exactly as we want to...no forum discussion on the merits of working at home V Getting up and dressing and really going to work (in an office) will change a thing. Those that do will continue to do and those that dont will not.

By the way Earl, I had the phrase 'You cannot work from home in sales unless you are totally decrepit' in my original post to cover you and I working at home (when I do) but deleted it because I was convinced it would offend the 24-40 year old group on here who will be paranoid about being called either old or decrepit.

 

[BustersDogs]

It's the boring office work I struggle with motivation for. I wish I were alone at home! My son is here all but a few days a week, and the telly is blaring all the time. Sometimes I kick him out of the living room, or try to save the bulk until he's at college.

Otherwise yes Twitter keeps me going with a bit of banter, the downside being if there's a lot of banter I'm not getting any work done!

I've found if I really am just aimlessly clicking about then it's best to pack it in and do something non-work for a couple of hours - but of course I'm not making lots of calls that need to be made during office hours. But recognising when I'm not going to do any work and taking a break means I can pop back later in the evening and be more productive for an hour or two.

 

[123Simples]

It's not just about working from home, but it is about also having the grit to keep going. Looking back at your post Sage I notice a couple of points that you might want to rethink:

All I need to do is make a hundred calls a day. I find myself sometimes just staring at the screen or welcoming a distraction. I wonder if it is because the targets I have set are out of whack? Not unrealistic, but it is a lot of money to accumulate to reach the next stage and employ people.

So you've been self employed 12 months and you say it all started off good, and you've made decent money and cleared a debt. But now you are talking about employing people. Why? I've been in business 28 years, on my own, with partners, with employees - my advice to you is keep it simple for now. Stay on your own, and reduce your targets - as long as YOU earn enough why bother about the stress of employing people?

The reason for your distractions is because you have just set yourself too high a goal. Take a step back, have a go at the gym, and build slowly and steadily if you want to.

 

[Websitehandyman]

Yes I go though this at times, people who do the 925 do have some perks ;-)

I've been doing this for about 12 years this span, I now tend to work on a 9 to 9 clock. I accept that the will be times when I just can't focus but rather then push myself I structure the day different. What works well for me is getting out, I take the dog for a walk or just walk around the local high st. during this time I normally am still thinking work and by the time I get back I'm focused on what I need to do for the day.

If it's getting started you need, I would say do something first thing early in the morning that shakes up the body and gating the adrenaline flowing. But I do suggest you don't beat yourself up about it and structure the way you work to allow for this it's natural.

 

[maxine]

I worked as a call centre manager for years and most of the practises are a load of nonsense. People just work to target not exceed it and oodles of time is lost managing performance, endless meetings, or providing training that people don't need or motivational stuff that people either hate or are humiliated by.

People work in such a negative way

I work so much better out of that environment and people I have here work flexi hours, come and go as they please, spend time in Facebook if they want, have a fag or coffee break when they want, take time off sick or unpaid when they want. It's managed by their pay slip not me

If I think about my days getting my suit on, going to pointless meetings, spending my life reporting/analysing/forecasting, working with other people in the business etc my time spent working pretty much on my own is much nicer and defo more effective!!

I do have my stats to keep me on track but the difference is I'm doing it for myself

Im on twitter all the time for real time search monitoring linked to lead generation but I only allow myself 5 minutes free tweeting after every 30 calls! Yep I'm probably nuts

I'm going through the phase now of hopefully moving into larger premises to house up to 30 people eventually and I'm not at all excited at this prospect as its back to the rat race for me! Lol so I suppose I'm making the most of my freedom while I can and getting my head down and working the most profitably that I can as this is funding my move and saving me interest

I still think the biggest thing that helps is knowing why you are doing it .. Holiday, growth, etc

I can't think of anything worse at the moment than sitting in a room full of sales people all Pratting about and windng each other up I've never come across an environment yet where it's been as effective as working on own or in a very little team

 

I think one of the huge advantages of working on ones own is that you work when you feel like it.

Hence I would suggest those periods are much more productive than a person who has to work set hours?

Earl

 

[123Simples]

It's true - working for yourself is productive and rewarding. We all can lose our "mojo" Sage - that's not unusual to happen. All you've got to do is find that happy place where you were and work on that - I think a 100 calls a day is quiet high, and I'm sure that it must mean that you cannot be giving each one of them calls a positive service or chance at 4.8 minutes a call, but then I don't know what kind of business you are in.

 

[Sage1974]

I was originally reluctant to start this thread and ask for help. It took me a couple of weeks to share my problem because I felt quite embarrassed at sharing something that is fundamentally a no brainer and was concerned that some may read it and rip me apart.

I am very glad that I did share. A problem shared is a problem halved. That's how I now feel. Thanks because you have helped. I have closely read everyone's response and have stopped beating myself up because I have now realised several important things.

I am not alone. There are fellow self-employed people who have had the same issues and learned different ways to deal with those problems and still make a success.

I need to break down my next stage target to more manageable small targets.

I need something to look forward to. Previously I have thought that getting to the next stage of my business is my aim but this does not help me on a personal level. Friday night my daughter who turns 18 in April suggested that we both go to New York for that week. This excited me and realising the cost made me jump out of bed on Saturday and hit the phone.

Just incase you may wonder what I do. I am currently contracted to introduce PPI leads to a PPI Claims company for a percentage of the claim. As the market won't be around for much longer my next plan is to start selling commercial utilities. (which would involve physically visiting clients) or selling SEO. All the cards are not yet on the table so I don't know which one or may do both.

 

[Sage1974]

I think a 100 calls a day is quiet high

For every 100 calls I get 30 presentations. Four leads and two deals.

Then I call my call backs and usually get one or two deals from them.

The rest of the time is spent chasing missing documents, account numbers and chasing invoice payments from the clients.

 

[123Simples]

Hi Sage

Obviously I did not know what type of business you were in, but I can see from your post that makes sense now. It's always good to chat with like minded people who share the same issues and worries, and it does help to know that we can all learn things from one another. Good luck with future things and take that holiday to the US

 

[tony84]

Is it not possible to take on a few different types of lead generation to "spice it up" a bit? 2 clients - 1 doing SEO and another doing PPI?

Im quite fortunate in that i work with a company who take part of my commission but in return we have team meetings, people to bounce ideas off, people to just talk to sayig argh this is a nightmare ive got no clients lined up etc.
I was planning on getting one of those officer where you pay about £150 a month and thats all you pay. No heating, electricity, rates or any other bills. Im not sure where in manchester you are from but there are some in Didsbury and cheadle - which is close to where i live.

Also, something that REALLY helps me, if i wake up and im in one of those cant be bothered moods, i go to the gym. It doesnt half help, you come out feeling full of enthusiasm...just imagine the rocky song in your head.

 

[Montaigne]

Bottom line is that working from home in sales, like life itself, is a real potential cop-out. We all tell ourselves a story that allows us to behave exactly as we want to...no forum discussion on the merits of working at home V Getting up and dressing and really going to work (in an office) will change a thing. Those that do will continue to do and those that dont will not.

CC, if we accept that we tell ourselves a story in order that we then don't feel bad about following a particular narrative you know this applies to people whose narrative involves having to go into an office, instead of working from home, too?

I think 100 calls a day is quite low, unless you're not cold calling.

When you're calling it's not a case of each calling being an average of say 4.8 minutes long as 80% of the people you speak to in a day will be receptionists telling you so and so is not available, which can amount to less than 10 seconds a call.

I've not worn a suit for 18 months and it's great

Whenever I went for telesales jobs I would always dutifully answer interview questions about how I thrived in a team environment but was still able to work on my own initiative blah blah blah but I actually prefer working on my own as I don't have to put up with being surrounded by a team that hates their job and will jump on any distraction to enable them not to have to do it, I don't have to attend pointless meetings on a Monday morning for us all to "discuss" our objectives for the week etc.

I do miss the competitive element of working in a sales team but I probably miss that as I was always at the top of my team!

 

[captaincloser]

In a long career in sales and sales rooms (to put it politely) I have always noticed that the best people were never, ever, team players. why peole in ringing rooms focus their interviews on 'team' players is beyond me and always has been.

There is no such an animal at the top of the sales tree. Its not only personal experience it's also the few people I have seen truly at the top of their game...team players ? Noooo. However, every one of them at the top fully willing to help others up the ladder which cannot be said of most people in sales.

I have run teams where the members worked from home and also teams which were office based.I absolutely know which works best. Yes, there certainly are people who do well at home but those same peole would do better in a structured environment particularly if under 30. I think when you get to a certain stage though, all you want is to be on your own away from all the crap that goes with an office. If you are truly self disciplined and have a good project, an outstanding home office with a view of the ocean then that's fine.

My advice for young people in any form of sales is to pack your talent in a suitcase and travel...do not get stuck in a ringing room...

 

[patientlady]

Been watching this thread with interest as I have found myself the last few Mondays not looking forward to the coming week! Also typing this instead of getting my butt off the chair...
Thought provoking for me and cannot offer anything, but thanks

 

[kate1]

I share an office with somebody - were not industry related as such but I work for him from there as well as for other clients. Best of both worlds really - someone there to have banter with, but also nobody breathing down my neck.

Sometimes it can be hard to push yourself but you have to be disciplined.

That would be ideal really an office share, we have two more seats in our office and I dont think it would be a problem for another industry sector to come in, cut down on costs too.

 

[Working First Aid]

I am up there with the Worlds worst procrastinators.

My house is never tidier, my car never cleaner and my ironing never, erm, flatter than when I have a deadline to meet.

The only way I can get around this debilitating problem is to go for a morning walk and pretend I'm actually walking to the office. Then, I make a cup of tea, stick the radio on (I listen to an online trance station so I don't start singing along instead of working) then I can crack on.

That said, I've just spent the last 30 minutes browsing this forum...

 

[pro-v-productions]

hi, i too have been viewing this thread I'm in sales for an It soloutions company at the mo and its been hard to motivate myself to get making those calls. ive set targets and get geed up to start then when it comes to it i just end up dossin online :\ 1 thing which affects me slightly in this situation is that its an open office so my colleagues are all around. im the only telesales guy in the office.
i am going to hopefully bite the bullet after lunch today tho.

thanks

 

[woodss]

JEDI.

Just Effing Do It

 

[Montaigne]

(I listen to an online trance station so I don't start singing along instead of working)

di.fm?..............

 

[Working First Aid]

di.fm?..............

Yep, that's the one

 

[captaincloser]

hi, i too have been viewing this thread I'm in sales for an It soloutions company at the mo and its been hard to motivate myself to get making those calls. ive set targets and get geed up to start then when it comes to it i just end up dossin online :\ 1 thing which affects me slightly in this situation is that its an open office so my colleagues are all around. im the only telesales guy in the office.
i am going to hopefully bite the bullet after lunch today tho.

thanks

Get out of that office ! Working in any office where all around you (even if its only one other person) do NOT have the marbles (polite) to be on the phone with you pitching for new business is actually only equalled by the bubonic plague as a thing not to be associated with in your waking hours.

The only thing worse is possibly to also have somebody who is not on the phone telling you how to do it every time you finish a call.

 

[Montaigne]

Yep, that's the one

Yeah, I love that site; been listening to it since it started and a paid up member for 4 years or so.

 

[liongroup]

I think with an venture, you need to set aside money you will not recover. (at least straight away)

If you do this, then you know your limitations and these limitations might help you succeed i.e spend on the necessary things, save on the unnecessary.

 

[Sage1974]

JEDI.

Just Effing Do It

I like that. Have written it on a post it note and stuck it on the wall in direct view.

 

[Sales Nation]

Same boat here.... house has never been so clean and tidy. If you have been in business for 12 months already, well done, its the hardest stage to get through. Perhaps instead of lacking motivation, you have just become used to it all. It is now the norm. Is there anything about your routine you could change, any networking events to go to, any new products or services you could develop. Having that motivation is what sets us Entrepreneurs apart from the rest remember.

 

[ThePublisher]

Can any of you without the motivation please pop round and sort my house out? If I'm not having a good day and can't be arsed to pick up the phone, I'm certainly not motivated to clean/tidy the house.

I can find plenty of stuff on the computer, whilst sat in my messy office, to while away the hours......

 

[Montaigne]

Can any of you without the motivation please pop round and sort my house out? If I'm not having a good day and can't be arsed to pick up the phone, I'm certainly not motivated to clean/tidy the house.

I can find plenty of stuff on the computer, whilst sat in my messy office, to while away the hours......

I've thought of a great business idea!

I'm going to set up a telesales company that cleans offices and peoples' houses for them and doesn't make a single phone call and then I'm going to set up a cleaning firm that does telesales and provides cleaning contracts to my telesales firm, but who don't do any cleaning themselves.

CC, want a job as a cleaner? It's an easy telesales job as you can avoid doing any telesales work at all!