Written by Paul Murskov

We’ve all been here before. Your monthly sales goal feels impossible to meet, your last few calls have gone nowhere, and healthy concern has turned to paranoia. Is my phone voice annoying? How is my boss going to take this?

Breathe. Slumps happen, and they’re usually easier to fix than you’d think. Below are some words of wisdom to help you get back into your groove.

“This too shall pass.” –Persian Sufi proverb

One of the easiest ways to start recovering from a sales slump is simply to avoid a negative mindset. Remember that slumps are natural, and don’t be too quick to blame yourself (or anyone else) for a few hiccups in your performance. Optimism when dealing with stress is correlated to higher returns in call centers, as demonstrated by this Maastricht University study.

“When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” –Will Rogers

When your sales are sub-par, it’s natural to panic a little bit and start working harder without actually looking at what’s wrong. A much more helpful reaction is to step back and do a little analysis. Business owners use sales data to improve their performance; you can too.  After pinpointing your biggest revenue sources, you may find that your so-called slump is simply a case of misguided focus.

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” –Ernest Hemmingway

Confidence is a salesperson’s best friend, but pride can be their worst enemy. There’s nothing wrong with asking your peers for advice; in fact doing so is linked to long-term productivity growth in a sales force. This is yet another reason to get to know your coworkers— the cure to your sales trouble could be sitting next to you.

“100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.” –Wayne Gretzky

This aphorism from the hockey legend illustrates another cardinal rule of recovering from a slump: No matter how low your morale may have dipped, you cannot reduce your efforts. I shouldn’t need to show you data that links frequency of calls and sales results; it’s common sense that when faced with a rough patch, you have to keep trying— whether that means making more calls, changing up your calls, or phoning a friend.

Experiencing highs and lows is part of being a salesperson. The lows are a lot less gloomy if you stop thinking of them as a reason to freak out, and start thinking of them as an opportunity to improve yourself. Hopefully these sayings will not only help you beat your slump, but also enable you to help your colleagues beat theirs. As I said at the beginning of this article, we’ve all been here before.

The phone book is dying. In 2015, when someone needs something, they Google it. Thus, high quality small business website design is a requirement for success. With so many possibilities available for website design, here’s my list of the most important do’s and don’ts for the online face of your business.

DO:

Simplify navigation. Nothing deters a potential customer like getting lost on your website, so make it as foolproof as possible. If you’re wondering whether or not a page is necessary, it probably isn’t. Also essential is a logically-organized site map, even if it’s just a header or side bar with pages categorized.

Include a Contact Us. If you are successful, you know the value of being accessible to warm leads, potential employees, and other business interests. Make sure your website includes a secure page, button, or feature that allows visitors to reach out to you.

Be mobile-friendly. At a given time, the majority of people browsing the internet are now on mobile devices. Skimping on mobile formatting can be a costly mistake, as visitors on their phones are likely to be discouraged by tiny text and a won k y  l a y o ut on a website not designed for their device. Reactive websites automatically adjust to mobile viewing, saving you the hassle of developing a separate mobile version.

DON’T:

Have ANY AUTOPLAYING SOUNDS. Imagine walking into a store and immediately being ambushed by loud music and voices. What makes that any more acceptable for an online storefront?  Unless you want to annoy your visitors (and scare off those discretely browsing from work), just…don’t.

Post irrelevant content or links. The argument behind posting random things on your business website is a half-baked attempt at generating traffic and link reciprocity. Even in the unlikely event that this works, it significantly hurts the aesthetic of your website and looks unprofessional. Keep it relevant, even if it means having a little less content.

Use elaborate Flash decorations. This is a matter of time and resources; a dizzying Flash intro for your site isn’t really in vogue these days, and can be very labor-intensive. Once again, for reasons of site aesthetics and user convenience, it’s better to skip this one.

Today, your business’s online presence is just as important as its physical presence— more important for many businesses. Your website is often a customer’s first impression of who you are and what you’re about, so follow these tips and make it count.

It’s one of the most anticlimactic moments in a salesperson’s day — you call a warm lead, hoping to seal the deal…and then it goes to the machine. As you wait for the beep, remember that your message matters; sales can be made or lost by a voicemail. Below are some key elements of a message that will keep the conversation going.

Brevity. People’s attention spans are really short, and no one wants to spend several minutes of their life listening to a voicemail. Your target is closer to 30 seconds; word-efficiency is key.

Planning. The only thing worse than a long, rambling voicemail is a long voicemail consisting mostly of “uh…” Think of what you’d want to put in a message before you call, and when doing so, remember to include the…

Essentials. Name, company name, phone number, customer’s name. Say them early and say them often. It’s important for the customer to remember your information; using their name increases their chance of remembering yours. Just as important as the basic info is the value proposition, where knowledge of the customer’s industry comes in handy. In as few words as possible, tell them why doing business with you (or at least calling you back) would give them an edge on their competitors and add to your…

Tone. Your aim is to be courteous but not presumptuous. It’s a good idea to start with “good morning/afternoon” and end with “thank you for your time,” but adding more pleasantries may annoy.

Follow-up. Adding an email makes your message seem more professional and increases your chances of getting a response. Also, odds are your customer can read faster than you can talk; the follow-up email gives you the opportunity to expand on some points you may have abbreviated in your voicemail.

Leaving a good message is a balancing act; these elements share a theme of maximizing content while minimizing length and complexity. If you can master this, you may find yourself selling to leads who don’t even answer the phone.