If you are a "Seinfeld" fan, and I am a big one, than you know George. In fact, George has become such a popular icon in American business, that indisputably, NO ONE wants to be compared to George.

However, we all have "George-Days" in our work lives. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and find that the world is just against you. Your shower is too cold, your mobile phone is out of juice, your latte isn't frothy enough, and you've just discovered a hole in your favorite socks! Ok, well, might as well accept it...you've got a "George-Day" going on!

As salespeople, don't we have enough George-Days to bring us down sometimes? You've just made 43 phone calls and no one answers. You've left 97 messages in the past few days and only received one call back. And it was a rejection. You  showed up for an important appointment and the customer had to leave for a family emergency. Let's face it, we sometimes just have to turn the energy around. Consider it now a "Kramer-Day".

 

We all know Kramer. The guy with the most perfect existence in the world! He doesn't work, but always has money to live alone in an expensive NY high rise, travel to exotic locations, and buy expensive cigars. He's always positive, even on the worst days. He is never afraid to embarrass himself in front of his friends. (I would say work associates here, but he doesn't work, remember?)

 

So when was the last time you had a "George-Day?" More importantly, what did you DO about it? Well, I had a few of them just last week. Instead of hearing me complain, let's just say that I was even beginning to envy George; instead of pity him. In fact, I was having a pity-party of my very own.

 

Well, what DID I do about it? Let's face it, on those "George-Days" you don't feel like making outbound calls. The inbound calls are a nuisance, and your attitude, in a word, sucks.  Well, here's what I did. And as counter-intuitive as it sounds, it is the absolute truth.

 

I got on the phone. No, not with my mother, my therapist, or my best friend. I started calling clients. All types of clients. Existing ones, those I haven't talked with in a while, referrals, and even prospects! At this point, one might think I'd gone completely over the edge and lost my mind. Who would POSSIBLY want to make sales calls when you feel so bad? (If you know me personally, please don't answer that one!)

 

Here's what happened as I was engaging people over the phone.  The clients I hadn't talked with for sometime, embraced my call. They were actually HAPPY to hear from me! Those who didn't know me, spoke with me and gave me leads. My sales endorphins were starting to kick in! And guess what? The more I called out, the better I started to feel! Instead of a pity-party, I was having a real live Kramer-Day! 

 

The bottom line is, the next time you are having "one of those days", turn it around by focusing on your tasks. In sales, your goals are to make sales.  You've already admitted that people don't want to buy from George (that's why he was never hired at Vandalay Industries.) Emulate Kramer, and you'll find that once you're having more fun, the sales will come in, too. Happy Selling!