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When you’re caught in a riptide you don’t try to swim against the current. You swim along the shoreline until you pass the riptide and can safely reach the shore.
I learned this growing up at the Jersey Shore. The reason you don’t fight the current is because you can’t beat it. You can keep fighting, and exhausting yourself, and watch yourself get pushed farther and farther away from shore. Maybe you’ll find a way to work around it, but many don’t. They drown.
And now you may be thinking… well, that’s a depressing intro, and what the heck does this have to do with sales?
And, I hear you. This is a strange intro, but not completely out of context. You see, a few months ago I realized I was just swimming, swimming, swimming, against the tide of 2020.
Like many of you I started the year with a solid plan. I had annual projections and goals broken down into quarterly and monthly goals. I knew what needed to happen and had the roadmap to get it done.
Then Covid hit. The rip tide, pushing me farther and farther away from my plan. Shut downs, deaths, closures, riots.
Well, damn it, I wasn’t giving up. I would just keep working – harder. Swimming – harder, against the tide. Because stopping would mean certain death, and that wasn’t going to happen to me.
And I did that for months. Not even thinking about what I was really doing. I knew I just needed to keep moving. “Stay afloat” as many would say. If we could “stay afloat” we could come out on the other side.
It’s an exhausting way to live and work. But in my mind, failure was not an option.
And then one day in November, I stopped. And instead of valiantly trying to beat what was going on, I started to float. I stopped “working” and spent more time thinking.
When you’re caught in a rip tide it usually surprises you. It’s not like you intentionally swim into one. Usually, you kind of end up in it. You can feel it pulling you out, pulling you out. When you react- you paddle like hell to try and make it back to the safety of shore.
If you take the time to think, you remember that you need to swim parallel to the shoreline until you can make it in. (That’s using a little emotional intelligence.) Trying to muscle through it doesn’t work.
So, my advice to you, beware of the riptides of the coming year. Yes, we have a lot of light at the end of the tunnel, but our journey is not done.
What can you do? Take some time away, recognize what’s going well, ask for help, and make a plan!
You see, all along I thought I was riding the wave. Adapting to the changing business world. And I was, kind of. But I was spending so much time fighting to stay alive I forgot how to just be. How to trust in my gut. How to hear my gut, actually. There was so much noise and info and swirling around in my brain, it was hard to hear myself think.
Don’t fight this crazy environment like you’re fighting a rip tide. Get excited about your business again. Think about who you serve and how you make their lives better. And lastly reignite your vision for the future!
Give yourself some time to stop doing. Start being. Breathe.
This article was written by Christine Miller of Miller Sales Consulting. With extensive experience as a highly strategic sales motivator and sales coach, Christine has excelled at building and structuring sales organizations. In addition to sales coaching and sales training, Miller Sales Consulting offers Virtual Sales Management. More sales advice can be found on her LinkedIn page, as well as Medium. Subscribe to her videos on YouTube.