Is That Light or Is It an Oncoming Train?

You’re a sales professional or sales executive. It’s been a tough year. Competition seems to get meaner every day, and the days get longer. Is it time to get out, leave this company one step ahead of disaster?  Or is there any prayer of turning this gig around?

 

Step One – take time to take stock. When you’re the frog in the blender, you’re whirling around so fast you don’t get to take stock of the scenery. Is it really as bad as it feels --  or are you mostly burned out?

 

Step Two – get an unbiased opinion. No, don’t ask Aunt Maude, unless she’s a 20-year veteran in sales or sales management. Ask a friend or mentor who would really know, and who has no agenda. 

 

Step Three – Create your action plan, with specifics and a time line. Know what you want to move toward. “Get me out of here, I don’t care what I have to do!” is not much of a future vision for your career. If all you want is to get away, the odds are very high you’ll have similar problems on your next gig. Use the things that make you crazy about your current position to inform your vision of what you want next. 

 

Step Four – Ask yourself if there are steps to salvage the current position. You’re a known quantity where you are. You know what to expect, and you don’t have to prove yourself from scratch. 

 

Of course, if you know you’ve polluted your own pond, you will find it easier to start from scratch. The question you have to ask (and put an action plan around) is what do you need to do to guarantee the next job is not a repeat performance.