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Success in sales doesn't come easy. It takes hard work, dedication, and a positive mindset. Unfortunately, many sales teams struggle to achieve their goals due to unseen problems that are holding them back. Unseen problems within the individuals in the team. Our subconscious mind controls 90% of our actions and our behaviors. In this article, we will discuss three unseen problems within the team and how to overcome them.
I have worked with sales teams who realized that they had issues but didn't know how to fix them. The problems that most of them experienced were self-confidence, relationships at home (past or present), not feeling worthy, consistency, and frustration and anger.
These are all things that subconsciously affect their ability to reach higher levels in their performance and goals because the goal-setting process is derailed by these unseen problems. Until we can get to the root of the problem and help them change their internal programming, they will continue to struggle and it will affect the entire team.
1. They Can’t Separate Business and Personal Life.
The first unseen problem is that most sales teams are dealing with personal issues that have nothing to do with work. They bring their baggage from home into their career and it affects how they view everything. Maybe they've gone through a divorce or some other big problem at home.
They react to people and situations in a way that they don’t like, get offended easily, play conversations or things that happened over and over and over again in their head. They may even respond in a way that is ok externally, but internally, the record keeps playing over and over again and they don’t know how to do things differently. They struggle with performance and reaching goals at work because everything they do is seen through the lens of what's happening at home.
Sales strategies and training don't typically work because they are only looking at what's going on outside of them, not inside. These pieces of training aren't getting to the core problem. The reality is that we can keep home and work separately in a physical sense, but emotionally, we can't. Our work lives affect our home life and vice versa. These are not things we would ask or know about in our teams and even if we did, we don't know how to fix them.
One salesman on a team I recently worked with was struggling with consistency and he didn't know why. Through a series of questions (asked privately), we uncovered that he had previously owned a restaurant business during the pandemic and lost it. He was an excellent salesman, but he was held back by an internal struggle of failure and fear of not performing at a high level. This was a program that was running at the subconscious level and was affecting his level of performance.
2. Internal Programming
The second unseen problem is their internal programming. As I stated above, our subconscious mind runs 90% of what we do and it is programmed from an early age. If you have someone in your organization that grew up in a household where they were never praised or had any sense of accomplishment, they will have a problem reaching their goals.
They may achieve some level of success but it's always short-lived because subconsciously, their belief system is that they're not good enough or they don't deserve it. They have beliefs about themselves that sabotage their success.
The problem is that this internal programming can affect every decision and behavior that they do and it is why they get inconsistent results. These problems are likely linked to an internal program that they don't even realize they have.
For example, someone who struggles with self-confidence may be afraid of being seen as a failure if people find out that they're not good enough or know what they are doing. They hide behind masks to avoid letting others know how much work it took them to get where they are. All of these things can affect the entire team's performance.
3. Not Knowing How to Get “Unstuck”
The third problem is that the team member has identified what the problem is, but doesn't know how to fix it. They know they need to change something but they don't have the tools or knowledge to do it. They're stuck. This is where discovering what caused the problem or where it first occurred can be extremely helpful in unearthing what's going on and helping them find a way to move forward.
One of the recent teams I had worked with had a salesman within the team who struggled with this. Ironically, he had spent years in counseling, programs, and private coaching to fix his problem, yet he still felt stuck. Getting to the cause and fixing it or reframing it was key for this salesman. He now feels like he is "unstuck" and able to achieve more than he ever has before.
If you're a CEO or sales leader reading this, then chances are that at least one of these problems is going on on your team. Successful people need to be successful in all areas of their life and they want it for themselves and their teams as well.
We all have an internal "programming" that holds us back and keeps from succeeding. To change this, there are 3 key steps you need to take:
Identify the problem.
Find out what caused the problem or where it first occurred.
Fix the problem so that it doesn’t keep happening.
When it comes to success, the key is in being able break through any barriers that are holding you back. This process will allow your team members be successful and reach their goals with ease!
Identifying the Problem
When you are faced with a problem it can be difficult to identify the root of your issue. Sometimes problems have deeper roots than what they initially seem like and this becomes clearer as we go through various stages in our process.
The first step should always involve looking at how deep-seated certain feelings or ideas might actually lie within yourself - because that will give us some insight into where else there could potentially more trouble down further! For example, with procrastination, fear is a common underlying emotion.
In order to solve the real problem, going deeper and asking even better questions is key. One of the questions that I may ask my clients after they tell me what big problem they are struggling with is, “how is that a problem?” It’s not the only question, but through deep questioning, I am able to get to the core issue.
You cannot solve a problem you are not aware of. Successful people know how to identify their problems and they don’t just sit back and accept them. Successful people take action by identifying the problem, finding out what caused it, and then fixing it so that it doesn’t keep happening.
Find Out What Caused the Problem or Where it First Occurred
The next step is to find out what caused the problem or where it first occurred. In order to fix a problem, they must first understand why they created it. Successful teams are aware of their subconscious mind and how paying attention to their thoughts can give them insight into what’s going on inside their heads.
They must first identify the belief that got them into this situation in the first place.
Sometimes the cause of the problem is something obvious, and sometimes it is not. If they grew up with parents that struggled with finances and they constantly heard, “we can’t afford that”, you may be struggling with making money. That’s a more obvious connection.
If they grew up with great support and parents and are still struggling with meeting goals, the answer may not be obvious and you may need to do some digging. Sometimes, a simple phrase or comment, or activity that seemed harmless at the time, can affect someone's ability to succeed. The answer may be connected to old memories which need excavation before moving forward.
I have a unique way of uncovering the root of these problems with the entire group in a way that is relaxed and comfortable. Successful people are not afraid of what is lurking in their subconscious mind and neither should you or your team members.
Fix the Problem so that it Doesn't Keep Happening
This is the part of the process where I work with the entire team to bring the conscious and subconscious together and we are able to shift the mind so that it no longer views the problem in the same way.
Our subconscious minds are like computers, over time they may be overloaded with things that slow it down or possibly even a virus that stops us in our tracks. No matter what we do, we can’t get the computer to perform better until we remove what’s slowing it down. After we have cleaned it up, we are able to upload a new program, and it’s able to perform faster. We are the same and these past “viruses” affect our day-to-day behavior, slowing down our ability to reach our fullest potential and highest goals.
When we are able to “clean” up our view of the world and reframe the emotions around these events, we can easily and effortlessly move forward with our goals and reach the success that we desire.
Those problems and the cause of the problems become part of your history where they belong, and what you learned from the event is what you get to carry with you. So your future decisions and perceptions are clearer, more focused, and more intentional.
For most of the teams I work with, some changes happen immediately, for others, it happens over time, and a lot of times, it’s a combination of both. For the last team I worked with, these are the things they noticed immediately:
Salespeople feel more confident and assertive in sales conversations, making it easier to close deals.
They remain calm and focused when responding to others, increasing the chances of a positive outcome.
They have clarity of thought in stressful situations, knowing what actions to take next.
At home, they respond to their spouse and children in a more positive way, creating a happier environment for all.
SUMMARY
The vast majority of people are not able to deftly separate their personal and professional lives. They bring baggage from home, they don't know how to get unstuck, and the subconscious mind runs 90% of what we do so they don’t know how to fix the problem on their own. This can be detrimental for employees' productivity if left unchecked. Schedule a 20-minute call with me so I can show you how my Rapid Results for Teams Program may help your team increase sales!
I hope you enjoyed this article on What Business Owners and Managers Don’t Know About Their Sales Team. If you are a successful business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with a team and want help getting there rapidly, check out: Three Unseen Problems in Sales Teams That Stops Them from Achieving the Company's Goals;
To your TOTAL success,
Kimberly
Kim Lebbing is a Success and Mindset Coach with 10 years of experience in the coaching industry, Kim has a proven track record of getting massive results for her clients. She is an NLP Master Coach and Trainer and has aligned with 3 different schools for her NLP Certifications over the last 8 years.
Kim has created a unique 4-Hour Process that rapidly shifts minds to ignite the fire and motivation that will help you or your team take massive action to reach your highest goals without time-consuming seminars, training, and programs. She gets to the root of the problem and fixes it so that you and your team can have rapid results and can move your business forward.