Coping with the Ups and Downs of Sales and Life. With Bridget Gleason [Episode 523]

Bridget Gleason is VP of Sales for Logz.io and my regular partner on Front Line Fridays.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Bridget cites a book about living a good life by not stressing about the less important aspects. Pay most attention to relationships, health, family, and purpose.

Andy refers to another book with the same lesson. It’s easy to obsess about sales performance. Andy remembers his blood pressure going through the roof at age 23 in his first management job. Do the best you can, and let go of it.

Calmness comes with age and practice. Surveys taken in retirement say retirees’ biggest regret is having worried too much. Worry is worthless.

Bridget’s nature would be to worry. She works against that tendency, using mindfulness and meditation deliberately to calm the mind. She aspires to not go up and down with the sales number.

Andy spent about a month doing little because of sickness. When he started to worry, he engaged in meditation. Bridget relates how she coached a new rep having a low quarter. It’s good to be resilient.

The highs and the lows are transitory. Other things in life can compensate. If you put in the basic work, the score takes care of itself. Have patience during longer sales cycles.

A man once worked for Andy who had a nervous tic when he was worried about his performance. He had good reason to worry. We need to get out of our own way. We may need to be shown our blind spots.

Sales coaching is being neglected, which means reps are looking for direction from a trusted source. This should be their manager.

When Bridget is being direct, she is giving constructive criticism, not destructive. She also appreciates that her team shares direct feedback with her.

The most difficult conversation is to fire someone. Bridget had to fire a top rep, who had sabotaged the system so he got all the leads. She hopes he learned from it. Andy has had to fire people who had just experienced family tragedies.

Though a termination is a business necessity, it is a hardship to the person terminated. The company should make every effort to coach the person before a decision is made. And they may go into a situation that is a better fit.