As sales leaders, we sometimes have to deliver bad news. It most certainly affects us emotionally, as well as the other person.
It’s important to acknowledge what people may be going through. It’s not the same for everyone, and perhaps not always in this order.
Some call it the 6 Stages of Grief. Perhaps we can call it the 6 Stages of Growth in sales teams:
❌ It starts with DENIAL..“that’s definitely not me”, “I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
😠 Then comes the ANGER…“how could they say that to me?!”, “why am I even here, I’m just wasting my time!”
🙏 Onto BARGAINING…“if you give me this promotion, I swear I’ll never make another mistake.” (This is also a sub set of Anger IMO)
😢 SADNESS and even depression can set in…“I’m not good at this anyway”, “I’ll never reach my goals.”
❤️ ACCEPTANCE…“I’ve learned from this experience”, “I understand and accept what happened.”
🌱 GROWTH – “What will I do differently”, “What will I start doing now?”
Need help effectively training your sales team to be more successful in their roles? Check out our 4 week training program or contact us today.
