Over the past few months, business – and life – as we know it has changed in so many ways. At BDU, we’ve had to pivot and take some new approaches to how we do business, as well as how we support our clients and our network. We’ve set up weekly support sessions to bring the sales community together, taken our public sales classes online and moved exclusively to coaching and training clients remotely.

We’ve also learned a lot about sales, business development and ourselves along the way, so we wanted to share with you some of our most important tips and takeaways from this challenging time. We hope you’ll find them as helpful as we do, that you’ll continue to look to us for strategy and support, and that you’ll keep “squeezing the lemon”!

Part Three: What We’ve Learned About Staying the Course

Beth Rosenfeld, Vice President Sales Strategy
Attitude and motivation are critical elements to sales success, but it can be hard to remain focused when business is down and you’re beginning to question your capabilities. Don’t let a difficult period define you or stand in the way of your success. Instead, step away. Take a few minutes to remember a situation in the past where you’ve helped a client or made a positive impact on someone. Reading through old recommendations, testimonials or kudos emails that you once received can help restore your confidence and reset your energy in a more positive way.

Janet Nankin, Managing Director, Southeast Region
When things are as up in the air as they have been these past few months, it can be hard to stay focused and consistent with our efforts, especially without accountability. Even though things may be uncertain, it’s important to continue to set goals and hold yourself accountable to them. Having difficulty going at it alone? I’ve found that having an accountability partner and frequent check-ins has really helped me to not only stay willing but committed to doing the activities necessary for me to get where I need to go.

Lisa Peskin, CEO and Founder
The biggest thing I want to make sure that people realize is the importance of continuing to stay the course despite external circumstances – like COVID-19 – getting in the way. We’ve seen firsthand that it’s those who are continuing to do what needs to get done who are setting themselves up for the greatest success in the long term. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, focus on what you can. While there may be certain things that no longer make sense for you to do, there’s a lot that you can and should still be doing. Use your time wisely and continue following your game plan. You might need to frequently modify it, but just keep moving forward no matter what.

READ PART ONE: What Jeanne and Michelle have learned about managing time and keeping a schedule.

READ PART TWO: What Chris and Tom have learned about keeping in touch and making connections.