Feeling Lost In Your Career Find The Right Path With These Steps

Feeling Lost in Your Career? Find the Right Path With These Steps I was just lately talking with a colleague of mine who was getting a little bored with the sales life. He wasn’t too keen on quotas, cold calling, sad clients, massive customers, small prospects and every little thing else in between. He felt, in his personal phrases, that he had “misplaced his drive to reach gross sales.” He’s doing properly in his present gross sales place, there’s little doubt about that, however for lack of a greater term, he’s simply bored with working so onerous. There have been many issues we talked about during this dialog, and I could go on and on about ardour and motivation, but as a substitute I want to go a little larger and speak about the future of his â€" and your â€" profession. You see, my friend was what I name “half-misplaced.” He knew where he was and how to achieve success, however he didn’t know the place he wanted to go. He needed out of sales however didn’t know what else he may do. I’d like to spotlight a few of the take aways I obtained from the dialog, as well as the recommendation I gave him (and would provide you with, too). Define Your Skills If you’re in sales, you then’re in luck. Because your expertise are a match for almost every industry on the market. Granted, sales abilities by themselves could not discover you your dream job, however being able to sell yourself is half the battle. Whatever trade you’re in, take a good hard have a look at your abilities. When I view my very own personal abilities, I perceive that my skill set is not merely “gross sales.” It’s much more difficult than that. Sales to me is only the ability to create value or interest round something. I actually have abilities in negotiations, strategic partnerships, communication, project administration, advertising, Web design, writing, presentation, know-how, SaaS, property administration, real estate, software program, graphic design, plastics, and so on. The list goes on and on. And each one of these abilities is because of my gross sales career and the gross sales positions I’ve held via the years. No matter what your job title is, you've an analogous resume at your finger tips. Let’s imagine my pal was a librarian. They have abilities in group, books, writing, government, nonprofits, authors, communication, CRMs, etc. What if he was a truck driver? They have abilities in transportation, time management, long distance journey, interstate connections, automotive and vans, engine restore, possibly transportation cooling techniques, and so on. If you’re thinking about shifting away from your present career into something completely different, don’t be discouraged when you’ve only held one sort of job. The skills you’ve in-built these jobs are much farther reaching than your title. Is it time to quit your job? Use our FREE workbook to determine whether or not to remain or go. Picture Your Future Life Many professionals make the error of thinking of their future no farther than the next promotion. Sales Rep to Sales Manager, for example. This is a grave mistake, as a result of not often does your career end where you intend or need it to finish. (Click here to tweet this thought.) If you’re solely considering one step forward, then you’re prone to run into the identical scenario my colleague did: stagnation. He solely ever thought of his next step. His next job. His subsequent raise. His subsequent sale. While this limited focus has its place, it’s not often when talking about your professional life as a whole. You always need to be pondering a number of steps forward. What comes after you’re promoted to Sr. Sales Executive? Sales Manager? Director of Sales? COO? CEO? Do you want to handle a small group or an entire division? Do you even wish to be a supervisor, or are you okay with being an individual contributor? Think about what you want in life and use that desire to g oal your focus. Reach Out to Your Network The best thing my colleague did was attain out to his network, myself included. There are two causes this is at all times a fantastic thought: concepts and opportunities. Like I talked about before, he didn’t know what he would do if he left sales. His complete profession was in sales. That’s all he knew, or so he thought. I was capable of give him a broader view of his abilities and how they'd relate to different positions and careers. I gave him ideas for subsequent steps, including opportunities I thought he’d be an excellent match for. By getting this exterior perspective, he was capable of open his thoughts as much as a whole new world of potentialities. There’s No Time Like the Present Although I did give him a different view of how to take a look at his talent set, one different thing I need to point out is that I additionally instructed he have a look at his present job to see why he’s lost his ardour and if there was something that he, or the company, might do to vary his thoughts. He was already successful and well established within the company and trade, and if he may make some slight modifications, then maybe a move out of gross sales wouldn’t be the most suitable choice in spite of everything. But if after looking into that he still wanted to maneuver on, then doing it immediately is one of the best thing. The last thing you need is to be depressing in a job. It doesn’t allow you to and it won’t help the company. Are you “half-lost”? How can you use these steps to begin to find your method once more? Share within the comments! This submit initially appeared on the Sales Pro Blog. Image: Flickr