How to Get Fired

Good morning!

Great news! These days, it is easier than ever to lose your sales job. Looking to find new employment and start over? Here’s how …

Once up a time, there were cradle-to-grave jobs where you’d be forced to work for one company. Now, you can get fired as fast as you can say, “Where are you?”

“Where are you?” That’s the question sales managers ask themselves constantly. And make no mistake about it, sales managers spend more than a little time wondering if their sales reps are doing the job. Sure, they see you in the office making calls, but when you leave, who knows where you are going or if sales activities are being practiced?

Other than you, that is.

You see, there is something of a hierarchy of evidence that you’re, you know, meeting the job requirements and all. The easiest example is when you sell something. Ring the cash register with a few orders and — ding, ding — that’s all the evidence necessary to answer the question.

After that, it gets fuzzy.

Think about it, how would you measure your effectiveness if you didn’t have actual sales volume as proof? The minute you leave the office, you take with you all examples of activity. Go to the driving range. Hit the beach. Buy some socks. It all looks the same to your boss.

You are the only one who truly knows whether you are performing the kinds of selling activities or not. Keep it to yourself and you run the very real risk that doubt will seep into the heads of the person whose name goes on the front of the check.

Want to keep getting those checks? Share the information!

How many calls did you make this week? How many appointments? What are you working on? This is the kind of thing you want your manager to know. When sales volume is scarce, it is especially important to overshare. In fact, the more “under” your sales volume is, the more “over” you need to share.

The bad news is, this never ends. Regardless of your tenure, management will always wonder what you are doing. Unless it really is your goal to get fired, you’ll want to give a steady flow of information, proof positive that you are walking the walk.

And, oh, now is as good a time as ever to send her/him an email.