3 Truths to Combat Imposter Syndrome
The imposter syndrome in sales is REAL.
Ever hit your number and thought, "Maybe I just got lucky"? Or missed quota and wondered, "What if I’m actually bad at this?"
Success and failure often come down to three factors you learned early on, but might have forgotten:
➡️ Territory: Like it or not, the accounts you're assigned (or choose to pursue) shape your opportunity. A mediocre rep with a gold mine territory will outperform a rockstar with scraps.
➡️Talent: Your skills matter. Let's take a mediocre territory. Give that to a stellar rep, and they'll get an incredible amount of lift out of it. Give that same patch to a not-so-hot rep, and you'll see not-so-hot results.
➡️ Timing: Sometimes it's just about being in the right place at the right time. I've watched average sellers ride market waves to the President's Club, while some of the best in the business battle against unforeseen economic headwinds, company and leadership changes, all of which are completely out of your control. Sometimes, timing works in your favor; other times, it just doesn’t.
Timing is the part everyone seems to narrowly focus on; using it as a reason to:
—discredit their own abilities ("It was just good timing!"),
—avoid ownership of mistakes ("It was just bad timing!"),
—dismiss others' success ("They just got lucky!"),
—give unwarranted credit ("They crushed their number this week. In order to succeed, I must replicate exactly what they’re doing!").
But fixating on timing (or territory, or talent) alone misses the big picture. Looking at one piece of the puzzle doesn’t tell the entire story of success or failure in sales.
The truth is, your performance is determined by a blend of factors that are both within and outside your control.
The job isn't exclusively about inputs and outputs. It's far more nuanced than that.
Will some people win because they got lucky? Sure. But even with good timing, you have to recognize opportunity when it presents itself. And that skill shouldn't be discredited either.
The point is — stop beating yourself up when things aren't perfect. And when things work out in your favor, try to relish in the success. Maybe you actually did have something to do with it.
The best salespeople acknowledge these realities and focus on maximizing what they CAN control with a learning mindset, and stop obsessing over the things they can't. And the best sales leaders?
They do their best to create fair territories, recognize market timing, and develop and support employees with all of the “three T's” in mind.
Tired of the imposter syndrome rollercoaster?
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