Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Chloe is a Senior SDR at Spill – a SaaS start-up with the goal of making access to mental health support easy and affordable.

 

Chloe talks about mental health every day, so who better to give a 7-minute talk on imposter syndrome?

 

‘It’s shocking that around 70% of people report these feelings. I was completely unaware of how common it was. I experienced imposter syndrome myself, without even realising it.’

 

Chloe defines impostor syndrome as:

 

It’s extremely common and most of us feel it at one time or another. For example, you may feel this way when you start a new job or move into a more senior role, when you ask yourself, ‘Am I really ready for this?’ When you work with a colleague who is older and more experienced than you, you may feel that you will never be as good as them. 

 

As an SDR, you may feel it when you have positive and negative calls with prospects (as we all do), but you judge yourself harshly on the negative ones, while you put the positive ones down to luck.

 

Fortunately, there are ways to manage these unhelpful thoughts. Here are five techniques you can try to keep the imposter syndrome at bay.

 

Try to get feedback on your performance at every opportunity. Positive feedback makes you feel more competent about your performance, while constructive criticism makes you think about where you can improve. 

 

If you can know in your own mind when imposter syndrome is affecting you, it becomes easier to manage. You can understand that the way you’re feeling about a situation is likely much worse than it actually is.

 

In sales, you will have good weeks and bad weeks. When things aren’t going well, know that the good times will come back as long as you’re consistent in your activity. 

 

We all have targets, whether it’s discovery meetings, booked demos, opportunities, or anything else. But rather than focus solely on your targets, try to celebrate the times when you’ve made a call that went well but didn’t lead to a meeting. Try to look for the positive aspect of something and see how your skills are improving.

 

You don’t know everything, and you never will know everything. It’s okay, so accept it. 

 

It’s fine to say you don’t know something. It’s fine to ask questions so you can find out the answer. No one is judging you for it.

 

LinkedIn is a valuable tool, but it also shows you a false picture of life in sales. If you compare yourself to what you see on LinkedIn, you leave yourself open to imposter syndrome. 

 

Remember, everyone on LinkedIn is only posting the best aspects of themselves. They don’t post about the bad days or the calls that were a disaster. Don’t worry and don’t compare.

 

What are your tips for overcoming imposter syndrome? How do you convince that nagging voice in your head that you are good enough?

 

Share your golden nuggets of advice with the Sales Confidence community by leaving a comment below.