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By Colleen Francis

Sales and Recruits slumping? Having a slump is not the end of the world, so long as it's short, temporary and you know what to do about it.

First - don't panic! If you're in panic mode, you can't be creative, and creativity is exactly what you need right now. Besides, just as dogs can smell fear in humans, prospects can smell desperation in staffing professionals. If you panic, your prospects will sense that you're desperate, and they'll avoid you like last night's leftover Tuna Surprise. Just take a deep breath, stay calm and focus on what needs to be done.

Next, don't get down on yourself. Think about a time in your past when you were in a similar situation, and how you were able to climb out if it. Focus on that positive experience, instead of focusing on the negative.

Third, don't get angry. Anger will be misinterpreted by your clients, recruits and managers as being emotional or out of control. When you're in a slump more than at any other time, you need to be totally in control, and assure others around you that you know exactly what to do.

Last but most definitely not least, don't quit! The worst thing you can do during a slump is to stop trying. The Chicago White Sox were on the verge of a 90-year slump before winning the World Series in 2005. Yet during that entire period, their team motto stayed the same: "Win, or die trying." Guess it paid off for them in the end.

To help you snap out of a slump and get your year  on track, try some of the following tips, adapted from the strategies of the Top 10% both inside and outside the staffing business:

1. Reconnect to your plan.

Review your goals and either recommit to the action plan you set for yourself at the beginning of the year - or create a new one!

2. Get back to basics.

Once, after Tiger Woods had spent hours on the practice green sinking hundreds of puts, a commentator asked him why he was still practicing considering how consistent he had been. Tiger responded: "I don't like the way the ball is rolling into the cup." That's mastering the basics.

If you're in a slump, start by looking internally, not externally. Remember that the slump is your slump, not someone else's. Be strong enough to realize this, and take corrective action.

3. Work smarter and harder.

Think of 10 things you could do this week to work more effectively. Then commit to working just a little bit harder until you're out of this bad spell. So you have to be out of "balance" for a short time. Would you rather that you're out of balance, or your checkbook? The choice is yours.

4. Get a coach.

Have someone you respect listen to your phone calls, watch you at networking events and evaluate your presentations. This could be a manager, a colleague, a friend or a hired gun. Whoever you choose, ask them to be honest with you, and when they are, do something with the advice they give you.

5. Coach yourself.

Video or audio tape your presentations and calls, and be honest with yourself. Would you buy from you? Better yet, ask for an expert opinion. Would your manager buy from you?

6. Change your presentation.

Maybe it's time to turn your presentation style upside down, or inside out. What you're doing now obviously isn't working, so if you want a different result, you have to do something different. Try starting with the end, or in the middle.

7. Stay away from life suckers.

You know who they are. The other recruiters, colleagues, family or friends who lies in wait at the water cooler, just so they can whine, moan and complain to whatever poor, parched soul happens to wander by. The one lurking in the lunchroom way past 1pm to tell you about how nothing is ever right, and they're always getting the short end of the stick.

8. Get to work earlier.
Yes, I know, you're already screaming at me: "Colleen, I need balance!" Not while you're in a slump, you don't. Right now, you're behind, and you need to do something about it. Only the mediocre use balance as their battle cry during a slump. So suck it up for this short period, and save the balance until you're back on top.

9. Change your mood.

Listen to your favorite song, comedian or motivational speaker in the car on your way to your next sales meeting. This will help put you into an excellent, upbeat mood when you start your presentation, which will cause you to shine - and your prospect to take a shine to you.

10. Change your environment.

This could be as simple as de-cluttering your office. It's impossible to feel fresh and excited about what you do if you can't see your desk. A chaotic work environment will make you depressed to be there, and if you're depressed to be at work, you won't snap out of your slump.

11. Follow a leader.

Trail the best sales person you know on their calls for a day. See what they're doing differently than you, and how you can incorporate those ideas in your business. Note that this doesn't have to be someone from the office. You can learn a lot from watching sales people in other industries, too.

12. Prove that money can buy a little happiness.

Buy something you can't afford. This is radical, I know, and not many of you will like this idea or think it's responsible of me to suggest it. But it works better for me than any other "counter slump maneuver" I know of, so I felt it wouldn't be right not to at least share the possibility with you.

Of course, I don't mean racking up all your credit cards to the limit buying gold toilets, and then spending the next twenty years paying them off at 21% interest. What I mean - and what I personally do - is book a first-class trip for 6 months from now. Then, I have to make more sales to earn the money to go. Or book a training class 9 months from now, and again you'll be motivated to sell more in order to pay for it. I don't know about you, but for me, the "coming into work early" and all the other hard tasks on this list get a whole lot easier to embrace when I know that I have a trip to Hawaii coming up in a few months, which I really don't want to cancel.

Know what motivates you. Be disciplined - it's the one thing that separates the best from the mediocre - and stay focused on those activities that you know will pull you out of the slump. And remember to keep it all in perspective.

You are responsible for your slump, and only you can change it. But you can change it, and once you accept the fact that you can reverse your fortune, you'll already be on the road to recovery.

Believe in yourself. I know you can do it.

Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.

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