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Dear Quota Team

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I'm having a rough December. I sell to enterprise, so sales cycles are long, and the fastest I've ever closed a deal has been 4 weeks. I had three different deals in play and I was counting on at least one of them to close by EOY so that I could hit my number. Two of them decided they wanted to hold off and continue the conversation in the new year, and the other one just informed me last Friday that they decided to go with another vendor. Basically, my year is shot. I don't have any other opportunities in the pipeline that seem closeable before EOY. This will be the 2nd year in a row where I'll miss my quota at this company. There's little to no chance that I can get a new deal in play before the end of year as everyone is pretty much checked out at this point. Honestly, I'm feeling a bit depressed and have no motivation to keep pushing. I'm not even sure if sales is right for me anymore… What should I do?

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Devastated in Location withheld 

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Dear Devastated,

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Here’s the thing: that feeling of failure you’re experiencing is just part of the sales game. Understand it. Embrace it. Then push on. You said there's little to no chance that you can get a deal in play before EOY. Well, one thing’s for sure: if you don't believe in yourself and don't put in the effort, you're absolutely right — there is no chance. The last end of year push is where great salespeople are made. Get back out there and give it your all, you might surprise yourself. If you try, you might win. But if you quit, you lose, no exceptions.