Memorial Day is here and COVID restrictions are being lifted, it's time to start planning that summer vacation we missed last year! There's only one problem, you still have a quota...

The pressure of having a quarterly or monthly quota can deter sales people from taking vacation, but the truth is, vacation is a necessary part of the equation to reaching success. Vacation gives our body the chance to rest and revive so that we can continue to reach our peak performance. Without taking small and extended breaks we inevitably burn out.

So, how do you take vacation without constantly worrying?

Book it now and immediately block the time on your calendar - Having the vacation booked and blocked on your calendar will give you the confirmation needed to mentally and physically start planning a work free break.

Communicate - Discuss the vacation time with your manager during a 1:1 meeting and follow that up with an email reminding them off the time you're taking. This will prepare them to help support you both leading up to and during your scheduled time off. It's also important to communicate your vacation time with your prospects and customers. Be very clear early on in the sales process of dates that you will be unavailable, so there aren't any surprises or confusion when they can't get in touch with you.

*Important note: Prospects and customers are human, which means they LOVE vacations, too. Communicating your vacation time with them can often lead to escalated timelines and securing proposals before expected. As long as it's not rushing the prospect or customers timeline, you can use your vacation as a deadline to get things executed.

Delegate - Proactively delegate account coverage during your scheduled time off. Figure out whether your manager, a team lead or peer will be stepping in to cover for you when you're out. If leads are proactively rotated to you, make sure you're taken out of lead distribution so you can TRULY UNPLUG. I know this sounds crazy, but trust me, you NEED IT.

Ask for help - If you feel like you can't take a much needed vacation because you've been struggling to hit quota recently, ask for help. Be open and honest with your manager around your fears and ask them to help you build a plan so you feel comfortable taking a vacation. A sample plan could look like:

• Increased touches - More dials, video outreach and LinkedIn messaging than usual

• Target Account focus - Build a strategic outreach plan. Audit who you are reaching out to and why? Are you working smarter and not harder?

• Goal Setting - Build a closed/won revenue target with your manager that will make you feel excited about booking a vacation. As soon as you hit that goal, BOOK YOUR TIME OFF!

• Tight forecasting - Look at your historical trends (when you hit quota) and compare those to your current pipeline. Make adjustments if needed. This will increase your likelihood to hit quota again.

• How many total opportunities do you need to create?

• How many of those do you need to win?

• Is there an industry you have a high close rate with?

• What was your average deal size?

You can and need to take vacation, but in order to really enjoy it, you need to prepare and build a plan so that you can actually unplug.

Written By: Tara Ryan