I recently had lunch with a client who has led and managed multiple successful sales teams. What I’ve always admired about this client is that he never lets the pressure of running a company affect his positive outlook on life. When you ask him how things are going, his favorite response is, “living the dream.”
Our lunch conversation turned to the topic of stress. I was curious to learn his perspective on how he managed stress, especially during these times of the “great resignation,” on-going pandemic, supply chain issues and you fill in the rest.
His advice: Teach salespeople how to deal with and manage stress. It’s part of life.
“It doesn’t matter what company you work for, there will be a degree of stress. People that work for small sales organizations complain about lack of resources. People that work for large sales organizations complain about bureaucracy. There is always plenty to get stressed about--if that is your focus.”
Include stress management as part of your one-on-one coaching sessions. Talk about and teach your salespeople how to manage stress in order to perform at their optimum level, regardless of what’s happening in their life.
One of my favorite topics is teaching salespeople the concept of locus of control. A salesperson with internal locus of control believes he can control his outcomes. As a result, he doesn’t default to depression or victim thinking. A salesperson that takes control lowers stress because he is taking action. And because he takes action, he wins more business.
A salesperson with an external locus of control believes her success is determined by external factors. Her belief is that unless the sales stars are perfectly aligned, she can’t be successful. As you already guessed, this individual feels helpless, anxious AND STRESSED! She is always waiting for someone else, something else to make her happy.
Which salesperson do you believe will be more successful?
Here’s a few coaching questions that will help your sales team focus on what they can control.
Where is your focus?
What is in your control?
What is out of your control? Will worrying about “that” change the situation?
Teach your sales team how to manage stress. It will improve sales results and sales happiness.
Good Selling!
