Take The Stress Out Of Sales

You may think it’s also impossible to sell without stress.  Maybe absolutely no stress is the dream, but less stress is certainly possible.  Here’s what you can do.  

Know what sets you off.  Each behavioral style is stressed differently.  People who are organized and plan their day are stressed when they can’t stick to their schedule. The extroverted, social types might be stressed when they have to stop having fun talking to people and actually fill out some paperwork and meet a deadline.  Goal oriented individuals who are driven to accomplish their tasks are stressed when people slow them down.  Others who need to please people are stressed if they get their feelings hurt through remarks that they interpret as hurtful, regardless of the intent. If you are aware of what stresses you personally, you can try to avoid those stressors. 

We’re all in trouble.  Most people are doing too much, are not eating right and not exercising.  Physical exercise is the number 1 stress buster.  Another area to control stress is to realize where one’s weaknesses are in selling and address it rather than worry about it.  Many salespeople spend a lot of time worrying about a particular aspect of sales instead of learning more about the areas that would help them perform better.  Look at your sales process and identify where you are weakest and then do something about it.   There are numerous experts you could learn from by reading their books. You also can strengthen your network. Someone is better than you are in that problem area. Successful people will want to help you. You can find a mentor like someone else in your company or even your sales manager.  Most salespeople don’t want to point out their weaknesses to their manager. It shouldn’t be a concern.  Most managers already know their staff’s weaknesses because part of their job is people development.

Get it on paper. Use scheduling to increase productivity.  DuPont found a 25% increase in productivity by using a written daily action list. Electronic scheduling is also fine.  Getting your schedule on paper is a stress buster because it frees up your thinking from having to remember what you have scheduled.  Just know your limits of what you can accomplish to make a more accurate schedule.  Why have 25 tasks on the list when you know you can only accomplish one? Most tasks expand to take up the time you’ve allotted for them. To increase productivity you can overfill your schedule a little by allocating just enough time to complete a task and not more.

It’s also important to be working on the tasks that are important, but not emergencies. If you have all “A” tasks on your list, that’s an indication that you’re always fighting fires. Focus on having a To Do list composed of 80% “B” items and 20% “A” items. Just make sure you schedule what you don’t want to do, but need to do. Filing might be that task.  Your office environment impacts your productivity.  If you work among clutter, the piles become stressful because each stack reminds you of work that isn’t getting done.  Schedule the time to file and reduce your stress.  Avoid procrastination at all costs. Procrastination is stress producing. 

There are many aspects of selling that are beyond a salesperson’s control.  What is in your control is to take responsibility for controlling your own stress. That could be your first item to schedule on your To Do list.