If you’re in sales, you’ve had to deal with the stresses that come along with selling. While some people thrive on the stress, others can crumble underneath it. Listen, we all have stress whether you’re in sales or not, but what’s concerning is that recent studies have shown that individuals in sales typically overlook the emotional impact that stress can have on their lives. And according to stress.org, 83 percent of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress each day. (…yeah, that’s a lot of stressed-out people!)
The good news is this can be corrected if one learns how to recognize the patterns in their life and take actions to help diminish the effects of stress at work. Some patterns to look for include the need to always be “on,” that you always have to be “crushing” your numbers, and the balance between one’s short-term and long-term goals. For example, if you’re not meeting the expectations of management, you can often feel like you have nowhere to turn — and lead to unhealthy habits that can cause one to go deeper into the stress cycle.
Does this sound familiar? It’s okay if it does! Why? Because here are just a few ways that you can reduce your stress level.
Rest Up
It is common for sales professionals to never shut off when it comes to sales. They take calls late at night and early in the morning and constantly find themselves refreshing their email inbox. Listen, take a break and toss the phone to the other side of the room. You need to make sure you are setting boundaries to help you have a balanced life, including setting a curfew for your mobile devices before bed. Make sure you stick to a schedule of going to bed in time to get at least six to eight hours of rest. Personally, I also try not to check emails first thing in the morning. Great ready for your day prior to digging into the day’s worth of work. I assure you, it helps!
Exercise
Working out has tremendous effects on your mental and physical health. During the day when you feel stress coming on, take 10 minutes and go for a walk to clear your head or choose to do your next conference call while walking the dog. Getting up and outside of your normal work atmosphere is okay and will drastically help.
Don’t Take Things Personally
Sales professionals typically want to be liked by everyone. But in sales, rejection is part of the job so it is important to learn not to take everything to heart or it can start to grind on you. Thanks to a very near and dear friend, we have adopted a motto here at P1 Learning. Here it is. “Some will. Some won’t. So what? Move on”. We can’t solve everyone’s problems… as much as we want to, we just can’t. So if we can’t get someone to agree to our proposal or to set up a simple CNA, that’s okay. Move on and come back to them at a later date. This mentality really helps with rejection.
Listen to Music
Music has a great ability to lift one’s spirits when stressed. When your mood is changed by music, you can think about things differently. Yes, permission to blast your favorite song… but perhaps toss in your earbuds so you don’t disrupt your coworkers.
Take Time Off
Self-care in sales is critical. If you are feeling stress is having an impact on your mental health, it is time to take some time off and recharge. Successful people know that taking time off to recharge their batteries is essential to their success in the workplace. Stay home, hit the beach, or take that family trip to Walley Word. Time away from the office will do you good!
Let Your Team Know When You are Stressed
If you are feeling stressed in sales, more than likely your teammates are as well. Talk with your team to see if you can share best practices with one another that would help create a safe and supportive environment for one another. With over 80 percent of others suffering from stress, I can safely say… you’re not alone.
Alright, this is just the start of what you can do to help you manage your stress — and these tools can apply to any area of your life. We offer an entire Stress Management suite of video courses that can help you, your employees or your colleagues de-stress their lives. Log in to your training account to start watching one of our favorites “Stress Management: Avoidable Stress” today! We promise you will be happier if you do.
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