Here's how you can handle stress and pressure in a high-demanding sales role.

In a high-pressure sales environment, staying organized is your shield against stress. A messy desk and scattered to-do lists can quickly snowball into missed deadlines and forgotten leads. By keeping your contact information, call notes, and sales pipeline well-organized, you'll enter each interaction feeling prepared and confident, reducing the scramble and anxiety that can arise from disarray.

In a high pressure sales role, time management is your friend, but only if you do it properly. Keeping everything in order and up to date and on target is paramount if you don't want it all to fall apart and send you sobbing into a dark corner. Personally, I use the Eisenhower Matrix to keep clarity around my 'To Do' list and to keep myself and the team on the right track. Organised and focused salespeople sell better. It's as simple as that. Knowing where you are with your leads means that you are less likely to miss any of them and the frustration that follows.

In a high-pressure sales environment, setting realistic goals is key to managing stress. By setting achievable targets, you'll avoid burnout and frustration, and instead focus on steady progress. This allows you to celebrate milestones and stay motivated, making the pressure more manageable.

Goal setting cannot be avoided if you are in a sales environment. Yes it's good to stretch the targets but don't make them seem completely out of reach. If you do then your team just won't bother and the whole plan comes crumbling down! Short/Medium/Long term goals will get a better result and reduce the stress levels. Short term goals give you quick wins and long term give focus. The medium term goals can be used to give a little push towards the long term aim and they're another box ticked on your goals list.

Practice stress management techniques: Engage in regular physical exercise, such as running, cycling, or yoga, which can help reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Practice deep breathing exercises or meditation to calm your mind and promote relaxation. Incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine to stay present and focused. Take short breaks throughout the day to recharge and avoid burnout.

Imagine you decide to take care of your health from tomorrow. You are sure that tomorrow is the 1st day of your new life....BUT WAIT.... You get up in the morning. What are your first thoughts? Let me guess: Worrysome; anxiety driven of who has emailed/whats apped you or the stress to do what you couldn't complete yesterday If you open your email and see you have only 2 new emails which are 'non-urgent', you might have a good day; but what if you see 10 emails and 3 need your attention 'as soon as you see them' Do you get it? You are in self-destruction mode and thus feel exhausted even after a good 6-8 hour sleep. PLEASE learn to retrain your mind, body & emotions everyday. More on this when LinkedIn gives me more space to write :(

After 25+ years as a Sales Trainer/Coach I still take time to learn and improve. It has been known for me to say that if I ever say that I'm the best then I've stopped learning and I should retire! As Sales Coaches we should absolutely always be learning and improving our knowledge. It boosts your own confidence and credibility and reassures the clients. Constantly learning equates to adaptability and adaptability leads to you being able to answer any question that you are faced as a Sales Coach. If you are constantly working on your own knowledge and ability that feeds down to the people you are coaching. As a coach, when the people you coach win, then you win.

Leverage technology and automation: Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software or other sales tools to streamline processes and increase efficiency. Automate repetitive tasks or administrative work to free up time for high-value activities. Explore productivity apps or software that can help you stay organized and focused.

Besides using technology for repetitive and administrative tasks,we need sales people who are good at 'closing'. For new products and not so branded products, you need highly efficient front end sales people. Developing such tough and smart generations requires special training( e.g.US Navy SEALS). For low priced consumer products, average joe with basic training is sufficient.