The Pressure Is Always On

In a sales environment, especially when dealing with large and complex deals, the pressure is always on. Most sales people are exceptionally paranoid about every single aspect of each deal to an extremely micro molecule. It is very easy for the stress to completely take over your life causing a negative impact in other areas such as spending time with you family, sleep, eating. In previous worlds, the expectation was that this is just part of the job and it is a make it or break it field. But I think the environment is now changing and what allows me to sleep well at night is perfectly summed up on the Kobe Bryant video “Better: Mamba Forever”. 

I am completely inspired by this advert and the different element of Bryant’s philosophy and career. Do the simple things right and be better every day, not just in one area but in all areas where you can. This doesn’t mean to win everything or to be the best at everything, but to simply be better than you were yesterday.

In a Sales environment, this is especially important because it is easy to let short term results define you which causes a disillusioned benchmark. What you should be asking is did I do the right thing, did I improve my client focus, did I bring value. Your answer to these questions could be no and you can still win a deal, but over the long run, I do not believe it will serve as a sense of fulfillment.

But what really helps me to absorb the pressure above and beyond other things, which is also mentioned in the advert is when I ask whether have I been a better father, better husband, better son. The answer is not always yes, but this is the true benchmark. I remember once the anxiety and nerves the night before a big pitch. I could not eat and felt had a severe headache. I took a step back to put everything into perspective. To my family, it did not matter. Suddenly, I felt the weight off my shoulders and just tried my best to be better.