Surviving Sales!

In sales, our emotional state – also known as our mood – is more important than in nearly any other profession. You’d be hard pressed to find a successful salesperson who’s constantly in a foul mood, but the inverse is quite common. In fact, mood affects our decision making so dramatically that research has shown that a person’s mood can influence how they process advertising. The ability to regulate one’s mood is a skill that can be critical to sales success.

But how do we control something that seems all-encompassing and so deeply intertwined with who we are as human beings? Thankfully, there are things every person can do to exert some control over their mood.

1. Pay attention to your emotions

Identifying that you feel a certain way can help you understand your mood, and put you on a path to better emotional regulation. Pay attention to your emotions, especially to the things that seem to affect them, whether it’s talking to prospects, engaging with coworkers, or even certain times of the day. You may see patterns emerge, which will allow you to adjust your behavior and schedule accordingly. Once you’ve become adept at identifying that you feel a certain way, you can make changes instead of simply going through the motions.

2. Focus on your activity instead of the outcome

You can’t control the way a prospect, your coworkers, or your sales managers behave, and you can’t control the leads, or the economy, or your company’s product. But you can control how you spend your time, and how much effort you put into your own activity. Focus on the things you can do something about, and understand – really understand – that there’s a lot that’s outside of your control. If you do this instead of ruminating about things you have no say in, you will have more control over how you feel. And it’s never a bad idea to channel your negative energy into getting things done.

3. Keep a journal

Writing after a hard day’s work might be the last thing you want to do, but keeping a journal can be as simple as spending a few minutes a day to highlight what you think is important. Over time, you’ll see that a journal can help you prioritise your goals, gain insight into your problems, and track your day-to-day behaviours and the emotions that accompany them. After a while, you’ll hopefully see patterns to better understand what’s happening at work and how you feel about it. You might be shocked at what happens when you put some distance between your to day to day life and how you actually feel about it when given the benefit of hindsight.

4. Unplug

'Hustle culture' has many people believing you should never stop working; from the early morning until the late evening and weekends and holidays too… the hustle should never stop, ever. This deranged mindset, glorified by social media memes and bombastic motivational speakers, is the fastest route to burnout, which will keep you further from your dreams of Rolls Royces and tropical holidays than ever before. Unplugging, on the other hand, can be an effective way to recharge your batteries and make you more effective, energetic, and positive at work. It can be as simple as a quiet walk around the park, or a half an hour of meditation – but carve out some time and put the screens away. They’ll be there when you get back.

5. Eat better & exercise

Some salespeople say that you’ll have to come pry the energy drink from their cold dead hands, but the temporary boosts we get from copious amounts of caffeine and fast food are fleeting, and the crash inevitably comes (along with caffeine-induced anxiety and irritation). Of course, giving up coffee may be a bit too far you, but cleaning up your diet and adding a regular exercise routine has been proven to help improve mood, along with a myriad of other physical and mental health benefits. If you want to take charge over how you feel, this is a logical (and great) place to start.

6. Practice gratitude

It’s easy to focus on what’s going wrong in our lives, and we’re wired in a way that often, we can’t help it. But focusing on what’s right, or what we’re thankful for, can actually make us feel better. Maybe your biggest prospect cancelled at the last minute, or your sales manager is getting on you about your numbers, or you hate the changes taking place at your company. But what if you thought about how badly you wanted your job to begin with, or how you’re able to provide for your family, or that your sales role allows you to spend weekends doing the things you love? Reframing the way you experience the world is a powerful way to improve your mood, and has the added benefit of reminding you why you might be luckier than you think.