A Work/Life Balance For Successful Salespeople? I Don't Think So...
Chris Crombie
Chief Growth Officer / 2X Exits / Software and Services Executive / Investor
Here are things that I know as fact: 1. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. 2 . There were dinosaurs (well I least I think there were.) 3. The FANG stocks are made up of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (or is it Apple?) 4. Great sales people work more than 40 hours a week and struggle to find a work/life balance.
There, I said it. The reality is that there really isn't a work/life balance if you want to be successful in sales. Oh I'm sure some of you will claim that you can get all of your work done in 40 hours, retire to bed at 9:00PM, and forget about your job the moment you step out the front door. But I call BS.
I always enjoy reading some of the great articles on the ways people are finding a balance between their work life and their home life. The authors who seem to have found the holy grail in the work/life balance have found some great ways to meditate, they seemingly take all of their vacations, and they even put smiles on their faces as the first thing they do when they get up from a long nights sleep. These are all great things, except the vacation part, and I am sure it helps. But there are a few things I know when it comes to being successful in sales.
- Be prepared to respond back to clients, prospects, and employees in real time, no matter what time it is. 2:00AM is not too late.
- You cannot live without your phone, and it has to be within 3 feet of you at all times. I suggest Velcro for those of you who seemingly lose their phones each day.
- Real time response wins.
- Vacations are great for people that are seemingly 70% of their quota each year. I don't call it a vacation anymore. I call them work-ations. You unfortunately still have to work while on them.
- Your home life will be affected in some way, shape or form. If you travel for work, be prepared for your kids to not recognize you at some point. I find the Facetime app to be killer.
- You will ask yourself why you put yourself through the grind and rigors of it all. Then you will see a paycheck that makes it all worthwhile and you will push yourself for another quarter.
- You will hate your boss at some point. You will use words like jerk, A-hole, and potentially more serious words that only those people below quota will know.
- You will look for other jobs more regularly than most.
- You will feel the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
- Regular check ups are in order. Especially the blood pressure one.
Uggh, when is my next work-ation?
CPG Sales/Merchandising/Marketing Leader
7 年After reading this, I am by far the WORST sales person in the history of LinkedIn. Seriously though, there is always a time to put in very long days, answer calls at 2AM , nights and weekends to settle urgent matters. You have to allow time to prep and plan for upcoming days and months. You sometimes even have to miss important things in life due to unforeseen emergencies at work. BUT...... to me, there is NO job out there worth it that requires me to have no life. I have made many sacrifices in my 30 years in the business, but there needs to be a line drawn in the sand. Have to ask, who is going to be sitting by you in your death bed???? The clients that bothered you at 2 am .... OR the family and friends you blew off to have a successful career selling stuff?
Emarketing No Excuses, Just Results!
7 年You are close to correct as can be, I think I'd be lost today using the old you can sell it if you believe in he product.
Pharmacy Consultant at Altitude 7 Group
7 年My heart goes out to all of you who see yourself in this post. But ultimately at the end of a day, you are the winner. People will remember you. I started work at 07:00, drove over 35K miles each year and was home at nights to finish e-mails and research at 23:00. Now that I'm semi-retired, I still get calls and e-mails from former customers. Was it worth it? Yes because what was accomplished in helping people by answering their questions outside my job description and being the person competition sent their customers to (grrrrrr) has paid off in long time friendships.
Digital Media Founder | Divergent Records & Wish I Was Grounded | Redefining Luxury with Personalized Music for Brands, Events, and Experiences
7 年Nailed it! I wake at 3:30 am to get in my gym time before the grind, and first thing I do after I grab my coffee is return emails. People are usually shocked I'm responding at that time, until they experience why, and my “Get ER done.”