Wellness in Sales

There’s a reason they say, “Sales is a grind.” Historically, the work of sales has taken a toll on the body and mind of sales professionals. Thankfully more people are talking about the problem, and more awareness is helping some sales professionals avoid health and wellness pitfalls associated with their job.

Here are some common obstacles that can hurt sales professionals if long-term health management steps aren’t taken:

Rejection 

There’s a physiological response to rejection, and for most people, it involves raised cortisol levels, adrenaline hormones, low heart rate variability or HRV (a key indicator of stress), and mental distress. Sales professionals experience far more rejection than other roles because their job is to ask as many qualified prospects as possible to adopt their solutions.

For some people, the last time they directly asked for any type of acceptance was when they got down on one knee and proposed marriage. But sales professionals put themselves out there regularly with full knowledge that at least 70% of prospects will turn them down. Rejection is especially present in front-line sales channels, where workers face spirited rejection multiple times a day.

Volatility

Another stress-causing agent is the potential for compensation volatility. Since sales professionals get paid largely based on the deals they close, there is potential for major upside. But there’s also the potential they could have a very low month or a quarter. A noticeable dip often follows a stent of high production due to pipeline neglect. Sales professionals sometimes feel like they are on a roller coaster ride regarding their paychecks.

Monotony

For sales professionals who offer one service or focus on a narrow set of solutions, the job can get old very fast. Humans crave variety to some extent. Sales professionals can have the same conversations over and over again with little deviation. Over time the repetition can lead employees in sales to want to change products, change job roles, or change the company they work for simply to break the cycle and reintroduce variety into their career.

Stagnation

The career of a sales professional can stagnate. They acquire a lot of knowledge and experience over time as they’ve solved problems and overcome objections to win business. Indefinitely, they’ll want to make use of their knowledge and experience as a manager of their own sales team. But promotion may not happen for a long time because traditionally sales teams have to grow quite large before another sales manager role becomes available. The wait creates a feeling of stagnation internally. Salespeople can feel like they are not reaching their full potential and feel trapped or boxed in, and typecast in their role as a worker bee and producer.

Too busy for health

It has been said before that “sales is not a job, it’s a lifestyle,” and one of the biggest stressors of the role might be tied to this very notion. Salespeople are always on the go, interfacing with prospects and customers at their convenience, which could be weekends and evenings. They often talk on the phone and sit in front of a computer for many hours at a time. It can be hard to set aside time for themselves. Sometimes they choose off-work activities that are quick fixes to escape job anxiety. Drinking and drug use are up in the sales profession.

What Can Companies Do?

As bleak as the landscape can potentially be in the sales profession, sales offers a huge upside of uncapped compensation and autonomy (no one questions a top producer). A career in sales can be bright and full of rewards. Companies can support the sales arm of their organization using TaskHuman to usher in career success and well-being for sales employees.

Sharpen Career Skills

TaskHuman’s coaching platform offers coaching targeted toward the sales profession specifically that can help salespeople get control of their sales process and reduce stress related to their role. Sales coaches with years of sales experience can help associates and sales leaders deal with the pressure they face and reduce the negative effects it can have on their wellness and productivity. They can help salespeople manage their emotions and teach them techniques to let go of their day when they’re driving home. Sales coaches can address personal discipline and accountability. They can push employees to commit to having a full pipeline for its ability to reduce anxiety. Coaches can teach salespeople ways to add variety to their day and increase productivity at the same time. They can also help sales associates prepare for leadership and teach them how to step up and lead in their current roles. With all of these skills in hand, employees are far more likely to get promoted and enjoy a longer career stint at the same company.

Change The Sales “Lifestyle”

Health and wellness coaches can help sales professionals transform their lifestyles and combat the habits symptomatic of so many people working in sales. Expert health and wellness coaches can help salespeople strongly correlate taking care of themselves to their work success. Coaching sessions can take place at work as a scheduled break that requires the employee to pull themselves out of what they’re doing to refocus and maintain their wellness. Health and wellness coaches can help salespeople become aware of eating and sleeping habits and change personal choices to better support optimal health. They can provide outlets for salespeople to engage in non-work-related intellectually stimulating activities. On the TaskHuman coaching platform, employees can explore gardening, cooking, creative writing, yoga, meditation, and many more hobbies.  Sales professionals can try expert-led physical activities to channel job stress and actually restructure it for energetic motivation. Coaches are available to introduce the activities that different people enjoy, like weight lifting, walking and jogging, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). An enjoyable workout routine will likely stick!

TaskHuman’s coaching platform makes an especially strong impact in the world of sales. There are too many reasons to support sales professionals and too many ways for salespeople to become miserable. Keep your revenue generators happy and healthy with TaskHuman.

To learn more Book a Demo to see how TaskHuman can support your global team needs.

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