Many sales people, for the first time, are experiencing tough times when it comes to selling and many are not sure how to handle themselves in these difficult situations.

The current climate is, indeed, a test of character.

Many sales people, especially those in their 20’s and 30’s have not likely experienced selling in tough markets before.  For the past 12 years prior to 2008, at least, the business climate in our market place has been, for the most part, buoyant.  As we all know it’s very easy to sell when times are good.

It now begs the question: How well have we prepared ourselves practically, emotionally, and physically to manage our way through these tough times?

In recent weeks and months at Barrett, we have seen an increase in the number of conversations we are having with clients about how to help their salespeople to deal with distressful situations. They are seeking support, coaching and training in how to help sales people and sales managers handle the emotional fallout from the GFC.  The requests for  support and training range from wellbeing, emotional resilience, optimism, stress management, how to re-engage with the team or clients, and how to lead a healthy life.

Not surprisingly, many of these requests have come from the finance and advertising sectors reporting that the current landscape has been one of turmoil and distress. While other sectors have also sort support it is not at the level suggested above.  These business leaders have indicated that many of their clients have been severely affected by the GFC and this has created a significant amount of depression in the market place, also affecting their sales teams.

For instance at a recent management meeting, the sales leaders raised their concerns about how the sales team was handling the distress arising from severely reduced incomes for themselves and their clients and loss of a number of clients from their industry.  They wanted to know what they could do about it because what they were doing by way of standard management practice wasn’t working.  For the first time they are seeking help around emotional resilience, and optimism.

Another business, in the advertising space, reported that their sales team had been hit hard too with lower than expected advertising spend. Management was observing very low motivation levels and rising levels of distress in the team.  They realised that their people didn’t have strategies to cope with this crisis.  They were worried their people were feeling useless and dejected.

The one thing these two sales teams have in common is that their sales people earn significant commission from their sales results.  With their clients in freefall and sales down, these sales people’s earnings were being affected which meant that some are having trouble paying their mortgages, maintaining their life styles, etc.  Certainly reasons for concern, however doing nothing and getting ‘depressed’ isn’t going to help solve their problems.

But it isn’t just the income drop that’s causing concern, another sales team whose incomes are not linked to commissions, also found it hard to remain positive and keep going in the face of adversity.  With clients feeling the pain, these sales people didn’t want to be around the negativity or distress.  It’s almost as if they have chosen to put their fingers in their ears and saying ‘la la la la la’ to block out the stress hoping it all goes away.  Not very useful either.

The sales teams mentioned above are all highly trained and skillful sales people.  They have been trained in appropriate sales skills and processes but many do not have the tools or know-how when it comes to managing their own wellbeing, stress, emotions, and the emotions of others.

If, as is being highlighted, these and other sales people like them are not used to dealing with sets backs, overcoming obstacles or they let the negative sentiments of  others overtake them then their work will suffer.  It will be much harder to achieve results.  This negativity can cloud their thinking and potentially keep them from seeing and realising those ideas and strategies that will get them back on track and producing again.

So what do you rely upon to get you through the tough times?

Besides the obvious sales skills, processes and tools, we need to learn (if we haven’t already) and apply the skills that go to developing strategies for healthy thinking, emotional resilience, optimism, healthy lifestyle practices, etc.

My concern is that many people, especially younger people may not have been in a position to really build up their resilience and toughen up, especially in sales and tough markets like this.  It appears that many don’t seem know how to navigate and manage their thinking and emotions through these times.

Developing emotional resilience and awareness in a variety of situations is vital for your ongoing survival and ability to thrive despite the markets or life’s other circumstance.  Developing emotional resilience supports individuals to better achieve their goals, communicate with and manage other people, and spring back emotionally after suffering through a difficult and stressful time in one’s life.

Some of us might be born with the potential to be more resilient than others but you do not know how resilient you are until you put yourself to the test or life does it for you.  The saying ‘if it doesn’t kill it will make you grow stronger’ is quite apt here.

We can all learn how to be resilient and we can learn from a very early age.

Whether we learn to develop and cultivate our resilience in relatively safe environments like playing both team and individual sports, or learning music and performing at recitals, or we develop resilience via our personal experiences such as developing and losing friendships, or other trials of childhood like playing favourites, not fitting in, learning difficulties, etc., or more extreme difficulties such as  losing a parent to cancer, chronic illness, and other life changing events, all these have an effect on each of us.  How we are taught to deal with and overcome these challenges and learn from them the best way we can is what helps us develop resilience.  If someone else tries to assume responsibility for your journey, even if it is with the best intentions, they are really taking away your ability to learn and grow.

As a parent I know I want my children to be safe and free from harm, however if I cotton wool them from life’s tough experiences then they will not develop their resilience and learn the lessons of life. None of us need ever be a victim when we know we have choices in every moment and we take responsibility for them.

No one can ever be guaranteed of winning. We know we have to work for our successes. We usually  fail more than we succeed but that is par for the course in life.  We need to encourage each other  to pick ourselves up and keep going, learning from our mistakes, stretching ourselves to do better.  It’s about doing our best at whatever we do.  Winning isn’t everything, but doing our best, developing self mastery, taking calculated risks and learning from everything we do is what life was all about.

It is possible to teach people how to develop the skills to enhance their emotional resilience, optimism and ways of thinking and dealing with the world. This information is not new either, it has been around for thousands of years.   We can all encourage a resilient attitude at work and at home.

Here are some tips.

Developing a Resilient Attitude
The first step to becoming more emotionally resilient is the acknowledgment that there is room for improvement and taking the time to learn more about yourself.  The following behaviours and attitudes are some ways in which emotional resilience can be demonstrated and measured:

•    Have realistic and attainable expectations and goals.
•    Show good judgment and problem solving skills.
•    Be persistent and determined.
•    Be responsible and thoughtful rather than impulsive.
•    Be effective communicators with good people skills.
•    Learn from past experience so as to not repeat mistakes.
•    Be empathetic toward other people (caring how others around them are feeling).
•    Have a social conscience, (caring about the welfare of others).
•    Feel good about themselves as a person.
•    Feel like they are in control of their lives.
•    Be optimistic rather than pessimistic.

Selling, as a career, is not for the faint hearted as I have often stated.  Besides good selling skills, quality thinking and solid process it takes courage, self discipline, determination, persistence, the ability to learn from your mistakes, a sense of humour, and a healthy approach to life to lead a healthy sales career.

How do we do this?  Among other things this requires people to have access to insight and self awareness.

In my opinion, we need to help people become more emotionally aware, and resilient in a number of ways.  We need to give people access to tools, processes and assessments that can help them develop insight and strategies to enhance their emotional resilience and allow people to make the most of their capabilities and the situations they find themselves in on a daily basis. Particularly if they have not had the chances to really test themselves in previous roles or earlier in their lives.

Not only do we need to be skilful in selling we need to be skilful in how we manage our wellbeing, our emotions and the emotions of others.

So as I reflect on my life so far and all the challenges and joys that come with it, I am indeed grateful for the gift of resilience, it keeps me growing.

Author: Sue Barrett is Founder & Managing Director of BARRETT

For further information on emotional resilience and other strategies please contact us on (+61) 03 9532 7677 or use this form.

To ensure our strategy is right for you, Barrett can incorporate a range of methods into our work including Emotional Intelligence (EI) theory, Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness and Meditation.   Mind Your Emotions® encompasses a series of programs and facilities Barrett has developed to give people access to tools, processes and assessments that can help them develop strategies to enhance their emotional resilience and allow people to make the most of their capabilities and the situations they find themselves in on a daily basis.

Talk to us about how you can Mind Your Emotions® and develop and enhance emotional resilience.

It is well documented that being healthy (physically, emotionally, and mentally) is vital to leading an effective and productive life.

In sales your health is a critical factor to your success.  Many highly successful sales people I meet are self disciplined in all aspects of their life ensuring they are fit, healthy and well trained in their profession.

Having a healthy sales career is underpinned by the individuals healthy life style, and a well managed business which includes good sales support, clear goals and leadership.

I have written before in a previous post Healthy salespeople, healthy sales about the issues associated with poor health and inconsistent sales, especially the ‘boozy’ culture associated with some sales teams and sales cultures.  Sadly this stereo type if often the only one portrayed in the media further perpetuating this type of behaviour.   Yet this is not the behaviour we see in healthy sales people and sales teams.

However another issue we see more often now is overwork, especially with some high achieving sales people and teams.

We Australians are known for working excessive hours and for not taking our quota of annual leave.   This is not a good recipe for ongoing success as I can attest to myself, having burnout a few years ago from over work.

It is very tempting in these challenging times to work longer and longer hours and one could be (almost) forgiven for not taking time off, feeling the need to work more than ever before.

The problem is if you are already overworked and now further distressed by the current business climate then you could be setting yourself up for bigger problems in the future namely your health.

However the issue of overwork is being further exacerbated in some business sectors by excessive cost cutting, which is leaving sales teams under resourced.  A number of sales people are reporting that they are losing the support people from their teams, or worse still being asked to pick up larger and larger territories when sales people leave and are not replaced.

The conscientious ones will try to pick up the slack and put in more hours trying to make up for the lack of resources.  This then leaves them tired and eventually vulnerable to burn out.

One person I met now has to manage over 300 clients, up from 100, with a full service offering in a complex sales environment which they admitted was impossible. This person is a good operator and takes pride in doing a good job but now they cannot deliver to the standards expected and are left feeling overwhelmed, distressed and demotivated.

While I know we may have some sales people who are not and may never pull their weight and need to go, penalising those who are doing their best to keep sales coming by not resourcing them properly is a recipe for sales and business disaster.

Overwork and lack of support are not recipes for a healthy life, a healthy career or a healthy business.

Burn out due to overwork can be an issue for some high performing sales people in the good times, but let’s not make it worse and create a burnout epidemic by cutting vital sales support such as administration, marketing support, etc. or overburdening our sales people because  we feel the pressure of tough times.

The one thing you cannot afford to lose in this climate are your effective sales performers.

In these challenging times it may seem counter intuitive to take time out, however regularly taking time out to rest, relax, exercise, socialize, be with family, have a small holiday, gain perspective are important to our wellbeing.  This coupled with a healthy diet, and being around people with health mindsets and ‘can do’ attitudes are vital to keep us going.   I would encourage you to encourage your sales people to look after themselves.

And you could look after them by providing appropriate support and being realistic in your business expectations.

These approaches are vital to leading a healthy sales career and team.

Sincerely, your advocate for selling the right way.

I awoke early this morning to the sound of gentle rain falling and found myself immediately praying for more.  This prayer came automatically during one of the most tragic weeks in Victoria’s history with the tragedy of the bush fires in many parts of our state.

As a Victorian I have found myself upping my prayer quotient for rain for some time now, not just for the bush fires but for the many people whose lives are affected by the drought here and elsewhere.  In addition to my prayers, like many families, my family and I have been doing our best to save water and change the size of our carbon foot print.  Yet at times like this one can’t help but feel somewhat helpless and useless.  All I felt I could do under the circumstances was to pray and give money.  And the irony of Australia is that our Queensland cousins have been praying for the rain to stop.  I hope both our prayers come true.

As I lay there that morning thinking about the feelings of helplessness many are feeling in the midst of nature’s power over our collective destiny, it got me thinking about what we can control and what we can’t control and the importance of hope, purposeful action and good news.

It got me thinking about what people do in a time of crisis and how they fight to take back some control and regain their balance, albeit a new balance in many cases.  Witnessing the collective strength, courage, tenacity, compassion and determination of the people directly facing and dealing with the consequences of the fire and floods shows us what we are really made of.   It shows us that despite the grief and suffering we are experiencing we are resilient and determined to begin again.   It shows that people are able to take control and attend to their fellow human beings with kindness, compassion, support and purposeful effort.   It gives many of us hope that we have a shared future, albeit a future that is fundamentally changed forever. It is said that a crisis brings people together and highlights the most amazing qualities in people.

The fire and these human qualities were the key topic at a business leaders forum I am a member of  and attended the other day.  We discussed people’s resilience, determination, courage, creativity and ingenuity to work together and find a new way forward.  We also discussed the importance of giving people hope, clear information, positive news and strong, clear leadership in a time of crisis.

We discussed the fires and the impact on our collective psyche.  This then lead us to discuss more broadly how many people are feeling helpless and somewhat hopeless in the midst of the global financial crisis we find ourselves in now.  The global financial crisis was likened to a fire storm with the bad news still coming.   This association was not meant to detract from or trivialise the bush fires and the terrible consequences for all those directly involved in anyway, however the metaphor of fire and smoke was used to help us think more broadly about the consequences of our actions at all levels during these unprecedented times.

It was stated, among  other things, that the smoke of a fire is usually the most deadly, and many more people die of smoke inhalation rather than from the fire itself.  The ‘smoke,’ in relation to the global financial crisis, was the doom and gloom being spread about the world.  The group felt that the haze of fear and uncertainty which is affecting many in relation to  job losses, financial loss, business closure, family and community breakdowns, etc. is not being properly offset against the creative and positive opportunities for change and learning that also exist in these challenging times.

It was reported that the group had seen some people so distressed they are paralysed by fear and feel unable to see a way forward and take decisive action.  We expressed our concern that this may lead some people doing things that may lead to further grief and turmoil because the ‘smoke’ of fear was choking them.

The media (rightly or wrongly) was singled out by this group as a major culprit for taking a particularly negative stance on offering up a diet of bad news and for not providing a more balanced approach and insight in reporting on constructive, positive, hopeful news stories coming out of these challenging times.  We felt the media could do a lot better in this instance given their influence on our psyche.

Many in the group said they were refusing to watch or read the news now and decided to take a more proactive stand despite the media.  This wasn’t avoidant behavior, they were choosing to clear the smoke and gain a fresh perspective and look at the real evidence at hand.

We discussed that the positives coming out of this financial storm and how this has allowed many people to rethink what they want to do, how they want to really live their lives and run their businesses.  It was commented on that after any fire comes new growth and new opportunity.

We all felt that this financial crisis, as challenging as it is, gives us all the opportunity to create a ‘new’ normal.

We talked about people, businesses and communities, who despite the haze of gloom and doom are not taking this major crisis lying down.  They are looking for signs of growth, for collaboration, for a ‘new normal.  They are bucking the trend of despair and fighting back, dealing with adversity and seeing the world a new.  It is what we as humans do to give us hope.

Our group said we wanted to see more of these constructive, positive stories about what people are actually doing to make the most of their situations represented more in the media.   We want to hear and have broadcasted how people are creating their ‘new’ normal, their ‘new’ ways of doing business and how they are working collaboratively together instead of in competition.  One of the leaders who attended the meeting, mentioned that instead of attacking his competitor in these tough times, he intends to meet with them to discuss how they can work together to survive and begin to thrive again in business.

Other people I am speaking to within the business world are sharing similar stories of opportunity and the creating the ‘new’ normal.

Ironically, the very same media who have been reporting on the financial gloom and doom are looking for good news stories from the fires to give us hope.

What this leadership group wants is for the media to up the reporting on good news business, environmental and community stories where people are creating jobs, looking at ways to secure their future and so on not to just feel good but because they are actually happening and are real.

I must say I was heartened by this discussion, unlike another major business leaders event I attended two weeks ago that seemed to dwell on the negative and was trying get us back to ‘old normal’.

Whether the media responds to our request or not I encourage  everyone in business to go out and meet with your clients, suppliers and partners. I encourage you to meet with your friends and communities.  I encourage us all to listen to and understand each other like we never have before.  Find out how what we each value and what our priorities are and how we can work together to create a more sustainable future and make this best of it despite the prevailing circumstances.  I encourage us to share stories of new opportunities and different types of growth models that don’t just rely on growing bigger and consuming more non renewable resources by selling stuff for stuff sake.

We all agreed that we need to draw upon our resilience, determination, creativity and ingenuity to work together and find a ‘new’ way forward.  Just like we are witnessing at the moment in this time of tragedy.

At this meeting our chairman quoted from Charles Dickens ‘A tale of two cities’ which seemed quite apt in relation to our times and the choices we have to make:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.”

Despite the difficulties we all face we can still pray and act with clear purpose and make the most of what we have and what will become.

And I’ll keep praying for rain here in Victoria and for all those people affected by the fires and floods, for our environment and our communities and keep doing my best to change my ways for a better more sustainable future.

PS Let us know your good news stories and maybe we could start here our good news push here.

Recently I have been watching the rerun of “Life at 1” on ABC TV in readiness for the “Life at 3” series as I am fascinated by all things behavioural and developmental. The series focuses on children and their development from age one and beyond, similar in concept to the Seven Up series. However this series cannot be complete without the children’s parents and siblings being involved.

I am interested in the series because I am a parent, however it is amazing what you can learn about other areas of your life from seemingly unrelated sources. This is such a case.

As part of the final episode of ‘Life at 1” the researchers measure the levels of cortisol, often referred to as the ‘stress hormone, in the bodies of the children and their parents to see how the stress of the parents lives affects their children.

One of the fathers being tested in the series had recently changed jobs from being a professional sales person in a luxury car showroom to working in the family market garden business growing vegetable. His ‘stress’ levels actual and emotional were significantly lower after having changed jobs which also affected his child’s stress levels for the better.

While he had indicated that he had been successful in his sales job having achieved good sales results and commissions he found the pressure of always having to be ready for action, ever attentive and available for clients over long periods of time exhausting and draining, so he finally left for something more relaxed. And feels much happier for the change.

Now I am not advocating us all leaving our sales careers for veggies, however, I could relate to what he was saying. I have been thinking about the concept of always being ‘on show’ for some time.

Each client sales meeting is like a performance. If we are going to be an effective sales person, we need to ‘perform’. We need to be present, alert, attentive and ready for action for each client meeting and doing this several times a day. We are ‘on show’.

Selling can be and often is a ‘high stress’ job; people to contact, problems to fix, results to be achieved, more people to contact.

Now I know some people do not care about how they appear to others and what impressions they make, however many an aspiring or seasoned sales person does. They know you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

However most non sales people think that we have it easy – ‘out there meeting people all day, chatting, doing coffee, la la la’. Yeh right! Little do they know that you are always having to present your ‘very best self’ every day, several times a day.

Sometimes at the end of the day you just don’t want to speak to or meet another person. That’s OK if you don’t have to talk to anyone else when you get home or you live like a hermit, however for many of us we have a partner or a family to go home to and, I can’t speak for you, but I want to be there for them too. I wrote about the importance of active listening in another posting recently called ‘pay attention’ and how I find it a challenge to go home and listen actively to my children after being with clients all day.

Having a healthy lifestyle, clear goals and making sure you get personal ‘free’ time on regular basis are just some of the things that are critical to maintaining healthy performance at home and at work, however, I wonder how many of us feel that we are having to be ‘on show’ more often now than ever before.

In this networked world all our actions have the possibility of effecting someone else. Maybe I have taken being ‘on show’ too far and need take a break and be more ‘daggy’ from time to time.

I wonder how others feel about this. I would like to explore this further and would welcome your feedback on this issue. In the meantime I will keep on being fascinated by all things behavioural and developmental, including sales.

Happy selling.

Several years ago I read a great book called ‘Kids Are Worth It – Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline’ by Barbara Coloroso.

This book has served me very well as a parent giving me guidance in how to raise self-aware and self-disciplined children. In particular, I learnt by heart the following questions which I ask myself whenever I make decisions and in turn, have taught my children to ask whenever they make decisions.

The 3 Decision Questions are:

• Is it life threatening?
• Is it morally threatening?
• Is it unhealthy?

For instance, when my then 7 year old son asked if his 2 year old brother could get up on the cubby house roof with him I suggested he ask himself the 3 Decision Questions. He did so and decided it wasn’t a good idea for his brother to get up on the cubby house roof after all, for all the right reasons you would come up with. The good thing was that I didn’t have to tell him what they were, he came up with the reasons by himself.

The aim of the 3 Decision Questions is to give children ownership and control of their decisions. As they get older I will have less and less control over how they choose to live their lives and what paths they take so I hope that the 3 Decision Questions help them make the right choices and decisions. As we all know they may be pressured by peers to try drugs or do other things that may cause harm to themselves or others. My hope is that they can stand up for themselves and choose wisely and well. While what they do when I am there is important, it is what they do when I am not there that is most important.

So what has all this got to do with business or making sales? How can these questions apply to our roles in business? I happen to think the 3 Decision Questions can serve us very well especially when all of us could be tempted to do things that are potentially life threatening, morally threatening or unhealthy. Just think of some of the recent business and financial collapses. Or the sub prime fiasco in the US. Maybe if those in charge of sales and the businesses concerned had applied the 3 Decision Questions we may not be in such a state today.

Now I know some people may be bristling as they think ‘what’s wrong with that? It’s a free market. They can sell to whomever they like. Buyer beware and all that’. Sure these people are entitled to their opinions, however I just happen to think that deliberately going after victims instead of prospects and making money at someone else’s expense is wrong, that’s all. It’s not life enhancing, moral or healthy for anyone.

As a sales person, leader and business owner I choose to apply the 3 Decision Questions to my business dealings and found them to be very helpful when choosing who to do business with and how to do business with people. My team and I also use the 3 Decision Questions to review our product offerings and work practices to see if they meet ethical and environmental standards.

Do we get it right all the time? Of course not. However, I have found that by using the 3 Decision Questions it makes things very clear about where we stand, what we stand for and how we like to operate.

The 3 Decision Questions support findings from around the world that more and more people want to work with others (suppliers, partners and customers) in a spirit of cooperation, consultation and respect not competition or deceit. They want to know that you are not potentially life threatening, morally threatening or unhealthy to deal with.

In a world that is now asking for each of us to stand up and be counted and declare our position on sustainability at all levels maybe the 3 Decision Questions could serve us well in helping us choose the right path for us and our businesses and in turn help us be more successful and profitable for all the right reasons.

But rather than me tell you what to think I’d rather you decide for yourself.