Typically in this newsletter we address a challenge or
discuss a technique particular to selling. In this
issue, we tackle an issue all of us - regardless of our
chose line of work- face. Burnout and stress.
Many of us - me included - too often find
ourselves plowing straight through the workday
without ever "stopping to smell the roses." Part of
that is because, well, because few of us work in
offices where there are any roses to smell!
But part of it is because we simply don't allow
ourselves to do so. Somewhere along the way -
either through our upbringing, peer interactions, or
the cultures of the organizations we've worked in (or
work in now), we've been conditioned to believe that
if you aren't applying yourself to your responsibilities
for eight (or more) straight hours, you're not
completely earning your keep. Indeed, as a sole
proprietor who doesn't eat if he doesn't produce, I've
had too many days where I didn't look at a clock
until it was 3:30 or 4:00 - at which time I realized I
hadn't even taken time out for lunch! Not
coincidentally, I would also at this time become
acutely aware of just how exhausted and run down I
felt.
Do you, too, allow a single-minded focus on your
work to frequently cause you to skip lunch?
Or to
just "grab something quick", bring it back to your
desk, and wolf it down so you can get back to what
you were doing? Granted, there are times where we
don't have the luxury of a casual lunch (the traders
among you know that!), but really - how may of us
are truly working in a constant state of urgency,
such that we can't slow down to allow ourselves to
actually - dare I say it - enjoy the work day?
Rather than letting the workday grind you down day
after day, consider, instead, working with it
by forcing yourself to
- get out of the office and go for a walk - to a
park, to a bookstore, to a Starbucks to meet a friend
for a coffee and a game of chess - anywhere
that
will take your mind off what's going on back at the
office
- if you're already out of the office (as most of us
who are in Sales are), turn off the pager, the cell
phone, and/or the Blackberry, and go do something
relaxing - read thirty pages of that engrossing novel
you never seem to make progress on, go to the
driving range and crank a few drives out, or pop into
that department store or boutique and lose yourself
for half an hour.
- If you have a private office, close the door, mute
the phone, turn off the computer, and put you head
down for a 20-minute power nap. And don't feel
guilty about, either - keep in mind that the Spanish
to it for a lot longer, and they do it every day!)
Each of these seemingly frivolous acts is, in fact,
likely to boost your productivity, rather than
reduce it. You'll return
to work as refreshed, invigorated, and rejuvenated
as I now do when I come back from a fifteen-minute
bike ride, twenty-minute snooze, or half hour spent
alternately reading my favorite book and watching
the sights while sitting in Bryant Park on a warm
summer day. And a refreshed and reinvigorated
worker is a far more productive one than a burnt-
out, stressed-out one. You win, your boss wins, and
the company wins. And if your boss is a reasonable
person, he or she should see that it's a win
for all
involved. If he or she doesn't see that -
well, you're all salespeople. Overcome the
objection, and get on with it!
Good Selling!
