Stress Release for Sales People

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A successful salesperson, justifying his purchase of a new carbon frame mountain bike as an investment, first made a statement of the obvious – ‘these are stressful times for anybody in sales’ and then a statement of wisdom ‘you have to have an outlet, or a strategy for dealing with that stress’.

Fitness for Success Has Many Dimensions

Now it will come as no surprise to anybody reading this that one of the most effective methods of coping with increased levels of stress is physical exercise – doctors have been telling us that for a long time. Now, that may sound like a personal, as opposed to a business matter, however increasingly managers are viewing the success of their team as having both ‘on the job’ and ‘off the job’ dimensions.

The Well-being of the Pipeline and Sales Team Are Interconnected

That gives rise to interesting questions such as ‘is there a correlation between cardiovascular exercise and sales performance?’ Well, we believe there is. Let us explain.

If exercise improves mental, as well as physical performance it stands to reason that it would impact on the job related performance for all professionals, and particularly for those in sales. The fact that it also improves mood well that in the relationship business is certain to help too.

Then if there is a relationship between the well being, or fitness of your sales pipeline, and that of your sales team, should managers do something about it? Again we believe the answer is yes.

Selling in Difficult Markets Requires Greater Physical and Mental Toughness

What can managers do to support team members in acquiring the mental and physical toughness requires by these difficult times? Well, here are some examples:

Enter the team in a sponsored walk, or run.
Organize the next sales meeting, or summit around some form of healthy activity.
Provide incentives in the form of gym memberships/discounts, medical check-ups, or health spas.
Set an example by improving your own fitness, losing weight and exhibiting greater levels of energy and happiness as a result.
Replace biscuits, sandwiches and pizza slices that are occassionally bought in for lunchtime meetings, with some healthy food options.
Replace the free bar at the company’s annual dinner with a contribution towards gym membership.