Krishna Kulkarni woke up every morning at about 6:30 AM and so did his wife. After finishing his daily chores, we would be up at the breakfast table at 8 and would be out of his home by 8:30.
Just when he was about to leave, his wife would ask him three standard questions. “Have you taken some sweets with you? Do you have your BP tablet? And, what time will you call me in the day?”
Just like his wife, even Krishna had his stand set of replies. “Yes, Yes, and 4 PM approx.”
No, Krishna is not a henpecked husband, it is just that his wife has developed this habit in the last year when Krishna was diagnosed with diabetes and BP!
Krishna is a salesman with one of the FMCG companies who has to visit his territory every day to collect orders. He has three reporting heads (his manager, his regional manager and the national head) who asks for the same information every day but at three different times. Also, he is required to remain vigilant about competitors’ activity in his area.
But the most important thing that Krishna has to do every day was to collect fresh orders and also the outstanding. Fortunately, the company had stopped accepting cash a while ago which meant that Krishna was relieved of the task of collecting and carrying cash on him.
One more task that Krishna has to do every day was fire fighting! Almost every day, there would be wrong deliveries, delayed deliveries or stock-outs. He was forced to face an irate retailer and pacify him to such an extent that he places a fresh order and even pays for it!
Years of this schedule had finally taken a toll on him and Krishna was diagnosed with diabetes and BP a year ago. Since then, his wife had become extra cautious of her husband’s heath and hence the daily ritual.
No, Krishna is not closer to his retirement, he is just 42!
While this may be an example of a frontline salesman, almost the entire sales fraternity goes through a similar situation every day. The situation, industry and customer profile may keep changing, but the scenarios remain the same.
In fact, one of the surveys conducted in the US indicated a salesperson’s job as the 2nd most stressful job! It is the multiplicity of roles that the salesperson has to perform which makes the job complex and hence stressful.
So what makes a salesperson’s job stressful?
· Sales
The primary function is the most important of them all. Forced to achieve a monthly target, the salesperson is the breadwinner for any company across industries. Unfortunately, sales is a continuous job that needs to be repeated day after day, month after month. While achieving the target definitely gives you a high, the process of achieving it or non-achievement also gives you stress!
· Maintaining relations
A salesperson has to maintain a relationship with stakeholders on both sides of the stream. On the upstream side, there is the supply chain team and the accounts team, while on the downstream side there are the retailer, clients and customers. But above all, there are bosses, both the direct one as well as indirect ones, who breathe down the neck and want every information or action at the drop of a hat!
· Damage control
One of the most important parts of a salesperson’s job is damage control. Be it faulty product, delayed product, wrong product or even stock-out, it is the salesperson who has to bear the brunt. Not only is the salesperson required to manage the situation, but also generate fresh orders and collection post any fiasco!
· The health of the cash register
Even when the product or service being sold is faulty or inadequate or even inferior to the competition, it is the salesperson’s responsibility to sell it and keep the cash register ringing.
· 24X7 availability
A salesperson is expected to be available 24X7. Everyone on both sides of the stream expects him to answer their calls on the first ring and have a satisfactory answer ready. They completely ignore the time, situation or the conditions that the salesperson may be in. While the mobile phone is a boon, it is a bane to a salesperson’s personal life. If the phone is on, no moment is personal ever!
While it is true that every department plays its part but when you are fighting with a spear, it is the spearhead that faces the maximum pressure. The same is true with the salesperson too!
Such tremendous pressure leads to a host of stress-related diseases which not only impact his personal life but also his health!
So is there no way a salesperson or his organization attempt to lower the stress and make the quality of life better? Yes, there are ways of doing things right. In fact, organizations have now started realising that a salesperson who leads a balanced life can actually perform better!
So, if you are a salesperson or manage a team of salesmen, here is what you can do to reduce the stress level and improve your personal life.
· Learn to say ‘NO’
In sales, “No” is considered a taboo word. Instead of showing inability, it is understood as incapability. Without thinking of the consequences or the efforts, most salespeople say “Yes” to things that eventually burn them out. It is important to learn when to say “No” or atleast “maybe” rather than an outright “Yes”.
· Learn to take a break
Studies have shown that the top-performing salespeople spend 40% more time outside their work than ordinary ones. Spending time outside work allows for better time management, better planning, better rejuvenation and above all lower effort in actual sales.
· Develop & Improve the sales enablement strategy
Sales is not just feet on the street, it is a lot of mind game too. Analysing sales data, drawing insights from it, focussing on culture building, giving and accepting feedback and supporting the sales team in the right way are just some things that the senior members of the team should do. This not only improves morale but also creates the ‘can do’ attitude.
· Use technology
Today, technology is greatly impacting the way we lead our lives today. It is no longer necessary to be physically present to accept the order, even a video call is now an acceptable way of communicating with customers. Also, your smartphone can act as a great device for remaining in constant touch with customers and with other stakeholders even from remote locations.
Thus remember, even you are a successful salesperson, you will only live once and only for that moment. If that moment is gone, you cannot recover it anytime later. Hence, it is important to strike a balance between work and persona life because excess of either of the elements is bad for you!
