Sales

More and more often, I am being asked by trainees “How can I change my stress levels and my mood when I am having a bad day?”

As something I hear frequently, I have a keen interest in learning more about the topic. Especially as our mood can really affect our work and overall health in many ways. From our productivity, motivation and stress levels, it can greatly influence our overall attitude to others. As a result, it can impact our interactions with others.

Naturally I will always answer the question and give some tips. Yet, mindful that other trainees often have good ideas, I decided to put the question to a group on a recent workshop.

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Sometimes in life, what can feel like a real headache can have a simple enough answer. We are so engrained in the day to day running of our business that we don’t necessarily slow down, stand back and consider what we are actually doing.

We take the hard road out of pure habit, without thinking about the consequences of our actions.

I remember mentoring an amazing your lady who was setting up her business. Mary (fictious name) told me she was experiencing a real problem trying to balance client appointments.

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When prospecting, many sales people will get the line “we’re happy with our supplier”. It’s commonly said; yet it can still trigger a negative reaction. They see it as huge obstacle to overcome. They dread it, they freeze and sometimes take it personally. 

We need to realise we are going to hear it over and over again. More importantly, we should expect it. If we think about it rationally, when we prospect, we are the ones reaching out the customer. Surely, if they were unhappy, they would have contacted us in the first place?

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A number of years ago I read an article that stated, “When a customer has been left unattended for two minutes, they will often believe they have been waiting for ten minutes”.

Having reflected upon my own experiences as a customer, I can certainly say I have often been left waiting in various receptions, restaurants, shops and even hotel lobbies over the years. So, I can honestly agree with this statement as I relate to it.

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Over the years, I have heard stories about sales people who will talk about the product or service for a certain length of time. Then they thank the customer and leave the meeting, neglecting to ask for the order or even get their opinion.

Likewise, I have witnessed situations where the sales person continued to talk about the product or service, even though the customer had obviously given signals they were interested.

They were so busy and wrapped up in delivering the presentation - they forgot to stop and check-in with the customer.

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