Jul '24 • General discussion
Sales Stress
Software sales is rated among the most stressful jobs in America… explains a lot.
Heavy competition, high expectations internally and externally, and lofty quotas are all contributing factors to Spike a sales reps cortisol levels.
I’ve personally never experienced sales stress, but it sounds horrible….
That’s a lie
Sales stress has caused me to probably lose around 2-5 years off my life so far. We will see how many I have left in the bank when this career is over.
Sales stress can look like the following:
- Waking up in the middle of the night and ruminating on a deal
- Breaking a cold sweat as soon as you are your notifications on Monday morning
- Feeling absolutely drained at home
- Not being able to focus during the work day
Proactively dealing with stress should be our top priority for sustainability and continued success in our jobs (and more importantly ourselves and families).
My first year of sales, I had few tools and systems to deal with the stress that I had no idea would become a problem for my health and relationships. I was recovering from an unhealthy work environment while facing a complete 180 career change. Add into this the daily stress of call quotas, hang ups, and ghosted prospects and I had myself the perfect cocktail for a mental breakdown (for sure a Long Island iced tea). I was losing sleep, snapping at my family, becoming short with my co-workers, and no longer able to enjoy my evenings and weekends. It seemed like there wasn’t an end in sight except leaving and finding something new. Luckily, I had an incredible leader that saw the cliff coming before I did and helped me develop some tools to get my needs met and manage my stress.
For the next 6 months I had to dig myself out of my overwhelmed and anxious hole and find joy, fun, and fulfillment in my career. Disclaimer: I still have stressful days and weeks, but I am much more disciplined in managing my stress than I was that first year.
The key is catching sales stress before it burns you out. If you feel you are headed towards burnout, stop what you’re doing and let someone in. This is a job, not your life. Most of us are in sales because we are high achievers and know how to excel in our jobs. Don’t let your achiever in you (like I did) cause you to become unhealthy and stressed when things outside your control don’t work out.
Your job is not your life. Don’t let stress set in and start impacting your headspace, your health, or your relationships.
How do you cope with sales stress?
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Sales Stress
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This community is for salesmen in their 20's-30's who desire to dominate their sales career while growing physically, relationally, and mentally.
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