Whether you’re worried about reaching those end-of-year targets, you’re struggling with the impact the cost of living crisis is having for wholesalers, or you’re simply reaching a point of burnout as we enter the fourth quarter, sales stress is rife. 

As the impact of the global health crisis continues to demand evolution and innovation, sales teams have had to move with the times. But having to be reactive in terms of reaching those sales targets come what may, means more proactive strategies and a focus on team wellbeing could fall by the wayside. 

As interest rates continue to rise alongside fuel costs and energy bills, consumers are simply spending less. What’s more, the current economic crisis isn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon. 

That means, there’s immense pressure on your sales teams to continue reaching their quota, despite the scary state of the market. 

In this post, we’ll outline how to spot sales stress and burnout, and how you can support your team to alleviate sales stress. 

What is sales stress, and what causes it?

Sales stress is a very real issue. Particularly for those working long hours to reach ambitious targets, workplace burnout is rife. But what is sales stress, and what causes it for your sales team? 

1. Pressure to reach the numbers

Sales is one of the most stressful professions. While many departments are responsible for attracting and retaining customers, essentially the spotlight is on the sales department to drive business revenue. With ambitious sales targets, KPIs, long hours and deadlines, sales professionals must deal with a lot of pressure to make their sales quota.  

2. Money worries 

As many of us tighten the purse strings, your sales team are inevitably worrying about the rising cost of living. Money-related stress is inevitable and will be particularly prevalent for members of your sales team who earn a commission-based salary, as this will mean if they don’t meet their targets, they may not earn enough. 

3. Lack of support 

Stress can be caused by feelings of loneliness or feeling unsupported in the role. Many sales teams can be competitive environments, and many members of the team (particularly those that might be new) may feel they shouldn’t acknowledge weaknesses in their work as it could be seen as failure. 

4. Rejection and loss of confidence

Naturally, sales professionals encounter rejection frequently. But how you handle rejections, and objections is key. Those that take rejection more personally may lose confidence, causing a downward spiral in their conversions, and subsequently, even more stress on a daily basis. 

How to alleviate sales stress

It’s worth checking in regularly with your team to ensure you can clock the signs of sales stress. Whether there’s a member of the team who simply isn’t making their quota, or some who shy away from scrutiny because they know they aren’t performing as well as they used to, chances are you’ve got a case of sales stress on your hands. 

Scrutinise the sales cycle

It’s important to make sure that your sales cycle has changed along with the solutions you’ve put in place. Is there a point in your sales cycle where customers frequently bow out? If your team are struggling to convert, it’s important to ask them why they feel that might be, shining a light on your sales cycle could be key. 

Re-assess what’s realistic right now

If you’re in an industry that could be impacted by rising fuel prices, interest rates and a general downturn in consumer spending, it’s worth considering how you could make life easier for your team. It could be that profit margins and revenue may not look the same as they did in a pre-pandemic era, but don’t punish your team for what’s happening in today’s market. Reassess what’s realistic for your sales team in today’s climate, and ensure each member of your team has challenging but feasible goals to work towards. 

Advocate cross-selling and upselling

Dealing with continual rejection from leads and prospects can be challenging, and as we mentioned already, and lead to loss of confidence, stress and burnout. 

While it’s important to focus training on objection handling, it’s also worth encouraging your team to communicate with both prospects, and existing customers daily. 

Recent research has found that existing customers are 50% more likely to try different products and spend 31% more than new prospects. Not only could you be losing out on valuable deals if you neglect your existing customers, but you could also lose your team members as they become disheartened and unhappy in their role. So make sure you do your bit to encourage cross-selling and upselling in your sales team. 

Encourage connection, self-care and team support

It’s wise to facilitate a culture of openness and honesty in your sales team. Regardless of seniority, everyone in your team will most likely have suffered with stress at some point in their career. If there are team members who seem to be falling behind or failing to meet their targets when they thrived in previous months, chances are, stress is the culprit. Encourage your team to learn from each other, speak up when they’re struggling, and perhaps buddy up with each other to give support, advice, and human connection when it’s most needed. Make sure that line managers are taking the time to assess annual leave, to make sure every employee is taking the time they need to rest, reboot, and recharge. 

Fine-tune your non-sales tasks

With team meetings, data entry, administrative tasks and frequent context switching between different platforms, sales professionals are spending more and more of their time on non-selling tasks. Many will work long hours to get data entry done or update notes from meetings during their downtime. These additional tasks not only create sales stress but could also reduce the time your team has with customers. It’s important to make sure you’ve fully streamlined your sales cycle and honed your processes to minimise the time spent on non-sales tasks. 

Feeling burnt out is one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs. With the great resignation continuing to cause high staff turnover, it’s time to take workplace stress seriously, be conscious of the pressure your put on your team, and learn how to recognise the signs of sales stress. Having the time and resources at your disposal to support your staff is key when stress inevitably kicks in and having the right solutions in place to alleviate stress and improve efficiency can have a huge impact on your workplace balance, and your bottom line. 

Toucan’s sales enablement tools are designed to make sales reps’ lives easier by automating non-sales tasks and providing insightful data to highlight opportunities for cross-selling and upselling. Providing mobile access to your customer information, Toucan gives your team the insights they need to make impactful customer-centric decisions. 

For more information on how Toucan’s sales solutions could help you streamline your sales, click here to request a demo.