It’s hard for me sometimes to stay positive and outgoing all day when working with customers, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me. How do you maintain a friendly, positive and informative tone throughout your day even if you have a bad day?
It’s important to maintain your relationship with your customers and always be positive and stay friendly, that is just the nature of the job - people don’t want to buy from people who are moody or show a negative attitude. I find that my days feel more carefree and I act more positively when I plan my day ahead of time. If I have all of my customer’s information sorted and my appointment times set, I don’t have to stress about the logistics of the day while out. Putting more effort into my planning helps me reduce the daily stress that can put you in a bad mood, and be more positive and present in my everyday interactions with clients.
I think it’s important to know your limits. If you know that after visiting a certain amount of customers you tend to become moody, then spread all your meetings during the week accordingly and do some of your other tasks every day instead of having 3-4 days only meeting with customers and 1-2 only in the office.
I’ve been meditating for the past year and a half and it has really helped me reduce anxiety across all different areas of my life. I just do it for 10min in the morning, but you can do it whenever you have the time. If I am overwhelmed during the day I’d just take a few minutes by myself and it really gives me back energy. I’m using Headspace, but there are a lot of apps and youtube videos offering meditation programs.
It all depends upon what is stressing you out. If it is the cash that you “need” to make to pay bills (ie. mortgage, college, etc), then I would suggest something in the stress management area. Maybe meditation would work but every person is different. If it is just working with customers and the fatigue sets in then think of why you are doing this job. Is it for the money or the satisfaction of knowing that you are truly helping your customers or potential customers? I call it getting to the “fit” stage when there is that “ah ha” moment or a jingo phrase that Aetna used to use which was “Aetna…I’m glad I met ya”. Then the job is no longer a job, it really does become fun.
Thanks for all your tips guys!
@James, I think I sometimes let the ““money”” get in the way of my interest in the job. So I spend my energy dealing with the stresses and long hours of the job instead of why I came into sales, which is for a passion of working with people.
@sherri87, I will definitely look into meditating, thank you!
I agree with everything that has been said already! I have created a “motivational” playlist with some upbeat and happy songs, that I like to listen to in the car while driving. It really helps me keep my mood positive even after a really long day. I add new songs regularly so that I don’t get bored.