Not everyone has a career or professional calling or does meaningful work – work that they find full of meaning and value.
However, researchers Tom Rath and Jim Harter have found that whatever job you are in does impact your sense of well-being and overall life-satisfaction.
Career or Job
Do you see your sales role as a career or a job … and what difference does it really make?
It makes sense the more meaning and enjoyment you get from your sales role, the more engaged you will be in doing what needs to be done to win more new, repeat and referral business.
However, while I don’t know about you personally, what I do know is some salespeople struggle to have a sense that their sales role is exciting or find it full of meaning.
Their reality is it’s only a job that pays the bills.
If you’re a sales manager, imagine the impact on sales performance that this type of attitude/belief about a sales role might have.
What Can Be Done
If that is your reality, or if you’re a sales manager that suspects that is a reality for one or more of your sales team, what you can do is focus on the positive things that do exist in the sales role and/or in the work environment.
For example, the relationships with work colleagues, customers, suppliers and others; the money you earn to support your lifestyle; or a realisation that this is just a steppingstone toward something better.
Activity
Here is an activity, similar to the ‘gratitude exercise’ that can help.
This week take a moment to write down the positive things about your sales role and the things that you are grateful for that you experience in your work (or have your sales people do this) .
It might sound like sugar coating, but the evidence is clear here. Even when you might not be experiencing meaningful work, you can still find a sense of meaning and value when you look at what is positive about the work you do.
This is an expression of your sense of self-determination … that while you might not be able to control everything in your life, you can control how you choose to view it.
If appropriate for you, as you focus on this approach you will experience a sense of internal motivation and a boost in your overall sense of well-being … and your sales results will be positively impacted.
25 Contributing Elements to Living a Good Life
This topic of Career is just one of 25 contributing elements to living a good life that I write about in my book LIVING in the Light of Day.
If you haven’t got your copy yet (in hardcover, paperback, kindle/ebook or audiobook versions), you can Buy It Here.