How Salespeople Maintain Motivation In Tough Times by Connecting With Others

The connection you make as a person with others are very important towards maintaining your motivation all the way through your sales career [article source].

What does connect with others means for a salesperson?

Connecting with others includes forming emotional and social tie. Such ties help others feel like they’re cooperating and stimulate business understanding and professional relationship.

Why is it important for salespeople to connect with others?

They found out that social connection in sales lowers anxiety and depression, helps to control emotions, improves self-esteem and empathy. By disregarding the need to connect, salespeople could possibly put their business health at risk. But the reality right now is, we are living in a time of disconnection.

Acceptable sums of social connection are linked to increases in levels of a hormone called oxytocin, which function is to lessen anxiety levels and to promote the parasympathetic nervous system calming down responses.

For salespeople, such connection comes in various forms and possibly includes assisting prospects with meaningful albeit minor business tasks when they call for or offering financial solutions when they are in need, giving rightful advice to them when they are facing difficult situations, provide care, empathy, and concern for them where appropriate.

Tons of research suggest that social connections make people happier. Professional and strategic relationships not only appropriate in sales, but it is also associated with healthier and even longer bond. Relationships are associated with some of salespeople strongest emotions. When they are positive, they feel satisfaction and confidence.

The question to the salespeople right now is, “Do you communicate or do you connect?” Connecting and communicating are often used interchangeably. The fact of the matter is, while they can all communicate; it doesn't mean they’re successfully connecting. Salesperson can communicate with their tones of voice, hands, eyes, and body language and get their message across.

If salesperson and prospect are connected, communication will be much easier and more effective. If they are disconnected, it doesn't matter what they’re communicating because the message is not getting through.

That’s the reason why face-to-face connection by the salespeople with prospects minimizes misinterpretation and misunderstanding, shows their true emotions and reactions, and therefore, builds credibility and establishes trust. Just think about it for a moment since we are able to carry this out after the pandemic. If you’re in sales, can you relate to this?

From psychological theories to the current research, there are significant body of evidence that social support and feeling connected can help maintain a healthy body mass index, control blood sugars, improve cancer survival, decrease cardiovascular mortality, decrease depressive symptoms, ease post-traumatic stress. Can you observe these benefits from the people around you? Perhaps, you don’t need all these researches to validate what you see.

Building connections is also important because it makes salespersons more versatile. When they are in tough times, they have a network of individuals who can help recommend ideas or solutions or to offer them support. And eventually, this network could lead to increasing their job security and their upward movement potential in the company they’re working for.

How to salespeople stay connected to others?

Connecting is a skill, not an innate talent, which is good news, don’t you think? With enough practice, connecting can be learned and implemented, resulting in better salesmanship qualities and communication skills, a more productive team player or team leader, and increased influence.

To help salespeople remain connected to their social network, here are some quick ideas: Schedule regular calls with prospects and customers like they would schedule work meeting. If they can, make video calls using FaceTime, Google Meet, Zoom, or other video-calling tools.

Having a network of good relationships improves salespeople performance and can keep their minds active. Staying connected with others and taking part in social activities can also increase their confidence, and improve how they feel about themselves.

Here’s a quick list for some of the best tips that salespeople can use to learn how to connect with people with their communication skills.

Learn to listen

Understand body language

Be true to yourself

Speak honestly

Display integrity

Show empathy

 

Connecting and communicating begins when salespeople listen in an empathetic way. They hear more clearly what others need without being influenced by judgments or thoughts focused on what they want to respond. They seek to understand first then to be understood. Emotional connections can be formed in an instant, or they may take time to be established.

And here’s how salespeople can practice to be active listeners…

Let others complete their talk

Don't prejudge others

Accept that they may disagree with you

Ask open-ended questions

Show to them you're listening

 

When it comes to genuine connection, it's not about time spent in the same space or doing the same activity. It's about time that is actually spent sharing our thoughts, ideas, and information. And real connection is always found when both parties are in the present moment. A strong, solid connection takes time and effort. It must also be two ways.

If salespeople need quick ideas, try these five ideas they can implement to build relationships or strengthen them:

Be open and honest when communicating. Good, lasting business relationships rely on good communication, whether it's face-to-face, on the telephone or email

Develop your people skills which basically refers to your ability to relate to others

Respect and appreciate others’ opinion

Practice acceptance and be supportive

Be positive

 

In short, the power of human connection…

Human connection is an energy exchange between people who are paying attention to one another, in this context, between salespeople and prospects or customers. It has the power to deepen the moment, inspire change and build trust. Simply put, connections are interactions with depth and substance more than just surface-level greetings or small talks. A connection is a genuine bond formed between two parties wherein each party feels seen, heard and known.