Working In Sales During A Pandemic
https://medium.com/roi-overload/working-in-sales-during-a-pandemic-6dd223fa3c41
Sales can be rough.
Even when there isn’t a pandemic throwing the world off its axis, dealing with people can be difficult.
People in the sales world definitely need to have thick skin.
Between the hang ups, the laughter that can be heard on the other line, doors closing on your face, sometimes at the end of the day, you’re just glad if someone lets you get a sentence out.
I work in Ad sales for a small publication. And when the pandemic caused a worldwide lockdown, I was beyond grateful that I was able to keep my job. However, that didn’t mean that I was safe or that my job was in any way promised for the foreseeable future.
Nobody knew what to expect.
My client list was full of small businesses and self employed individuals. Many of them had shut their doors, and those who hadn’t were definitely not about to drop any chunk of change on advertising. However, I knew that some businesses would still be looking for marketing opportunities, and of course, my job depended on making those sales.
This made for a difficult road ahead of me. Obviously, I didn’t want to be that rude solicitor calling a business that had just closed down the previous week, but I knew the only way to move forward was to make those calls.
I think that the biggest takeaway here is that kindness is key.
No matter what, I would always stay kind, not push, and would do whatever research I could before making that call.
For example, I would see if they made an announcement on social media about how they are moving forward, or if they had any notes on their site.
Honestly, those first few weeks were brutal. People were cold and mean. I was told I had no business reaching out asking for money, that I was tasteless, out of touch, and money hungry.
I felt absolutely awful.
Some of these people had lost their livelihood, had to let go of people they considered family, and had to make the hardest decisions of their lives. And I was asking if they wanted to advertise.
This is why kindness is key.
At the end of the day, I am doing everything in my power to keep my job, and keep my small publication that I work for alive. We are all just doing our best. So for everyone out there in sales feeling let down, remember that you are not the bad guy. No matter who you talk to, no matter how mean they are or how bad they make you feel, you are not the bad guy. You are simply doing your best.
I am relieved to report that it eventually got better.
Businesses started to plan out how they could move forward. They were more willing to listen, and they began to hope again. Some people were even grateful for a phone call. After all, I was calling them because I was interested in them and their business. I listened to them. I listened to what they were going through, what they planned to do, and how they were currently handling everything. And even if they weren’t interested in the advertising opportunity, I would still listen, and I would tell them that we would be waiting for them if they were ever ready to partner with us in the future. I think we all need a little hope and optimism. Because just like I am trying my best, so are they, and hope mirrors hope. Eventually for every million calls I would take, I would hear a yes amongst the no’s, and the work started to pay off.
Honestly, at the end of the day, I think in a world where so much has been out of our control, it was important to make the most out of what I could control. I focused on kindness, patience, listening to others, and stayed hopeful no matter what.
Oh, and of course, forced myself to get MUCH thicker skin.
