Building mental fitness to achieve an optimal sales state

Maintaining a positive state of mind is an ongoing challenge for salespeople. After all, sales roles are often surrounded by a high-pressure environment. There are always expectations and targets to meet. As a result, having mentally fit salespeople is important. This is especially true if a company is looking to expand and grow.

Having good mental fitness makes employees more effective in a variety of ways. Their concentration, judgement and performance all improve. Yet, having a group of mentally fit employees isn’t always easy to achieve. So, how do you help your sales team build mental fitness?

Share the same goals and purpose

Burnout isn’t always about having too much work to do. But instead, lacking clarity over why you’re even doing it. Having purpose at work is essential. People who do meaningful work often feel better about themselves. This is because the work provides them with a sense of fulfilment. 

Everyone wants to feel like they’re providing value. And of course, this is no different for those who work in sales. So, as a sales leader, it’s about ensuring that each salesperson understands their role. You should inform your sales team about how their work is contributing to the company’s strategy. 

You can also set out clear goals for each salesperson. With this, you should tell them about the reasons behind the decision-making process. This extra context will give them a deeper understanding of the business. This, in turn, builds mental fitness. And when it comes to striving towards goals, your sales team will be more motivated. 

Build meaningful connections

Being isolated from others can have a negative effect on your salespeople. Not interacting with their colleagues can leave them feeling like they're missing out. This can result in a drop in employee satisfaction and performance. Being isolated for too long can have severe implications for a person’s mental health. It makes people vulnerable to stress. And it can lead to anxiety and depression. 

Salespeople are often sociable beings. So, forming meaningful connections is one way to build mental fitness. But, of course, to do this, you need to create the right environment. Here, you should maintain a community which helps your team thrive. You should provide a productive, but welcoming office space. It should be a place where people feel comfortable being themselves. And are willing to be open and honest when interacting with others. Your salespeople will soon get to know each other with this approach. And this will boost morale across the team.  

Supportive sales culture

Your sales culture is the attitude and behaviour your sales team possesses. The sales culture should remain positive and consistent, no matter the results. So, even when performance rates are down, the culture should remain uplifting. Whereas, a toxic sales culture can have a damming impact on a company. It can lead to an uncomfortable environment. This can cause a drop in morale and a high employee turnover rate.  

A healthy sales culture will consist of various factors. It should promote healthy competition, driving salespeople to improve their personal performances. There should be good communication and camaraderie among the team. But, your salespeople should still be accountable for their own performances. There also needs to be a focus on learning and development. You should encourage your sales team to grow. And then reward them for their achievements. 

There’s no one size fits all approach to building a healthy sales culture. Yet, focusing on these areas will improve your team’s mental fitness. 

Flexible working schedule

Working long hours in a strict, structured setting can be gruelling. At times, there can be a drop in enthusiasm in the office because of this. And of course, this can lead to productivity and performance issues. 

Giving employees flexibility over their working hours can help with this. In fact, flexible working policies can improve employee well-being. You can also give your salespeople the option to work from home at times throughout the week. This limits the time they spend commuting during rush hour. And this will allow them to improve their work-life balance. The change in environment can reduce stress and improve mental fitness. Then, on the days they come back into the office, they’re recharged and ready to thrive.

Getting the most from flexible working schedules relies on good communication. With the right approach, productivity won’t drop. Instead, it’s likely to increase, as your team is approaching an optimal state.

Positive mental health activities

As a sales leader, you will be managing your team, ensuring they reach their goals. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to micromanage them. Or make sure they’re working all the time. After all, your team will be capable of managing their own time. Instead, the role of a sales leader is to delegate. As well as making sure they understand the work that’s required from them.  

Your sales team needs to be mentally fit to perform to a high standard. So, you should encourage your team to take part in activities that boost their mental health. Whether that means having breaks after meetings. Or allowing for periods of reflection at work. Practising mindfulness can have a significant impact on mental fitness, improving performance. 

Coaching and mentoring 

You can improve physical fitness by going to the gym and exercising. Like physical fitness, you can train your mental fitness. But, improving mental fitness is tough to do. And that’s where coaching can help. 

With coaching, salespeople learn the latest selling techniques. They improve their knowledge and take part in sales role-play activities. These interactive learning experiences teach salespeople to understand buyers’ needs. And later build rapport with customers. While also enabling them to negotiate, get past gatekeepers and handle rejection. Because of this, coaching is a surefire way to build resilience and mental fitness in your team

This process of mentoring your salespeople can improve performance. But, coaching won’t only improve their skills, it will also improve their confidence. Having more belief in their ability will allow your team to connect with more customers. And in turn, make more sales. 

Do you want to enable your sales team to build mental fitness and achieve an optimal sales state? Well, if you do, we can help. Our sales training courses will empower your salespeople. We will provide them with the skills they need to grow your business.