B2B Superpowers - How To Avoid Burnout in Sales

How To Avoid Burnout In Sales

Joe: Hello and welcome once again to B2B Superpowers, the webinar series where we bring you the very best sales and marketing superheroes to share their best tips and tricks to guide you to becoming your very own superhero. This week I’m joined by Dr. Tamara Bedford, MD.
Dr. Bedford, do you want to just tell us a bit about yourself?

Tamara: Absolutely. So first, I’d love to thank you guys for having me on your wonderful show. I’m Dr. Tamara Beckford. I am a trained emergency medicine physician here in Houston, Texas. I also help organizations to reduce their employees stress and burnout. Through training and self-care strategies. So, I am here to increase your profitability and decrease your turnover in your organization.

Joe: Wonderful stuff. We are thrilled to have you join us, Dr. Beckford. Let’s just get straight into it, shall we? So, for this webinar how to avoid burnout in sales, we’re arming you with tips and tricks to help navigate the demanding nature of the sales profession, ensuring you maintain a healthy work life balance.
And minimize the risk of burnout. Now, my first question to you, Dr. Beckford is quite a fundamental one. When we say burnout, what exactly do we mean?

Tamara: Great question. So, a lot of people use the word burnout to say, Oh, my mate or my significant other is. bothering me. I am so burned out. But in true definition, burnout is a psychological effect from chronic stress from work.
So, it’s a condition that occurs. It’s related to your occupation is related to your job. So, although we’re using it in layman’s term, a lot true definition is a psychological condition that’s related. to chronic stress from your job. So that’s burnout.

Joe: So, what would be, particularly in a sales context then, what would be factors which contribute to burnout?

Tamara: So there are a lot of factors that in sales that contribute, contributes to burnout. Before we even get that, let me give you the Three D’s of burnout. So, I just gave this nice definition, but those who if you were listening, you’re probably like, Oh, yeah, that’s really great and intelligent. I don’t even understand what you just said.
So, there are three Ds to burnout. So, the first D is depletion, which is emotional exhaustion. So, you are just dying and you’re just dead. You have no more emotion left. The second D is detachment. So, you’re detached from and depersonalized is the third one. So, you’re detached, and you start using it like, yeah, it is what it is whatever will happen.

So now you have become detached from that, and then you’re depersonalized from the impact that you’re having on the company or the organization. So, others might be saying, “Oh, my God, Joe, that was so great. I loved how you were able to bring in this particular client” and you’re like, but you’re seeing the negative portion.
You’re not seeing the value that you’re bringing. So those are the three Ds So it’s depletion Detachment and then you’re having this decreased, sense of accomplishment in your job.

Now, how does that relate to sales and how can they see it now that I’ve gone through those three Ds? You’re probably seeing that.

Yeah, you know what you’re right how is it that it affects me? So, you’re getting up in the morning It’s time for you to motivate yourself and you just can’t right. You’re looking at if you have to do a phone call. You’re looking at the phone and you’re probably crying on the inside or maybe even on the outside.

You can’t even touch it. Some people, if we go through and even think about there’s so many phases to burn out their 5 phases to it and in phase 5 is crisis mode where you start to have more of a mental illness type of response. So, you start having anxiety. So, you’re looking at the phone, you need to make that call.

You need to jumpstart your day, but you cannot physically touch the phone. Even just hearing the ring brings about palpitations, anxiety. And you don’t even want to get out of bed. You can’t do anything. That’s when you know you’ve gotten into the crisis mode, which is the step below burnout. So how is it that you’re looking at this from the standpoint of a salesperson?

We all know that there are certain things that human nature, that’s just challenging, right? Being a salesperson, you still have to motivate yourself. Each day you come up with motivation, but motivation like my dad would say, it’s like a shower. You need it every day.

Joe: Yeah, you’d certainly hope so!

Tamara: But at the same time. You find a way to get through it through your colleagues, friends, through techniques, through your affirmations. It gets you beyond now you’re using all of that and use cannot move beyond that. You cannot find yourself doing things that you love, it’s important to do.

You’ve probably gone into burnout mode. You are detached. You don’t even want to show up for work. You are showing up for work, but you’re probably crying in the car for 30 minutes before you enter the building. You can’t find any joy. You can’t find any accomplishment. You don’t see the impact of what you’re doing and how it impacts the world. Then you’ve gone into the dredges of burnout.

Joe: So, let’s say before we get to that stage, then, how can we recognize early indicators that we might be becoming stressed?

Tamara: Okay, so early indicators of stressor. One, you start to change now when, and that’s why it’s so important.

We talked about the different phases. So, I said that there were phases I’ll give you, I’m going to read through the phases of burnout. You have the honeymoon phase. You started with the company and you’re excited. Oh my God. Yes. Yeah. This is a great job. I’m going to have such a great impact. You just watch me.

I’m going to be your star person to stress starts to come in and you start to find yourself not wanting, you’re starting to become. An angry person. Your personality is starting to change. I say, “Hey, Joe, what?!”
Joe: I would never, Dr. Beckford, speak to you so rudely!

Tamara: but to that other person?

Joe: Oh sure!

Tamara: So, you start to snap and then now your performance starts to decrease. Your personality has changed, your performance is decreasing, and what’s even worse, a lot of this starts to move and it seeps from just your job to your home life, and you’re noticing that you’re having a lack of boundaries. You cannot turn off, because it’s important that what we’re doing in life is important, but it’s not…It’s great and it’s important, but it’s not the only thing!

You still have other important aspects of your life that you need to prioritize. You can’t turn any of that off because it’s just so important that you do this, do that, that you’re starting to lose other aspects of your life. And when you do that, you’ve lost balance, and you are unable to determine.

The difference that you’re making because there’s a lack of balance in your life, right? You’re already upset at your job. You’re taking it out on your family. You’re upset at you’re not able to meet your quota. You’re taking it out on your family. And then you start to see how you start losing those who you love in your life.

So if those things are starting to happen, then you’re on the verge.

Joe: So then, and I appreciate this, it feels like quite a simple question, but I appreciate it’s probably got a really big answer- what can we do? What can we as salespeople do to change that, to mitigate that, to help cope with that sort of thing? How do we lean on others? What can we do?

Tamara: Great question. So, I love talking about self-care, which is so important. And that’s something that we often forget about. Because we’re in the midst of going, right? With self-care, you start to look and I usually teach what’s called a pause technique.
To take a pause and look, how can I, like you said, reduce my stress, especially in times of very high intense moments. And, before we do that, you need to decide what are some things that brings my level down? Have I tried meditating? And it doesn’t mean that you are meditating for extended period of time, quieting your mind.

Have I tried taking doing breathing exercises? Those are quick things and everything that I’m mentioning are things you can do while you’re sitting at your desk in two minutes. Breathing exercises. What about gratitude practice? I’m anxious or I’m angry. But I’m going to sit and write down a few things that I’m grateful for because it’s hard to do both at the same time.

Emotionally, you can’t be angry and grateful. You can’t be anxious and grateful. So, one starts to over flood the other, right? Is it music therapy? Like you like listening to this song when I bang on the table and I listen to this really great song, then my stress level goes down. Is it taking a quick walk?

Do I need to walk out outside? Take a deep breath in. Hopefully you’re not breathing in smog, but you’re breathing in nature. in some ways, but taking a deep breath in and just looking and removing yourself from the environment at that period of time. Walk-in is another way. To just a tactile way to reduce your stress.

So, these are two minute things. So now you sit and figure out of those things. What are some of that? That helps me or even dancing. Some people listen to music. Some people dance to music. Just dancing really quickly gets all of that anxiety and stress down. You’ve decided which 1 of these help. Now let’s incorporate it in our pause technique.

So, the pause technique, the P is literally pause. And when will I use this technique? I’ll use this technique when I have periods of high stress and I need to bring the stress level down in two minutes. Pause.

A, acknowledge. What is my stressor at the moment? Is my stressor, okay, I’m about to make this call and I feel like it’s the most important call that I have to make for the day and I’m really nervous and I feel like I’m going to screw it up.

I’ve already seen all the negative things that’s going to happen versus all the positive things that’s going to happen with this. So you’re acknowledging that.

U – understand, how is it affecting me? I’m feeling anxious. I’m nervous. I’m having palpitations. Actually, my hands are sweating. My mouth is really dry.

I need to be able to get to this, right? So, set a self-care goal. Which one of those techniques that we talk about? Okay, you know what? If I listen to this really great song, it always brings me, my mood gets me into that energy.
So, I’m going to turn that song on and then I’m going to either dance to it or listen to it or, drum on my table, because I’m a rock star and do that to it and then you’re executing.

So, you’re not going to say, okay, “I’m going to do, I’m going to, I’m going to, I’m going to,” you’re going to set it and you set that time and you do it, get the energy out boom within 2 minutes, your stress level will go down.
So that’s the pause technique.

Joe: And, just from the perspective of, sales leaders, is there anything that they can do? Can they implement anything to help their teams if they know it’s a particular, particularly difficult time?

Tamara: Yes. So one of the important things as a sales leader, as a leader period is one acknowledging to being able to provide these tools for your team, so provide sales training is important.

Stress management training is just as important because we need to be able to have longevity in this program. As a team leader, it’s important for you to seek out either individuals or companies, organizations that provide stress management and have it available to your team members if you yourself.

Wonderful. If you want to send out pamphlets, if you want to send out videos, that’s wonderful, but it’s important to acknowledge and to provide it for them. Another thing that they can do is at the beginning of your meetings. I know within sales, you usually have a meeting in the morning. So acknowledging gratitude acknowledgement.
Even starting the meeting out with the breathing exercise or even ending it with that breathing exercise.

That’s something that you can do as a sales management or sales leader. Provide the techniques, letting them know, hey, even my pause technique. I will graciously allow you to use the pause technique within your team.
But acknowledging that this happens, addressing it and providing resources for the team is important for your longevity within your sales team.

Joe: Now, something else that it comes up quite a lot when I’m talking to salespeople on these webinars and podcasts that I do for Lead Forensics, is the factor of rejection. So, obviously in a sales role. You’re getting rejected quite a lot of the time. Is there anything that you can do to build up that sort of emotional resilience, to being rejected consistently?

Tamara: So, the consistent rejection is probably if there’s anyone who are experts at this, it would be ourselves people, right?

Because rejection, as you said, is a part of what you do. So, if someone is new. Two sales. That’s probably one of the hardest portion of the I’ve heard that their techniques that the 10 knows you’re waiting for the 10th. No.
And once you get if you get to the eight and you get to the yes. Like I’m happy, but now I got to work towards my 10th.
No. But emotionally other affirmations, of course, are important and you start off your day letting, I’m starting off also with mindfulness, recognizing your senses where you are at that time.

Now, when you get on a call, and it’s a difficult call and you get rejected. And if you find yourself taking it personal, you are human, you’re not a robot.

What do you do? You go and then you acknowledge what is it about that, that made you feel that way. You document it, you acknowledge that feeling, but you release it. And then you move on. Now, some people can’t compartmentalize it. If you’re the type of person that can’t compartmentalize it, it’s okay, but you acknowledge what it is that you’re feeling at that time, because there could be something that connected you that made you feel so rejected when the other person was like, whatever.

Maybe the person sounded some similar to someone from your past. You never know what emotional toll or emotions that it invoked within you. It’s something that could connect document, write it down, get it out of your system. And move on. What I just did for those who were probably just listened is that I did a basketball move where I dumped it into the trash can.

Joe: I said if you’re sitting next to the trash can, maybe it’s a bit easier for you. But something that you mentioned in a previous answer, I just want to bring you back to. You mentioned the sort of the disappearance of boundaries as you become more and more stressed, are there any specific strategies for putting boundaries in place to help aid that work life balance?

Tamara: There are actually two words, there are two letters. It’s the N and the O. No. No is one of the hardest words, because if we think about it, we feel that it puts us in jeopardy, right? It puts us in jeopardy. It makes us appear to not be team players, but it’s also a very powerful word to help to create the life that you want in the life that you need.

When you just start out, you probably will find it challenging to use the word no when you need to. So, when you’re trying to create that work life balance, it’s important to have a cut off. If you bring your work home, because at times we all would need to bring our work home. However, we need a cutoff and then you need to be firm with that cutoff.

If you want to say you finish working at five, but you have to complete it up on eight o’clock is my deadline. And from interestingly the principles I’m going to say it’s not burritos. I can’t recall the principle. It starts with P. Whatever time frame that you do have, you will accomplish within that time frame once you set that deadline in your mind.

So, you set that cut off. Magically, you’ll more than likely accomplish whatever it is that you need within that time frame so that you can spend the other time with those you love your kids, your significant other, your parents or your friends. There will be times that you have to work beyond that, but it cannot be constant.

This is something that’s important, especially if you’re a person who’s a type A personality who likes to get things done, who likes to get their checklist completed in life, your checklist will never be completed. A lot of my colleagues that I helped to mentor we are, we love to eat the frog, we’re all Brian Tracy people, but each frog has tons of tadpoles as soon as we finish eating that frog, who’s coming up behind you, the tadpoles.

So, your life will never completely, you’ll never be able to check off all that you need. So, you have to put the boundaries and say, no, once I get to this time, I’m going to stop. So that I can dedicate time to those who I love or to things that I love to do. Because that’s also something that we at times negate.
Joe: A hundred percent. Dr. Beckford, you you’ve offered up some incredible value and some really useful tips and tricks for our audience to take away here.

If I could just pin you down for one top tip, one golden rule for everybody watching this to take away from with them right now, what is that ultimate piece of advice for them?

Tamara: You are human and you are not a machine. The work that you do is important, but you are also important. So, keep your boundaries for yourself and for your life at Paramount, and you will accomplish the goals that you have set out for yourself and for your sales, but you have to be at your best in order to do and that’s why avoiding burnout is so important.

Joe: Thank you so much, Dr. Tamara Beckford for sharing your B2B superpowers with us today. Remember to keep an eye on Lead Forensics socials for news of our upcoming webinars, and we will see you again very soon. Dr. Beckford, thank you so much.

Tamara: Thank you for having me.