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What Causes Stress For Salespeople
Many managers who attend management courses regularly enquire about the impact of stress factors on their sales force.
Field salespeople are face a myriad of stress factors in their daily life - they run into traffic, visit difficult clients and often spend days away from their families. If there is also tension between the sales person and the sales manager, a reduction in performance is almost unavoidable.
In a recent study of field sales people, scientists identified possible stress factors and researched their significance for workers. The stress factors were divided into two categories - stress factors that are determined by situations in daily work and stress factors which result from the structures and conditions in businesses.
The most important organisation determined stress factors are:
Too intensive regulation and formalisation of procedures. The field salesperson feels hindered into striking out on alternative but successful paths, which essentially lead to difference of opinions with the sales manager
A lack of flexibility in the company. There are countless companies, which officially regulate and formalise everything. The question is how these rules are implemented by management. The more flexible they are in their interpretation, the better the sales person feels.
What sales people value. Regardless of all the rumours (between managers), intangible incentives like freedom to act; communication and management style are more imperative to the majority of employees than material aspects of the job. Amongst the most important management tools is agreement of goals, without which a culture of management as employees want it, is not possible.
Indefinable motivations
Attractiveness of the motivation (1 being low and 4 being high)
| Style of Management |
4 |
| Freedom to act | 4 |
| Communication |
4 |
| Career prospects | 4 |
| Working environments | 3 |
| Security within the workplace | 3 |
| Contents of tasks | 3 |
| Recognition / status | 2 |
| Position |
1 |
Tangible motivations
Attractiveness of the motivation (1 being low and 4 being high)
| Pension provision | 4 |
| Company car | 3 |
| Continued salary payments during ill health | 3 |
| Employee participation | 3 |
| Performance premiums | 3 |
| Fixed income | 2 |
| Accident insurance | 2 |
| Holiday | 2 |
| Other additional services |
3 |
The reward system. The more the sales manager becomes involved in deciding the salary of their sales people, the more critically they are watched in the way they do this. Stress or friction could be caused if the salesperson feels unfairly treated.
The autonomy of the field salesperson. The more freely they can organise their time and work the less stress they experience in their dealings with the sales manager. The level of empowerment given to sales people is not easy although it is a subject covered on management courses.
The existence of friendship and good working relations within the sales organisation. When field sales people are dealt with in a compassionate manner their treatment of each other is better they mutually support each other, they also feel less stress with their boss.
The professionalism of the field sales team. When field sales people are dealt with in a compassionate manner their treatment of each other is better they mutually support each other, they also feel less stress with their boss. A really professional troop motivates and guides itself largely on its own.
Now to the stress factors determined by situation:
Excessive meetings
Lack of employees in the field sales organisation
Conflict with other departments in the business
Too short deadlines for reports
Technical problems with presentation aids or means of communication
Those questioned assessed the significance of the stress factors by means of a seven point scale from 1 = of no significance whatsoever, to 7 = very great significance:
Stress factor Average value over all those questioned
| Friendship and good relations with colleagues |
4.7 |
| Lack of independence | 4.6 |
| Too short deadlines | 4.3 |
| Inequitable reward system | 4.3 |
| Lack of professionalism | 4.2 |
| Lack of employees | 3.9 |
| Excessive regulation and formalisation | 3.7 |
| Lack of competence | 3.6 |
| Conflicts with other departments | 3.5 |
| Too little flexibility | 3.5 |
| Countless meetings | 3.3 |
| Technical problems | 2.5 |
It is primarily the stress factors determined by the organisation, which play a role in sales. Of the stress factors determined by situations only deadlines for giving in reports, which are set too short, have any weight.
Almost all stress factors determined by the organisation, with the exception of “lack of friendship and good relations with colleagues”, can be influenced and regimented by the sales manager on behalf of their employees.
Managing the stress levels and the motivation of a sales force is a vital factor to ongoing high performance that is a key subject on all good management courses.
