Does a Work-Life Balance Exist in Sales?

As always, I am looking forward to the upcoming Sales 2.0 Conference at the Ritz- Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. (Not registered yet? Click here and use my discount code s2cah50.) Not just because I love being the MC and Chief Networking Officer, but because there is so much learning and great discussion.

As an entrepreneur, I sell and deliver as well as run my company, so I’m looking forward to hearing Stew Friedman, Director, Wharton Work/Life Integration Project, talk about what a successful work/life integration looks like.

Most great salespeople work a lot of hours and are always available when a customer or prospect calls. Personally, I love what I do and will spend every waking hour doing it.

However, I also know I need breaks from my business sometimes. I function better when I take time away on a weekly basis, with longer vacations occasionally.

Stew’s book, Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life, outlines three key ideas: 1) be real, 2) be whole, and 3) be innovative. Here’s what he says.

Start by considering three principles; be real, be whole, and be innovative. To be real is to act with authenticity by clarifying what’s important to you. To be whole is to act with integrity by recognizing how the different parts of your life (work, home, community, self) affect one another. All this examination allows you to be innovative. You act with creativity by experimenting with how things get done in ways that are good for you and for the people around you.

If you’re a salesperson, his three principles are essential. Your prospects want to deal with real people who act with integrity and bring creative ideas to the table. Because you’re faces with so much competition, you have to differentiate yourself. Being the salesperson with the creative ideas can make or break your success. Transactional sales are part of every business, but we want fewer transactional sales and more opportunities to develop relationships that lead to long-term customers.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to hear Stew speak at Sales 2.0! See you in Philly!

Register today and use my code: s2cah50.

Alice Heiman, is founder and CSO at Alice Heiman, LLC and has been helping companies increase sales for more than a decade. This is a slightly edited version of a post that appeared originally on her blog and is used here with permission.