I'm back from the 3rd day of work! It was tiring alright, due to the long hours of work, but very much fun indeed. Though now I'm under the probation period of 6 days, I try to treat what I'm doing seriously to see what I can achieve within these 6 days. So far, I have closed 2 deals yesterday, and another 2 more today. A good achievement I would say, as a newbie. But I can't be complacent. I want to strive for more.
Yesterday, I was talking to my manager about my concerns, telling him that I often doubt myself if I can perform, leaving me with a low self-esteem. He took me to a corner for a chat, and drew this diagram for me.
He explained to me the importance of self-esteem, how it is the key to unlock every other chests like confidence, actions and results. If your self-esteem is high, your confidence will increase, and if your confidence increases, that results in more actions(which in my job means being more enthusiastic and proactive in pitching customers), generates results which will again boost self-esteem eventually. Of course, he did not draw the key and the chest, or told me that self-esteem is a key. But this is what I garnered from his teaching, which I thought was rather true. Many of us may know this at the back of our mind, but how many of us are indeed sticking to how the system works?
Just today, a 2nd manager was talking to us, the new executives, that a lot of times, we actually know that this is bad and that is bad, but we still continue to do it. Like we know fast food is bad for our health, but many people just carried on eating. Sleeping late and waking up late is bad, but people still do that. Why? This is what I thought of. Because this is the way life in the current times work isn't it? How trendy. The fact is, our way of our life, our biological clocks, have been thwarted to fit into the elongated hands of the society, which often move on at a fast-paced speed. Naturally, more and more people are turning into the "dark" side for a brighter future. Ironic isn't it?
On another note, when I reached home from work just now, my youngest sister greeted me with "High class promoter, you're back". In an attempt to tease me, it actually shows the many misconceptions that people have towards the sales personnels. Actually, direct sales dated several hundred years ago, where people at run-down markets, bazaars and so on marketed their products like silk, food and so on a face-to-face basis. And since then, people have generated a perception that sales-personnels belong to the lower classes. This perception, while having stuck for ages, is hard to change, even till today. Ask your traditional parent, and they would think that sales people are low-lying jobs. In fact, my mum made a remark that I am probably doing saikang(crappy work). But still, I knew she's happy that at least I'm working.
Honestly speaking, I hate this stereotype and misconception about sales people as low class job personnels. You might not know it, but more often than not, sales people are usually the ones who earn the most. Personally, I don't like to sit in the comfy environment of an office from 8 to 5, squinting at the computer screen and stretching my neck every now and then. This kind of job is stifling to me, cos I feel restricted. Yes, there is a stable income every month. But as a person who is open to challenges, I want to venture far to see how much I can earn in a month, and if things go well, going into opening my own business is just not far away. Ambitious? Some would say. But the truth is, sales people ARE ambitious. We go all out to chase our targets, and yes, there will be rejection. But believe it or not, the "Yes'es" will come sooner or later. It is a great way to build your patience. And the one thing I love about doing sales is that I get to talk. I get to step out from my comfort zone and be open to different perspectives, cos I choose to believe that there is no such thing as one choice.
Of course, those who are against sales people, avoiding every sales person they see along the street might have a different point of view. To each their own. As long as you find your suitable path, go all out for it. No matter what job you are in, there will always be a point where your self-esteem is important in getting you far.
Just remember, don't discriminate.
1 comment:
Wah thats 4 deals in 2 days.. VERY GOOD work leh!! Ya dun be complacent but do reward yrself and be proud that u are doing so well. U must have the aptitude for this job :)
Yr manager sure knows how to persuade. As they say, a picture (in this case a diagram) speaks a thousand words. Do not let yr own perception of yr low self-esteem pull you down. Many times, our perception of ourself is way far below our actual abilities.
I disagree with you on the bad habits of life and that being the "current trend". For one thing, just because it is the "current trend" does not mean we must adhere to it. I think most of the time, ppl do the wrong thing, or rather the unwise thing, because they believe that it wont hurt them that much, they are strong enough to take it etc. This is one mentality I really dislike. Much as I also perform some of the things that I know are better off not done, I do try to refrain. I hope you can bear this in mind as well. Its not a current trend thing, but more of whether we find the need to perform it, and if we are FAR-SIGHTED enough to see the benefits if we do the right thing, or the harm if we do the unwise thing. Man follows society and we do sleep late and eat bad stuff etc. But the control in our hands can still promote a healthier, wiser lifestyle. (Most of the time, I view society as one of the worst thing to conform to, but I think its a little extreme to say so. You can just ignore this comment :P)
Ya there is this stereotype abt salespersons. But as u said, they usually earn the most (provided you are really good of cos.) More importantly, there are lots of skills a salesperson possesses that most ppl dun have eg. street-smart, eloquence, etiquette etc. Im sure if u tell yr family the things u have learnt from this job, the discrimination will dispel. One GOOD way to kill discrimination is to smack the true picture into the discriminators' faces and prove them wrong.
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