Salespeople’s Wellbeing and Performance

By Ram Raghavan M.S, MBA, PhD, FIETE, FFISP

Salespeople's wellbeing and performance are closely related. The impact of wellbeing on salespeople directly affects their performance, motivation, and overall job satisfaction. A salesperson's performance can be negatively affected if their wellbeing is not prioritised, and a focus on wellbeing can help to improve their performance.

Here are some ways in which salespeople's wellbeing can impact their performance:

• Energy levels: Salespeople who are physically healthy and well-rested are likely to have more energy, which can help them to be more productive and effective in their role. On the other hand, if a salesperson is not taking care of their physical health and is feeling tired and run down, their performance is likely to suffer.
• Motivation: Sales can be a challenging and high-pressure job, and salespeople who are struggling with their wellbeing may lose motivation and feel less engaged with their work. This can lead to a decrease in sales performance.
• Resilience: Salespeople who are prioritising their wellbeing are likely to be more resilient and better able to handle rejection and setbacks, which are common in a sales role. This can help them to stay motivated and bounce back quickly from difficult situations.
• Customer relationships: Salespeople who are happy and healthy are more likely to form positive relationships with customers. This can lead to repeat business, referrals, and a positive reputation, all of which can have a positive impact on sales performance.
• Improved job satisfaction: Salespeople who feel valued and supported by their employer are more likely to be satisfied with their job. This can lead to better retention rates, reduced turnover, and a more positive work environment.

The boundary between personal and professional life has blurred and with “working from home” becoming the norm, salespeople struggle to engage with work as they are unable to disengage from their life problems. This adds enormous strain on their wellbeing which then impacts their performance creating a virtuous cycle of doom.

Companies on an average spend £1350 per employee on wellbeing initiatives in the UK. However, a survey conducted by Deloitte found that while 85% of companies offer wellbeing programs, only 60% of employees are aware of them. Of those who are aware of the programs, only 40% participate. Whilst many organisations offer wellbeing initiatives, the bulk of programs focus on physical, a bit of mental and in the recent past on financial wellbeing. It is also not surprising to note that the wellbeing marketplace is crowded.

Even though companies talk a lot about wellbeing, it still is seen more as a benefit that an employer has to provide and is very rarely seen as a strategic priority. However, there is a slow but steady shift and wellbeing is becoming part of the organisation’s strategy and is seen as the responsibility of every leader/manager rather than an HR responsibility.

Employers do support the wellbeing of their salespeople by providing resources such as mental health support, wellness programs, and flexible working arrangements. Post Covid organisations have been spending a lot of money on wellbeing initiatives like these. However, they struggle to demonstrate the impact of investing in these wellbeing challenges and how that has improved performance. Sales leaders are realising that it is not about increasing the size of the wellbeing budget but about spending it on initiatives that salespeople want to achieve maximum impact.

The market for wellbeing is fragmented and the major players try to offer some form of measurement with a view to sell their products and services. We then have single solution providers who try to offer some specific wellbeing solution and the quality of the initiatives of some of them is really questionable. Moreover, not many of them can genuinely demonstrate the impact they have on salespeople and their performance.

We at KAYA have developed a wellbeing platform that helps diagnose all the wellbeing challenges of salespeople and the impact they have on performance. It also helps identify the current wellbeing initiatives that are doing well and those that aren’t. Furthermore, it reveals the initiatives requested by the salespeople to help leaders make some informed wellbeing investment decisions.

Overall, investing in the wellbeing of salespeople can have a positive impact on their performance, job satisfaction, and the bottom line of the business. It is not about increasing the size of the wellbeing budget but about using it effectively to massively improve wellbeing and performance.

About the author

Dr Ram Raghavan MBA, PhD, F.APS is the Founder of the Kaya Wellbeing Index, which was founded as an inspiration from his academic research at Manchester Business School into how people value each other at a conscious and subconscious level. The index was further developed following extensive research with business leaders, consultant neurologists and psychologists.

Ram started his career in India as an R&D engineer before moving into the sales and service and managing a biomedical instrumentation business for a Japanese firm for the Indian subcontinent and UAE. Ram then came to the UK and completed his MBA specialising in business strategy.

Ram is curious by nature and can spot patterns between seemingly unconnected things. He is the author of three books, one on customer service and two on employees. In his spare time, he designs and creates systems to automate his home, reads and meditates. He also runs a charity in India and provides scholarship to children.