Manage your emotions before they manage you

 It was a really weird situation, me sitting at a round coffee table in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza hotel not far from the Sulthan Ahmet just one hour before the salat al-asr.

You have probably understood that I am talking about the wonderful city of Instambul but you are maybe wondering what this beautiful location has to do with the title of this article. 

Well, I am pretty sure that you have been in one of those situations before. You know when one of your most important clients is not placing that critical order even if he assured that everything was ok and “the purchasing order is on its way”. What about that time when your boss asked you to go back to the office coming from a long flight journey from Japan to Milan and you have not slept one single minute during the flight and thus you are exhausted. 

Or when your prospect snaps at you in a way that you consider unfair. 

Despite great differences in cultures around the world, humanity’s DNA is 99.9% similar: we all react to emotions in the same way, a way that could create enormous disasters holding us back from reaching our goals or completing important projects. 

This happened to me that day, 13 years ago, in the hall of the Crowne Plaza Hotel during a touch base meeting with a new customer, one of the biggest distributors in Turkey for the products I was, at that time, selling. I won’t tell you all the story since this article is not about me but it’s about you: if you are curios just post your comment here below or drop me a message, I will be happy to share the details. 

Let’s come back to emotions: that time I was totally overwhelmed by my sudden fear and could not manage it so that I was about to destroy the whole negotiation.  

I am sure you know what I mean: your reaction to stressful situations is not alway the most adeguate, it maybe happened to you to start shouting and feel sorry for yourself immediately afterwards. 

It is no news that certain types of behavior can seriously damage your reputation and your self esteem, thus your performances and eventally your productivity and results. 

The ability of managing emotions is, in my opinion, one of the most critical skill for a sales person who is facing budgec cuts, global chip shortage, smart working in not smart conditions etc. Etc. The most critical skill and the less easiest to develop.  

No matter what the circumstance is, you are always, I repeat, always free to choose how you react. Because, if it is true that 

“Remember, NO ONE has the right to control your emotions, thoughts, and actions, unless you let them” (Donaldson)

 it is even more true that 

“When you can't control what's happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what's happening. That is where your power is.” 

I am going to share some more about that topic in my next articles, especially I would like to write about emotions handling and emotional intelligence. 

 If you have any particular question please ask, I would love to be supportive with unconventional sales tips to those of you working in the sales business.

Cheers,

Lucilla