STRESS IN THE CORPORATE SALES WORLD
Introduction
Research commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (1) has indicated that a total of 9.8 million days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2010. The story of a City trader who lost her bank over £4 million when she went home early one day because of stress shows its damaging effects in the corporate environment. (2)
We will see that, despite corporations paying lip service to the issues surrounding stress management, too few adopt any type of help, advice, training or counselling to address it. Because of this, far too many salespeople in the corporate sales world are suffering needlessly, and it is this world that we will focus our attentions on. We will consider the meaning of stress before identifying the key corporate stressors that the salesman is likely to face. We will see the unpleasant consequences of stress when it remains untreated, the common ways of dealing with stress and further investigate corporate resistance to stress management measures in relation to sales.
Finally we will turn to the positive, and look at how effectual the application of psychotherapeutic techniques can be when fighting the debilitating effects of stress and feel a distinct comfort in knowing that, as therapists, we are able to offer a great deal of help to the corporate salesperson who, at the end of his or her tether, may simply have no-one else to turn to.
What is stress?
Stress originates from the Latin word stringere, which means to compress or to draw tight and seems a good description of how some people experience stress – tight and compressed or pressured.
Lesser (2005) (3) describes stress as a situation when “your body and mind’s capabilities fall short to meet the demanding situations in your personal, professional and social life” Sutherland and Cooper (2000) point out that recent dictionary definitions all seem to associate the word stress with disease: “Medical dictionaries have included both a response-based and a stimulus-based approach to stress when providing guidance on definitions of stress” (4) Cooper, Cooper and Eaker (1988) view stress as “a force that puts a psychological or physical factor beyond its range of stability, producing a strain within the individual” (5)
The International Stress Management Association (ISMA) considers stress to be where “people have an adverse reaction to excessive pressures or other types of demand, where these exceed the person’s ability to cope.” (6) Prolonged exposure to this may result in unhealthy physical, emotional, mental and behavioural symptoms.
Stress is a response to pressure. One person’s idea of pressure may be another person’s driver. It could be argued that most of us need some pressure in order to maximise our performance or effectiveness. Some situations could be described as distress whereas others could be thought of as eustress or “good” stress. Our own perceptions are the difference between the two.
The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them. This makes an important distinction between pressure, which can be a positive state if managed correctly, and stress which can be detrimental to health” (7)
There is no doubt that too much stress can drive us into physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.
Neil Shah, on the other hand, writing in The Recruiter magazine (8) states that having too little stress can also be a problem. If we are not stretched or committed, we can become bored, sluggish and lethargic. The importance of striking a balance is emphasised.
In terms of corporate selling, Friedman (2002) makes a valid though somewhat (as we shall see) naïve point by saying that a salesperson's stress matters a great deal to his company because “daily anxiety wears down a salesperson’s ability to perform at the top of his or her game and can lead to costly mistakes” before going on to quote the American Management Association’s Survey on Health and Wellness Programmes stating that only 33% of organisations sponsored stress-management programmes. He suggests that sales managers combat workplace stress by supporting stress-relief programmes, offering mental health benefits or using fun and low cost stress busters. (9)
When we turn to the key corporate stressors we will see that, unfortunately, it is not quite that simple.
Key stress factors and principal stressors
Stressors are triggers that induce negative reactions that ultimately lead to stress-related physical and psychological problems and illnesses. Quick, Quick, Nelson and Hurrell (1997) describe the stressor as “the physical or psychological stimulus to which an individual responds” (10)
Common workplace stressors include high or insufficient workloads, lack of control over work activities, lack of interpersonal support, people being asked to perform tasks to which they are unsuited, weak or ineffective managers, poor physical working environments, a “blame culture” within the business where people are afraid of getting things wrong, unresolved conflicts, lack of recognition, being constantly interrupted and personality problems within the workplace.
In corporate sales, stressors such as bullying and harassment can also occur, yet are relatively rare. This does not mean to say that they do not exist, only that they are usually dealt with by management fairly instantly. If a salesperson becomes affected by the negative actions of a fellow work colleague, this can easily lead to a drop in performance or (worse still) the salesperson leaving the organisation – and perhaps taking her skills, knowledge and even her existing clients and contacts to a rival company.
In the corporate sales environment, leading stressors (the first two mentioned could of course apply to any job) include:
Travelling to and from work
Dr David Lewis, a fellow of the International Stress Management Association, in a study funded by technology company Hewlett Packard compared the heart rate and blood pressure of 125 commuters with those of pilots and police officers on training exercises. He found that the stress levels of commuters were higher. He concludes that commuting is “at best a dismal experience, at worst it may well have devastating health consequences” (11)
Many Londoners will say that they are living in a first-world capital that relies on a third-world public transport system. While this may be an exaggeration, it is usually an uncomfortable and rather unpleasant experience to travel on the underground at any time of the day, let alone in the traditional rush-hour period. Yet for most people, it is still the quickest and most convenient way of travelling to work. Emotions can run high, people can fight over seats and available space, tempers tend to rise and, particularly in summer, temperatures can soar to the late-40’s C. It can seem like one has fought the day’s battles before even stepping into the workplace.
Arriving at work late
This causes some of the most direct and potent animosity from those in management. It is the easiest thing in the world to arrive at work on time yet many people are still unable to grasp this simple concept. The manager has to answer to the powers-that-be who will always be on the lookout for attendance levels and timekeeping. Receiving a ticking off for being late makes for a poor start to the day and is a leading stressor. It is so easy to avoid.
The Sales Manager
It is extremely rare that a sales manager has not at some point worked on the shop floor - that is, he has usually spent a few years in the role of salesperson/consultant and so knows, understands and appreciates the trials and tribulations of corporate selling. This does not necessarily mean that he will give the salesperson an easy ride as he has different responsibilities. A salesperson is responsible for herself - the sales manager has responsibility for the whole team including sales targets, discipline, morale and the team’s overall performance.
The manager bares ultimate responsibility. This is where the buck stops. If the salesperson does not perform, neither does the manager. The manager will get on the salesperson's back (it is his job to do so) and will apply pressure if results are poor. A good manager will be perceived as being strong-willed and determined to succeed yet will treat his team fairly and make sure they receive all the support and encouragement they need. He will not run hot and cold but will be consistent. The manager is a stressor simply because he is the person who one reports to for better or, more importantly, for worse. The manager will have his own pressures. Like he to you, the people he reports to are his stressors.
The internal sales meeting
Though it changes from one company to the next, internal sales meetings are usually held once a week. This is where the team gathers and each salesperson is asked to reveal his or her own performance in terms of sales already achieved for the month, prospective sales likely to be delivered before the end of the month and the current pipeline. A pipeline is an identification of sales in the immediate to short-term future and consists of prospect companies that have given a kind of written or verbal commitment, with a monetary value attached, and are likely to sign and confirm 100% in an agreeable and acceptable timeframe.
Each salesperson is asked for a progress report or update as to the previous week’s activities and how his pipeline is progressing. If he has achieved additional sales over the previous weeks and looks like he will hit his month’s target, all well and good. If sales activity has been minimal, if he has received a couple of blowouts where prospect-companies have changed their minds, delayed a project or chosen a different supplier, the salesperson feels a tremendous amount of pressure and will be interrogated (sometimes in front of the whole team) as to what has gone wrong.
It is tempting for the salesperson to present an optimistic overview of the future even if there is not one. He can say a deal is worth £60000 when it is worth only £10000, or that a company has a huge demand when in fact it has a relatively small one. Some salespeople will even invent opportunities that don’t actually exist, hoping that when they eventually have to answer for the mythical opportunity now lost, a real one would then have homed into view. This sets the scene for a major, perhaps job-threatening, encounter with the manager who will take deep offence if he feels that he has been lied to. The manager bases his forecast on what the salesperson tells him. An accurate summary of P&L (Profit and Loss) predictions is integral to any organisation. The sales meeting is, and will always remain, a major stressor.
The external client meeting
If the meeting is of an exploratory nature, where both parties agree that there are no immediate opportunities yet are aware that this situation is likely to change in the foreseeable future, then there is little or no pressure on the salesperson to reach a monetary result.
If, however, there is a real business opportunity to discuss, if the salesperson is up against competitors and particularly if she is under pressure to transact business due to previous poor performance levels, the external client meeting is indeed a highly significant stressor.
The sales board
It is there for everyone to see and is given pride of place in any sales department. It lists all salespeople by name and displays each individual’s performance. It tells it like it is. The salesperson can see exactly how he is performing. Not only that - everyone can see how he is performing - from the receptionist to the Chief Executive! If the numbers look good next to the salesperson's name, then fine. If the salesperson's poor performance is revealed for all to see, the board becomes an important stressor.
Meeting deadlines
Despite the most careful and meticulous planning, there will inevitably be occasions when the salesperson is struggling to meet a particular deadline. It could be a proposal or an RFT (Request for Tender) that has a pre-set time limit for submission. If completion is left to the last-minute and an organised plan of action turns into a nightmare scenario of missing out on a major opportunity due to unmet timescales, the effects can be devastating - usually with far reaching consequences.
The physical and psychological effects of stress
When a salesperson is struggling to reach targets the common reaction is one of fear and panic. Fear of losing face, of losing the respect of colleagues, of having to cope with a reduced income and the possible consequences of losing his income altogether will often result in physical symptoms.
The common symptoms of stress include tiredness and irritability, indecisiveness and poor judgement, loss of sense of humour, poor timekeeping, lack of sleep and an increase in headaches, nausea, aches and pains, inexplicable mood swings, unexplained fatigue, high blood pressure, unusual weight gain or weight loss, chronic indigestion and chest pains.
All are prevalent in the world of corporate sales.
A feeling of worthlessness, of failure and rejection can lead the salesperson down the path of dependency on drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or unhealthy high-fat foods and will spill over into his private life. He will become more irritable and intolerant. If he is prone to violent outbursts, he will readily display this trait at the earliest opportunity, at the slightest provocation. He will blame others for his failure and will develop a distinct feeling of paranoia. The world will seem unduly unfair and the salesperson will believe that his luck has deserted him. No matter how hard he tries, nothing seems to work. He will feel desperate and will come across to others as being so.
He will start developing illnesses, both real and psychosomatic. He will start taking more time off work outside of agreed annual leave and will become a burden to those around him.
The corporate environment has little sympathy with stress-related illness. Surely stress comes with the territory, people will say. Who needs a salesperson who falls apart when times are tough? What right, colleagues will ask, does he have to be ill when others are slaving away at keeping themselves and their company in business. Is the absent salesperson recovering or is he spending the time looking for another job? Every person in the sales team is under pressure to perform. The stressed-out salesperson is not only taking time off and taking advantage of the goodwill of others, he is also crying out for attention. Why should his selfishness be left unpunished? If you can’t stand the heat ad infinitum…
The corporate view of stress management training
The legal implications for companies who ignore the issues of employee stress provide no real motivation for them to pro-actively do anything to address the situation. The main problem is that there is no single piece of legislation that requires employers to prevent stress, or regarding the management of stress at work. There is a legal, though somewhat limited and ambiguous, framework that describes a company’s legal responsibilities (14):
By the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, section 2 (1) employers are required to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees, so far as is reasonably practical (my emphasis) Under section 2 (6) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and under regulation 4A of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977, employers have a duty to consult trade union safety representatives in good time about health and safety matters (though many corporates are non-unionised)
In 2005 Henderson’s Global Investors produced a report: Less Stress More Value (15) that focuses on companies that have adopted strategies and taken steps to deal with the issues surrounding stress-management. Blue-chip corporations including Barclays, Boots, BP, British Airways, Sainsburys and HSBC were consulted. Its conclusions can be summarised as follows:
Stress is now a significant problem
Stress involves a substantial cost to companies
Employers are increasingly recognising stress as a major problem
Stress Management training focuses more on symptoms than causes
Assessment of impacts are still anecdotal
Companies that take action to reduce stress are likely to generate enhanced value through reduced costs
Companies should be encouraged to enclose information on stress to employees and investors
The Henderson report is now considered the industry standard on how companies are addressing the needs of employees who suffer from stress-related symptoms. It paints a picture of blue-chip organisations recognizing the consequences of leaving employees exposed to stressors and highlights the success of EAPs.
The respected stress management expert Mike Levy describes EAPs (Employee Assistance Programmes) as “bought-in welfare support services” Companies pay a small sum per employee - usually in the region of £35 - £40 per annum - to access 24-hour telephone or email hotlines and even face-to-face counselling if the problem is deemed to be particularly complex. Stress is high up on the list of employee take up though there is little research on the job profiles of the individuals concerned. (16)
EAPs are indeed useful and are of course far better than a company taking no action at all. Yet the main, and very legitimate, argument levelled against them is that they only address the symptoms of stress, and have nothing whatsoever to say about attacking its actual causes.
The Henderson report’s focus and coverage is somewhat limited. It only includes major corporations who traditionally implement government-led initiatives and has nothing to say about SME’s (small and medium-sized enterprises and companies)
In a separate study that identifies the type of organisations that have implemented some kind of stress management policy and followed it through with a structured and non-compulsory training programme, one major learning and development company identified, from a sample of 412 companies with turnovers between £1 million to £20 million, together with NHS Primary Care Trusts and local and central government departments, the following two key points:
Most respondents (67%) have NOT addressed the problems of stress management, neither have they implemented any suitable programmes to deal with the issue. Most will say it is “on the agenda” or that it is something that they will “get round to doing at some stage” yet it is unlikely that these responses will change to any significant degree in the next twelve months.
87% of sales departments have never untaken any form of stress management training (17)
There is still a perception that is far too prevalent in the sales departments of corporate enterprises – that asking for stress relief training or counselling is a sign of weakness. Other employees in different job roles and departments may need it but not sales, they say. It is an important part of the job and goes with the territory. It is continuously confused with pressure and is all but ignored or at best dismissed as low-priority by most companies.
Walton (2003) in her study into the attitudes of employees towards the provision of counselling in profit-making organisations states that managers were “found to have a more negative attitude towards stress counselling than non-managers and were three times more likely to associate the words ‘weakness’ and ‘oversensitive’ with counselling.” (18)
Despite the best efforts of the IoD, the Henderson report states that, when companies were asked whether they intended to disclose information about stress management in their public reports, only 27% said they were planning on doing so.
Psychotherapy and hypnosis in relation to corporate stress management
If traditional stress management techniques have been met with a degree of scepticism in the corporate world, notions of psychotherapy and, even more so, hypnosis are generally frowned upon. Happily, this scepticism has not resulted in outright hostility, though companies actually paying for salespeople to go to therapists to address issues relating to stress is something that we can only look forward to in the future.
Certainly, sales training courses should incorporate traditional stress management techniques (it is still surprising how few do so) though for actual therapy, we are realistically looking at a 1:1 scenario – the therapist and client – to combat stress related illness. This is because each client’s corporate stressors are different and they need to be addressed hierarchically, focusing on the least to the most significant. Inevitably, many salespeople would want to keep to themselves how badly they may be suffering from the effects of stress, and so it is logical that they are going to be more responsive to 1:1 therapy.
If we consider the Initial Consultation, and the addressing of each of the main stressors on a week-by-week basis together with homework, it is not unreasonable to suggest 10 sessions with the client. It helps if the therapist has at least some basic knowledge of sales and this can be accomplished by simply buying a decent book on the subject (19)
Actual techniques are of course down to the individual therapist’s preferred model or discipline, and we consider in following chapters four that this particular writer considers as being most effective for corporate stress management: Guided Imagery, Cognitive Therapy, Gestalt Psychotherapy and Neuro linguistic Programming (NLP)
Whichever therapeutic method is adopted, for corporate stress management, the client should always be taught the basics of self-hypnosis.
The therapist needs to fully explain the process of self-hypnosis and to run through the procedures with the client. During the hypnotic state, after the pre-amble, induction, trigger and deepener, the client will be given suggestions to put him a profound state of relaxation. The therapist will demonstrate deep breathing techniques and the client will begin to experience a deep sense of calmness and tranquillity. A CD/tape should be issued to the client – either a recording of the first hypnosis session or pre-recorded, utilising guided imagery techniques for the client to listen to repeatedly in between sessions.
The noted cardiologist and stress researcher Herbert Benson (1976) whose groundbreaking book The Relaxation Response is still quoted as the authoritative text on relaxation techniques observed the characteristics of deep relaxation:
Our breathing becomes slower and deeper
Our heart beats slower
The blood flow increases to our hands and feet
Our muscles relax
Our metabolism slows and normalises
Our hormonal activity becomes balanced (20)
Alman and Lambrou (1992) emphasise the importance in us understanding that “if (we) can create one portion of the relaxation response, the chain of other responses will follow” (21) Deep, slow breathing is one of the easiest of these effects to learn because it is already in our conscious control.
In self-hypnosis, four steps are generally observed:
Step 1: The client must have a goal, or outcome, that is specific, positive and can be located within some environment or situation
Step 2: The client is encouraged to find an appropriate time and place where self-hypnosis can be conducted undisturbed. It can only work when the client is in a state of deep relaxation
Step 3: The client then suggests to himself what it is he wants (greater confidence in client and internal meetings, better communication with a particular colleague/manager, a desirable outcome in terms of a recently submitted proposal etc.) Positive suggestions are then repeated. Harriman (1988) believes that whatever thought we continually hold in our minds, provided it is reasonable, it will inevitably become an actual condition in our life. (22)
Step 4: The client adopting the As/If principal strengthens the effects of Stage 3. This is where he acts as if his desired outcome has become a reality.
We can now begin to look at four specific treatments that can be used during therapeutic sessions.
Guided imagery and visualization
"Imagery, the forming of mental pictures or images, is based on the principal that there is a deep tendency in human nature to ultimately become precisely like that which we imagine ourselves as being." Norman Vincent Perle (23)
Our thoughts have a direct influence on the way we feel and behave. If the consultant considers his job to be a series of major headaches, the chances are that he will suffer continually from stress-relation tension leading to headaches. These headaches manifest themselves physically. If the same consultant feels he is up against a brick wall when trying to transact business, he will feel that there is no way forward. Because of the wall, he will be unable to view any desired positive outcome.
In much the same way, the consultant’s imagination can also be a powerful tool to help him combat stress, tension and anxiety and to focus on positives. This can be achieved using self-hypnosis or by the therapist inserting a pre-agreed set of suggestions during the hypnotic session. Using imagery to remove work-related stress can involve an image that the consultant associates with tension that can be replaced with an image for relaxation:
COMMON STRESS NEGATIVES LEADING TO POSITIVE IMAGERY
|
NEGATIVE
|
TURNING TO POSITIVE |
Taught rope |
The rope loosens |
Sound of thunder |
The thunder subsides |
The colour red |
Red turns to orchid |
Pitch darkness |
Darkness begins to lighten |
Blinding white light |
White light softens to a sunset |
|
|
If there is one self-help book that has had a widespread readership amongst consultants and managers in the corporate sales arena, it has to be Stephen R.Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey has been described as the “American Socrates” (24) and taking his rather morbid penchant for using funerals as visualised case-studies aside, it is an inspiring, though highly Americanised, read. Covey believes in the brain dominance principal: “The more we are able to draw upon our right brain capacity, the more fully we will be able to visualize, to synthesize, to transcend time and present circumstances, to project a holistic picture of what we want to do and be in life” (25)
Covey believes that we should use our right brain power of visualization to write affirmations that help us become more congruent with the deeper values in our every day lives. According to Covey, a good affirmationhas five basic ingredients:
It is emotional
It is personal
It is in the present-tense
It is positive
It is visual (26)
He goes on to use an example of misbehaving children, and suggests spending a few minutes each day, with eyes closed and in a completely relaxed environment, going through the affirmation time and time again. Sales consultants are often accused of displaying childlike traits so the analogy is not too wide off the mark. To make it slightly more relevant for our purposes, we could use the following:
It is deeply satisfying (EMOTIONAL) that I (PERSONAL) respond (PRESENT TENSE) with wisdom, firmness and self control (POSITIVE) when I am at a client’s site or about to transact business with the client. I can see (VISUAL) the outcome and I know it will be highly favourable to me
Shone (1984) believes that visualization is most effective when using what he terms One-Pointed Attention. (27) This is where we focus on just one event (any one of our corporate stressors will do) and being completely absorbed in positive affirmations directed to it. If the consultant has problems with commuting stress, he should concentrate all his attentions to visualizing positive outcomes (If I can wake up a half hour earlier, I will miss the rush hour/I will remain calm if I am in a sweltering tube carriage/Everyone else is suffering like me, I can maintain control/I will close my eyes and feel the journey becoming much shorter/I am nearly there/Commuting is easy for me etc.)
Ultimately, the use of guided imagery and visualization to combat corporate stress, no matter which techniques are applied, can only be seen as an attractive proposition with the potentiality of having an immediate effect on the sales consultant mainly because he already has such an accomplished and active imagination and will find such techniques relatively easy and straight-forward to adopt.
Cognitive therapy
Cognitive Therapy is different to a number of therapies that encourage the client to be totally dependant on the therapist as part of the treatment process. Cognitive Therapy favours a more equal relationship that is more problem-focused and perhaps more practical. The client and therapist in effect work together to identify key problems before formulating individual strategies to combat them. This collaborative approach is described by Moorey (1990) as the hallmark of Cognitive Therapy: “There are a number of reasons for including the client in the problem-solving process as much as possible:
Collaboration gives the client a say in the therapy process and so reduces conflict
Collaboration fosters a sense of self-efficacy by giving the client an active role.
Collaboration encourages the learning of self-help techniques which can be continued when therapy is ended.
Collaboration allows an active input from the person who knows most about the problem” (28)
Cognitive Therapy was initiated and developed in the early 1960’s by Dr Aaron Beck (1921 - ) of the University of Pennsylvania. Beck saw Cognitive Therapy as initially addressing symptom relief , though its ultimate goals are to “remove systematic biases in thinking and modify the core beliefs that predispose the person to future distress”. (29)
The focus of Cognitive Therapy is on the thoughts, beliefs, images and attitudes that the client holds (cognitive processes, or schemas – described by Beck as being developed early in life “from personal experiences and identifications with significant others, and reinforced by further learning experiences” (30) and the way these relate to the way the client behaves. These processes are looked at from the perspective of what evidence supports them and whether they lead to functional, or dysfunctional behaviour. Cognitive Therapy reframing involves changing the meanings placed on events so that more reasonable emotional reactions and behaviours follow.
In therapy to combat corporate stress management, the client will describe her principal stressors and together with the therapist, she will formulate a set of goals to work towards. These goals become the basis for planning the content of sessions and provide a framework for discussion. Usually, at the beginning of each session, the therapist and client will decide on which stressor/s they will work on in that session. They will also discuss any conclusions derived from previous sessions. Initially, the therapist takes an active part in structuring the sessions but as progress is made, and the client grasps the principals she finds most useful, she will take more and more responsibility for the actual content of the sessions. This is so she can feel empowered to continue working independently of the therapist once the sessions have reached a conclusion.
Crucial to Cognitive Therapy is homework between sessions. The therapist may ask the client to keep a diary of when the principal stressors occur and what particular reactions she has when confronting the sub-stressors (the sales meeting is a stressor, for example, and each item on the agenda could be a sub-stressor) Other homework may be specific exercises or positive framing techniques to utilise when a particularly stressful event occurs.
Cognitive Therapy should be readily accepted by anyone who follows a career in sales and marketing. Such people are used to working to specific goals and targets and would like and appreciate the problem-solving approach. Equally, they would also see the need, and the accompanying advantages, of practical self-assignments. As a psychotherapeutic discipline, Cognitive Therapy is a highly effective option for stress management in the corporate world.
Gestalt psychotherapy
Gestalt psychotherapy can seem like a breath of fresh air compared to other psychotherapeutic disciplines, particularly when considering its flexibility and its numerous approaches. It helps clients ingratiate their feelings, actions, thoughts and relationships so as to become more grounded and self-confident and heightens their quality of contact – leading them to a greater sense of being alive and in touch with other people. The ultimate result enables clients to make more fulfilling decisions and to take increasingly significant actions in their daily lives.
Gestalt psychotherapy emerged from the clinical work of two German psychotherapists, Frederick Saloman “Fritz” Perls (1893 – 1970) and his wife Laura (1905 – 1990) an existentialist, philosopher and student of the Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer.
Gestaltists believe that we live too much “in our heads”. Because of this, we tend to disregard what is going on in our bodies, which is why Gestalt therapists pay so much attention to the client’s gestures, mannerisms and body language. To emphasise this, Perls famously suggested that we lose our minds and come to our senses.
It is perfectly suited to those suffering from stress in the corporate world. The therapist provides a safe, non-judgemental environment that enables the client to explain her feelings, fears, anxieties and worries without any embarrassment or fear. The client is encouraged to explore her emotional, cognitive and physical responses to each of her individual stressors and creates, with the therapist’s help, the courage to make what she deems to be satisfying choices that lead to an inner-confidence that she can cope with corporate pressure. In partnership with the therapist, she learns how events from her past may still be impacting on present circumstances and works to change her situation whilst at the same time devising new patterns of response that will give her more satisfying results.
To help foster awareness in the client, the therapist may utilise a number of techniques. Nelson-Jones (2001) sees Gestalt therapy as an “experimental rather than a verbal or interpretive approach” (31)
Perhaps the most well known of Gestalt therapy’s numerous techniques is Psychodrama which involves the client facing an empty chair or space and speaking to another “person” whom they have unresolved issues with. Top Dog (controller) and Underdog (controlled) dialogues are the dramatic features of this technique. The client who has her Sales Manager as one of her principal stressors will find this technique invaluable!
Sympathy/frustration is a technique that has as its premise the supposition that the client must be frustrated in her efforts to control the therapist and instead learns to use her natural power of manipulation (a definite trait in most successful sales consultants) to meet her real needs and to focus on ways of combating and solving her stress-related problems.
Bodywork focuses on making the client become aware that her physical responses to the pressures that lead to stress are perhaps a reflection of her repressed emotions, encouraging her to maintain or even exaggerate her movements (frowning, grimacing, fidgeting and clenching of fists are but a few examples of such physical manifestations) in order to eventually gain release from such emotions.
As Perls and Gestalt therapy have been such huge influences on Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the founders of Neuro-linguistic Programming it seems only appropriate that we should now turn our attentions to NLP and how it can be a major help when dealing with stress.
Neuro-lingustic Programming (NLP)
There is little doubt that Neuro-lingustic Programming (NLP) is a well-known entity in the corporate world even if few consultants could give you a definition of what it actually means. Its utilisation is almost entirely centred on its value as a collection of useful sales techniques and these are based on the general premise that if you want to sell something to someone, you have to make that person feel as good about him or herself as possible. It is a simplistic assumption, perhaps, though to some extent true. (32) Its use when combating stress, however, can be highly effective, particularly when it is combined with hypnosis.
NLP was developed in the mid-1970’s by psychologist and linguist John Grinder (1940 - ) and psychology graduate student Richard Bandler (1950 - ) They looked closely at the work of three well-known psychotherapists, Fritz Perls, whose Gestalt therapy emphasised self-awareness of one’s feelings, family systems therapist Virginia Satir (1916 - 1988) and the renowned hypnotherapist Milton Erickson (1901 - 1980). Grinder and Bandler distilled the crucial elements of their techniques into one simplified therapeutic model. The general definition of NLP is that it is a way of thinking that gives us a number of guiding principals and practical techniques that can help us get more out of life. It is based on a set of key presuppositions (or Beliefs of Excellence) that can be summarised as follows:
If someone can do something, it can be modelled and taught to anyone.
We already have all the resources we need to change our lives.
Behind every behaviour is a positive intention.
There is no such thing as failure – only feedback.
We cannot fail to communicate.
In any system, the element with the most flexibility exerts the most influence.
These pre-suppositions support the view that change in any situation is very much possible if it is so desired. Change can be created by:
Identifying the present state
Identifying the desired state
Identifying the appropriate resources (internal states, physiology, information of skills that you need to get from the present state to the desired state)
Eliminating any interferences through using those resources (33)
In the hypnotic trance, the therapist works with the client to change any negative circumstances the client faces, manipulating timelines and setting up or collapsing anchors – terms that are explained overleaf. Utilising NLP with hypnosis significantly negates the key corporate stressors by inducing in the client (easily grasped) techniques to overcome them.
Conclusion
There is still a kind of stigma attached to seeking therapy or any type of training that addresses the causes of stress management in the corporate sales environment and this will probably remain the case for the foreseeable future. A pity though this is in the short term, we can still be optimistic looking ahead.
As more and more companies become educated in realising the tremendous costs to them of absence and poor performance due to issues of stress, they will inevitably at some point they will receive a wake-up call that will motivate them to take action.
Action can take the form of stress management courses that focus on sales, or sales courses that incorporate aspects of stress management.
Such courses will never be quite as effective as a series of 1:1 sessions with the therapist and the client working together to achieve a suitable outcome. But they are a good second-best.
The stigma of stress can only be eliminated when it is perceived not as a weakness, but as a response to pressures that become escalated when not properly addressed. Management needs to be fully versed in identifying the key stressors of corporate life and to look at strategies that focus on how best to deal with these pressures.
Pressure will never be eliminated, nor should it. It is a fact of life in the corporate world that pressure comes with the territory. Pressure motivates the consultant to achieve. There is no way round this and the consultant knows and must learn to live with the fact that pressure is, and will always remain, part of the job. This does not, however, mean that the consultant should just learn to live with stress. Stress is an illness that is easy to diagnose and, even utilising just a few of the techniques we have discussed, equally easy to overcome.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1) As quoted in Introduction To Work Related Stress (2010) The Humane Resources Society’s general handbook to delegates
2)“Suicidal Trader Lost Bank £4 Million” - BBC News on line 24th April 2004.
3) Lesser.D (2005) Stressed In The City – How To Better Manage Stress London/SITS Publications pg 7
4) Sutherland.V, Cooper.G (2000) Strategic Stress Management – An Organizational Approach London/Macmillan Press Ltd pg 61
5) Cooper.G, Cooper.R, Eaker.L (1988) Living With Stress London/Penguin Books pg 12
6) As quoted in Pearce.J (2001) Taking The Stress Out Of Work – a Conference Synopsis Stress News Vol 13 No 4 pg 11
7) As quoted in Management Standards For Tackling Work Related Stress Health and Safety Executive Publications pg 5
8) Shah.N (2004) Stress and Time Management: The Facts The Recruiter Magazine 12th May 2004 pg 13
9) Friedman.J (2001) The Stress Manager’s Manual New York/Atticus pg 19
10) Quick.J, Quick.JD, Nelson.D, Hurrell.J (1997) Preventative Stress Management In Organizations Washington/American Psychological Association pg 3
11) “Commuters Suffer Extreme Stress” - BBC News on line 30th November 2004
12) The Action List can be downloaded in full from the Institute of Directors website: www.iod.com
13) “Stress Management Counter Productive” - BBC News on line 2nd January 2001
14) Strategic Stress Management – An Organizational Approach pg 37
15) Less Stress, More Value – Henderson Global Investors 2005 survey of leading UK employers. The complete report can be downloaded from www.hendersons.com
16) Levy.M, Bailey.R (2001) Stress Management London/Law Pack Publishing pg 149
17) This study, conducted between September – December 2005 was part of a far-reaching exercise, for internal market research and project management purposes, which also included other, non-stress management related issues.
18) Walton.L (2003) Exploration of the Attitudes of Employees Towards the Provision of Counselling Within a Profit-Making Organisation Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Journal Vol. 2 No. 1 pg 67
19) There are literally hundreds of books on sales and selling techniques. For a clear, precise and informative overview of the subject, two books are recommended. Both can be purchased for under £10.00 from Amazon.com:
Gitomer.J (2003) The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource, Revised Edition
Hoboken/John Wiley & Sons.
Denny.R (2000) Selling To Win London/Kogan Page
20) Benson.H (1976) The Relaxation Response New York/Avon Books pg 73
21) Alman.B, Lambrou.P (1992) Self-Hypnosis: The Complete Manual for Health and Self-Change New York/Brunner Mazel pg 102
22) Hariman.J (1988) The Power of Self-Hypnosis Wellingborough/Thorsons Publishing pg 30
23) Perle.VP (1982) Positive Imaging - The Powerful Way to Change Your Life New York/Harper Collins pg 18
24) Quotation from Brian Tracy, author of Psychology of Achievement
25) Covey.S (1989) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People New York/Simon & Schuster pg 131 Ibid pg 133
26) Shone.R (1984) Creative Visualization – How To Use Imagery And Imagination For Self-Improvement Wellingborough/Thorsons Publishing pg 46
27) Moorey.S (1990) Cognitive Therapy – Chapter 11 of Dryden.W (ed) Individual Therapy – a Handbook Milton Keynes/Open University Press pg 237
28) Nelson-Jones.R (2001) Theory And Practice of Counselling & Therapy London/Sage Publications pg 342
29) As described in NCHP Stage 3 course notes – Basic Concepts of Cognitive Therapy
30) Theory and Practice of Counselling & Therapy pg 125
31) The best- known exponent of NLP techniques in the corporate sales world is undoubtedly the American motivational speaker and writer Anthony Robbins. Robbins, who can command fees of up to $100,000 for a single afternoon with a Chief Executive, adapts NLP techniques and blends them into what he describes as a revolutionary fitness programme for the mind Though his presentational style is arguably a matter of taste – tending at times to the sheer irritating - there is no arguing how influential he has become. His principal book is:
Robbins.A (1986) Unlimited Power New York/ Simon & Schuster
32) In this writer’s opinion, the best NLP book in relation to sales is: Bandler.R, LaValle.J (1996) Persuasion Engineering – Sales and Business Language Behaviour Capitola/Meta Publications
33) Dilts.R, Hallbom.T, Smith.S (1990) Beliefs Portland/Metamorphous Press pg 7
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