Maybe You Need a Break Too, 4 Conversations about Burnout That Everyone Needs to Hear

Welcome back to C-Suite Sidekick. In today's mini-episode, host Summer Paletti tackles the critical topic of burnout in B2B sales. With 91% of people saying stress negatively impacts their work and 61% of sales professionals experiencing burnout annually, this is an issue that demands our attention.

Summer shares her own burnout experiences and provides actionable tips to help you recognize the warning signs, like trouble sleeping, feeling easily frustrated, or losing enthusiasm for work. She emphasizes the importance of taking breaks, setting boundaries, and making time for yourself outside of work to prevent reaching the point of exhaustion.

For those already facing burnout, Summer recommends taking at least a week off to truly unplug and reflect on the root causes. Are you taking on too much yourself? Does your team need more support? Identifying the underlying issues is key to making positive changes.

Lastly, Summer calls on those in leadership roles to be proactive in supporting their teams and creating a positive environment. With 95% of HR execs saying burnout is hurting retention, this is a critical issue for every organization.

Tune in for an honest and insightful look at burnout in sales, filled with relatable stories and practical advice you can start using today. Let's dive in.

• Episode recorded and edited using Descript
• Repurposed content, such as this description created using CastMagic
• Visit Rise of Us for more information about Summer's services
• Connect with Summer on LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro to mini pod
• 1:36 Tip number 1
• 3:08 Tip number 2
• 7:03 Tip number 3
• 10:34 Tip number 4
• 11:53 Recap

Transcript

summer: 0:00

Hello and welcome back. Here's another mini pod for you in the B2B Summer Sales series. We spent a couple of weeks talking about who you can call when no one else responds and what you can do to up your game when it seems like no one else is working. Today, we're going to talk about giving yourself a break. Your prospects aren't the only ones who should be taking time off. Some stats to get us started. Did you know 91 percent of people say that stress negatively affects their work quality? And 83 percent say it affects personal relationships. 61 percent of sales professionals feel burnout at least once a year. Two thirds of sales professionals say selling has become more difficult since COVID. And honestly, I want to know who that one third is who says it's fine. Factors contributing to burnout include difficulty finding leads, increased competition, longer sales cycle, and pressure to meet quotas. So what can you do? I've got tips to help you recognize, avoid, and recover from burnout, and some food for thought if you're in leadership. Now there's no shame in talking about burnout. I've been there too. The first was during a particularly troublesome year end. in which W2 season was also short staffed. It was brutal. And there was a day when I got off the freeway at my exit and I wondered to myself, What is wrong with you? Why do you keep coming back to this place of misery every day? I didn't know it at the time, but that my friends is burnout. So number one, recognizing the signs of burnout. Have you started to have trouble sleeping? Maybe you've lost enthusiasm for your work or you're easily frustrated at work. You're probably close to experiencing burnout, and this is a good time to nip it in the bud. These are signs that you need a break, a vacation, a long weekend, a day trip, even just a walk in the middle of the day. A walk outdoors can do wonders after that meeting in which someone just exasperated you. And what if you're past those signs? Are you feeling physical signs, such as heaviness, like, ah, like it's almost hard to breathe, like someone's sitting on your chest? Exhaustion, mild depression, irritability, being short with people at work or home. Maybe you're even fantasizing about living off the grid with your dog in a vegetable garden. You're probably already experiencing burnout. At this time, it's a good idea to talk to someone. Someone you trust who can help you get some relief. I am not a burnout specialist, just a hard worker who has experienced several episodes. Find a mentor, a coach, a therapist. There's apps like Calm, BetterHelp does therapy online. There are a lot of options for you and you can choose to be how visible or private as you want. But for the sake of your future self's health and well being, please get some help. Number two, preventing burnout. Prevention is the best cure, right? Let's talk about little things you can do each day. Take breaks. Crushing 12 hour days without taking time for lunch. That's not a man of honor. That's a recipe for disaster. It's unsustainable. Get up from your desk. Concentrate on something else. The physical and mental break will do wonders. If you can, go outside, pet a dog, have a snack. Exit yourself from toxic situations. I honestly wish I had done this more often in my corporate career. You can quietly and politely excuse yourself from a situation, be it a meeting, a conference call, even a short, you know, informal discussion. In the heat of the moment, less is more. Please excuse me, I need to step out for a moment. There you go. Plan your perfect week and fit in the activities that are most important for you. Set aside time for certain things and try to stick to that schedule. We do not have time for this right now, but I have a quick 20 to 30 minute exercise that will help you a ton. Schedule relief in your day. 45 minutes instead of an hour meeting. Give yourself buffers instead of planning back to back to back. Your planning calendar can automatically do this for you if you're too nice to say no to someone, by the way. Set expectations in the beginning of each meeting about how long it's going to last. Watch the clock and start wrapping up when you've got 10 minutes left. Turn off notifications for social apps and email or any other attention grabbing app that isn't critical. B2B sales, of course, is hard, but we're not ER doctors in trauma centers. Most things can wait and attempting to multitask is a major stressor. When you're not at work, take time to do the things that you enjoy. I know you're busy. It's hard for me, too. I own a business, I have a school aged child at home, and also a man child. But what's something small that you can do each day just for you? A little favorite snack, a dumb show that only you seem to like, a little shopping online, an after dinner walk. There are tons of little things that you can do that don't have to cost a lot of money or time. Limit your after hours work, especially if you're in sales. or you own the business, or you work from home, which I feel like just encapsulated all of us. Establish an area where you work. And some kind of routine. Close the home office door if you have a home office. Close the laptop if you're working from the kitchen. Change your outfit! Some sort of sign to remind you that you're home from work now. And remember those notifications? Have those shut off after hours too. If you want to scroll LinkedIn after dinner and find new connections or network, that's totally fine. It's like an online mingling party. What I want you to do is avoid the urge to check and respond to emails. That is establishing a precedent and it's really hard to walk that back. From my experience, clients are almost never thankful that you gave extra of yourself to help them. They tend to take that for granted. All of this is going to require establishing or reestablishing boundaries. You can tell people that you're striking a better work life balance, and that you're no longer checking or responding to messages after hours, and then stick to it. This is probably the hardest part. The minute someone receives an out of office reply from you, followed a few minutes later with a response, they know you're available, and then it's open season. Number three, dealing with burnout. If you're nearing or already experiencing burnout, you will need more than a walk with the dog to get feeling right again. Take at least a week off. Bookmarked by both weekends, a week is a nice chunk of time off. Your prospects and clients are taking time off, and they'll understand if you do too. Now this is real time off, not the beach with your laptop kind of time off. I mean, have you ever pulled out your phone and gotten an eye roll from a kid? Ever spent all day in your hotel room instead of out at the pool because something came up? Ever found yourself checking your email after hours just in case that prospect got back to you? Guilty, guilty, guilty. I see you because I was you. I still struggle to be honest. You deserve better. Remember what we just said about boundaries? It's time to establish some boundaries, not just around after hours, but around your vacations as well. You deserve better. I'm establishing better work life balance. I'm no longer going to respond to emails while I'm on vacation. The first time I took a week's vacation and didn't respond to anything work related was magical. And you know what? Nothing bad happened. Now, all along the years I was still in corporate America, I had people test me, texting when they knew the rules, that I wasn't going to respond to emails, and I gotta tell you, I left them on read. Now, I know it's been rough this year. If your finances aren't great, and you can't afford to go somewhere, that's okay, I've been there too. A staycation can be relaxing as well. What are the things that you wish you could do, but never have time for? Sleeping in, going for a long walk, lingering around at the coffee shop, having that barbecue. You know, the one that you and your friends always talk about and never do? Nope. That week off can be time to just do some of the low key things that you'd like to do in your life. In addition to taking some time off, Reflect. Since you're not working, you can reflect on the work. What are the root causes of your burnout? And then you're going to return refreshed with some new ideas on how to do things a little differently in order to avoid future burnout. Do you find yourself taking on a lot of tasks yourself? Maybe you need to do better with task delegation. Maybe your team needs more help in the way of hiring new team members or implementing automation tools. Do you find you're most stressed when you get home after a long day and the house is a mess? Maybe it's time to divide up chores differently. Did you used to engage in a hobby or something fun before you got too busy? It's time to go back to your perfect week in order to find time for it. Are you frustrated because you feel like you're not getting anywhere career wise? Maybe it's a time to talk career pathing with your manager. And you don't have to go it alone. It's okay to seek help. Remember that trusted resource? It's time to hit them up and let them know how you're really feeling. And this isn't, I'm fine, how are you? This is, tell them what is really going on. And four, lastly, do your part. If you're in leadership, it's time to understand that your employees might be stressed. Some sales professionals report spending more time managing internal teams and dealing with company bureaucracy than actually selling. And what do you have them there for? You have them there to sell. So it's going to contribute to burnout and your frustration as well. There's also a perception brewing that companies are demanding more and more from sales professionals while providing less support or compensation. People might not recognize burnout themselves. They might not feel comfortable speaking up. So you're going to have to lead the way. What can you do to create safe spaces and a positive working environment? What kind of support can you give to your workers? Can you reach out to them and proactively check on them? You might be thinking that you're doing well, but if 95 percent of human resources execs say that burnout is hurting their efforts to retain talent, Everyone has some work to do here. So you need to ask yourself, what else can you do? What more can you do? This is really a topic to explore for another day, but recognizing that there could be a problem is the first step. Let's wrap this up. B2B sales is hard, and it can feel even harder this time of year. Burnout is everywhere, and no one is immune. Number one, know how to recognize the signs. Number two, take actions each day to prevent burnout. Number three, take real time off, a no email allowed kind of vacation and reflect on root causes. Number four, if you're in leadership, do what you can to be aware And improve as an employer. Know that burnout is likely in your organization, whether you know it or not. I hope this was helpful. If you ever wanna talk to someone you know will be understanding and keep their mouths shut, feel free to reach out. I have been there. I understand, and trust me, I do not spill the tea. Find me on LinkedIn. I'm Summer Polli Rhymes with spaghetti, or find me online at the rise of us.com. Have a great day.