[kenpo1980]

And if so how do you cope or make it work?

I spent years as an Account Manger doing "soft sales" but due to the economy and my need to support my family I find myself in a hard core sales job that I find extremely difficult.

On the positive side I am working for a very large, well respected company that I have been with for over eleven years. And I am selling products that I have no questions about promoting but I just have such a hard time with the day to day tasks of selling.

I just hate cold calling on the phone or in person. I always feel like I am interrupting people and I just hate the constant rejection. And when I do get the chance to speak with someone I am pretty great at demonstrating the products but I can't seem to make the close. There is always some objection that I can't seem to find the right way to overcome. I constantly feel inadequate but at the same time I feel like this job is beneath me on some level.

I feel really guilty about these feelings because the job pays pretty well right now with the potential to pay $200k plus but it's just so painful. Honestly, I would like to keep this job long enough to move to something that is a better fit but I really need some suggestions on how to make this more tolerable or even fun for the time being. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?

[Euphoric Nocturne]

I just hate cold calling on the phone or in person. I always feel like I am interrupting people and I just hate the constant rejection. And when I do get the chance to speak with someone I am pretty great at demonstrating the products but I can't seem to make the close. There is always some objection that I can't seem to find the right way to overcome. I constantly feel inadequate but at the same time I feel like this job is beneath me on some level.

I know how you feel. I came very close to being a door-to-door knife salesmen, but ultimately felt that it wasn't right for me. I'm sorry to say that I don't have any advice on making your job more tolerable. However, I am a little curious as to how you got into sales in the first place and what your ideal job would be aside from its salary?

[Renegade]

And if so how do you cope or make it work?

I spent years as an Account Manger doing "soft sales" but due to the economy and my need to support my family I find myself in a hard core sales job that I find extremely difficult.

On the positive side I am working for a very large, well respected company that I have been with for over eleven years. And I am selling products that I have no questions about promoting but I just have such a hard time with the day to day tasks of selling.

I just hate cold calling on the phone or in person. I always feel like I am interrupting people and I just hate the constant rejection. And when I do get the chance to speak with someone I am pretty great at demonstrating the products but I can't seem to make the close. There is always some objection that I can't seem to find the right way to overcome. I constantly feel inadequate but at the same time I feel like this job is beneath me on some level.

I feel really guilty about these feelings because the job pays pretty well right now with the potential to pay $200k plus but it's just so painful. Honestly, I would like to keep this job long enough to move to something that is a better fit but I really need some suggestions on how to make this more tolerable or even fun for the time being. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?

I've been on sales for almost three years. During my first few months, the task of calling up people to inquire whether they'd be interested in something was pretty difficult for me. And you're right, it was the thought of rejection. I felt that their rejection of my offer was rejection of me personally. But then I kind of grew out of it. I guess the way I have been coping is by just distancing myself from the job. This is actually easier said than done, I know. I also have a tendency to be really personally involved in work. But what I do whenever I have to do that tedious task of selling, the moment I pick up the phone, I think "Alright, game face." I put on this other persona, this extremely bubbly, enthusiastic alien girl takes over me for maybe ten minutes.

It's like acting for me, for a period of time. It is exhausting so after a couple of calls, I tend to get the phone away from me and just stare in space and have my downtime (the good thing is that my coworkers don't find it strange that I'm just zoned out after hearing me gab like a cheerleader on the phone for some minutes). It is tiring, but you just have to think of it as a job, and a job is not what we are.

In terms of the feeling of "interrupting people", it only happened to me back when I didn't know my clients at all. Before I called, I'd text them first if it was okay to call and if I'd be disturbing them. I realized that it was not really the right approach if you want to show your assertiveness. I just established rapport with them throughout time so when I called, I didn't feel that intrusive. But I still get the same feeling you do. Every single time I have to call somebody, I take a deep breath, psych myself up, sort of brace myself, and just dial CALL. It feels like a test of courage all the time. Now that you made me think about it, I can't imagine how I did it when it was against my introverted personality... but yeah, I managed. It actually made me more... personable, I think. I'm able to chat with strangers more easily because of that.

I guess what made it easier all the time, like I said, was thinking of yourself as some other persona. "I am not shy. I am bombastic. They want to hear my voice!" Stuff like that. Yeah, it's just the egotistic part of myself psyching me up. And actually, the reason I couldn't bear to work with this company any longer was not because of the work scope itself, but because of my boss. Extremely traditional, by-the-book, close-minded type of ISTJ. Our personalities just didn't mesh well, and I had to quit.

I don't really know what to say regarding salary versus what makes you happy. People always tell me either get a job that doesn't really make you happy but pays very well, or get a job that makes you REALLY happy. So ultimately, it's your choice. If you cannot absolutely bear it after trying everything, and every morning, you just wake up, and would like to go back to sleep... or the thought of coming to work is filling you with dread, then maybe it's better to look for different career opportunities. If your unhappiness is not worth the pay, get something else.

Anyway I wish you the best of luck in overcoming all of this...

[OrangeAppled]

That sounds rough....I don't think I could do sales. It's definitely at odds with my temperament. I think you can do almost any job you set your mind to (within reason) and be good at it, but it doesn't mean you'll enjoy it.....

[kenpo1980]

Thanks for the responses. As far as how I ended up in sales I went to law school and instead of practicing law I got a job with a large law related company doing research internally. I was looking for a change, and to make a little more money, so I went into managing law firm accounts in the field years ago. At the time the job was a great for me because it involved training , customer service and long term soft sales which I could handle. In retrospect the job was awesome because I worked primarily from home, had complete flexibility and generally hovered around $100k or more pretty consistently.

Several years ago my company, like many companies, started to push harder & harder in a pure sales direction and I made the decision to leave. I took some time off and decided to take the bar exam, which I passed. Unfortunately right when I passed the bar is when the economy took a nose dive so finding an attorney job that even paid what my prior position paid was next to impossible so out oif necessity I went back to my old company in more of direct sales position.
BTW, I do realize practicing law is not ideal for an INFP but Itheir are certain types of law that may work with our personality type.

And Renegade, I have to say your comments really remind me of myself. I do have to kind of take on another personality to make calls. Some days I can do about twenty calls, which is a lot for me, but I definitely need a break after every few and I do find myself pretty drained. Some days I do a lot of emailing which can sometimes be effective but I find that getting people on the phone is more likely to result in a sale or a meeting. As far as in person cold calling goes I honestly don't like that either and I feel it can be kind of a waste of time anyway.

At the end of the day I would love to start doing some acting again and, like many INFPs, do some dabbling in writing but money is kind of a priority right now because of my family situation.

[Renegade]

Your job sounds more draining than mine, kenpo. But if you have a cushy salary, and the priority is support your family, then I would say that you're doing the right thing.

I would just suggest for you to not just dabble in writing (or acting), but just make it a point to set aside time and write seriously. I realize that the thing with me as an INFP is that I do love to write, I love the thought of writing, I have a ton of ideas in my head, I just hate the thought of setting a schedule to write and giving myself a deadline. But it's pretty much the same for us. To get the focus away from our jobs, we need to find this time to do something we really love. It's to not go completely crazy.

I think writing in this forum also helps a lot for me. I'm learning more about myself through others, and writing here is still... writing. :)

[kenpo1980]

You hit on the head with salary Renegade. I would be a complete fool to walk away from this job no matter how tough it is on a daily basis. Sure I have the pressure to hit numbers but my managers are really understanding and will do whatever is necessary for me to succeed. I could probably do this job another year not hitting my numbers and only then would I be put on "probation". All of my battles are internal and have to do with my own feelings of insecurity.

I hear you on the writing thing. Having a young child and a job that requires a lot more attention, I not only have a hard time setting aside time but I also have feelings of guilt. I know logically that I am at my best when I am writing consistently (it would probably even help me in my current job) but it's just the sitting down and doing it. I also would love to start acting again because as an INFP it has been a great forum for me to express my emotions more openly. Acting is actually a place where I feel a lot of my perceived INFP weaknesses become strengths. The irony is that I live in Los Angeles so there are many outlets to pursue both of these iinterests.

[infpblog]

I think marketing and selling are the two most valuable skills anyone can learn in any field. Everything is sales. A job interview is sales. It's convincing someone else that hiring you would be a benefit to your company. Asking for that first date is sales.

Making a living as an artist is sales dependent. I mean someone has to buy your book, painting, jewelry etc. The business of art is sales and most of the time the artists have to do that themselves.

[lifeisvertigo85]

I tried to do sales for a little while. It wasn't a fancy corporate gig or anything. Basically I would walk up to people or go to random houses and try to sell products. It usually went something like this:

Me: Excuse me Sir/Madame, would you like to buy <insert product>?
Sir/Madame: No.
Me: Okay. (walks away quickly)

Needless to say I did not get very far in that business. It is not in my nature to persuade/pressure people to buy things. I figure adults know when they want to spend money. No persuasion needed.

[Renegade]

I tried to do sales for a little while. It wasn't a fancy corporate gig or anything. Basically I would walk up to people or go to random houses and try to sell products. It usually went something like this:

Me: Excuse me Sir/Madame, would you like to buy <insert product>?
Sir/Madame: No.
Me: Okay. (walks away quickly)

Needless to say I did not get very far in that business. It is not in my nature to persuade/pressure people to buy things. I figure adults know when they want to spend money. No persuasion needed.

THIS IS UTTERLY ME. Especially when I first started. I even got in trouble with my boss for not being aggressive enough. All the while I was thinking, "It's not me not being aggressive, it's them not wanting to buy!!!"

I hate the thought of persuading or bothering people. I thought it was just me being timid but it turns out that it's something in common for us here. :)