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Hustle culture has been present in the sales world, in one form or another, seemingly since the advent of sales as a career. But longevity does not always indicate that a way of doing business is beneficial – and this is especially true of pushing salespeople to the brink.

In fact, hustle culture can inflict harm on your employees and your company in the long run, as evidenced by a recent Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence survey of 2,100 executives and employees:

  • One out of three employees struggle under the weight of poor mental health and fatigue.
  • 30% of respondents cited a heavy workload or stressful job, and 27% cited long work hours, as obstacles preventing them from improving their well-being.
  • 70% of C-level executives are seriously considering quitting their job for one that better supports their well-being.
  • More than 50% of employees and executives are experiencing fatigue and mental health issues.
  • More than 40% of employees feel exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed.
  • The vast majority of respondents reported that they did not feel comfortable taking time off and disconnecting from work. Out of these respondents, 24% cited too much work as the reason, 22% felt it would send the message they were not dedicated to their job and 22% said that no one would be able to cover for them while they were away.

Source: (1)

Curbing these negative feelings is not just a matter of giving employees warm and fuzzy feelings, although happy employees are good for business. It is also crucial for achieving sales success in the long run.

WHY HUSTLE CULTURE IS BAD FOR BUSINESS

Some degree of hard work is required to produce desired results. This fundamental truth has not suddenly changed. However, the distance between a healthy level of hard work and a demanding workplace without recognition or appreciation is vast. If your salespeople are working excessively long hours, not giving themselves time to rest and recharge or neglecting their loved ones, you have a problematic scenario on your hands.

Although indications of hustle culture do not look identical across sales workforces, there are telltale signs that can alert leadership to the issue. Here are red flags to be aware of and the havoc they can wreak on your company’s sales success.

Fears About Falling Behind

A hustle “herd mentality” can make salespeople paranoid about falling behind their colleagues if they are not hustling at the same pace as their peers. This is significantly different than healthy competition or an incentive-based reward system.  When the competition becomes cut-throat or focuses on “be like Mike” comparisons, it can rouse feelings of inadequacy in even the best sales teams.  No worker should dread colleagues who outperform them or leadership that invalidates their contributions.

Some employees respond to these fears by attempting to exceed their sales goals many times over, to the detriment of their work/life balance and quality of life. The gratification they feel from meeting these goals is short-lived because in their minds they must constantly outrun their teammates or risk looking inferior to them.

Unyielding Pressure to Perform

If the pressure to perform never eases, salespeople may feel like they can never slow down or take necessary time off. These employees are constantly “on the clock” and do not get the mental and physical rest they need. They may also feel resentful of the perceived pressure to perform, even if some of it is self-inflicted.

No Rest for the Weary

By constantly pushing salespeople to achieve sales goals, you make burnout more likely. While sales quotas are success metrics, driving revenue 24/7/365 is simply unrealistic.  Some sales employees may feel that their employment, and vital source of income, is at risk if they take the evening or the weekend off. Pretty soon, you have a workforce of burned-out, half asleep and exhausted salespeople who are sleepwalking their way through the job.

Plummeting Productivity

Ironically, the harder employees push themselves to make more sales or catch the ultimate client “whale,” the more their productivity levels decline. In this workplace culture, salespeople are just trying to keep their heads above water by meeting unreasonable demands, as opposed to thriving in their role. They do not intend to become less productive – far from it; they are trying to go in the opposite direction. However, sales teams benefit when the value of customer loyalty, customer retention and the lifetime buying potential of customers is clearly understood.  In this way, salespeople contribute to a more stable and predictable revenue stream for the company and define more productive sales processes.

Deteriorating Performance

The focus on quantity over quality, in combination with burnout, causes salespeople’s performance to deteriorate. You may notice they make mistakes they never made before, or you may get complaints from clients who can sense the shift in customer service. Regardless of how dwindling performance levels present themselves, they threaten your customer retention and new customer acquisition rates.

Skyrocketing Employee Turnover

Mental and physical exhaustion leads to low employee morale and engagement, while feelings of resentment simmer. Eventually and inevitably, the rate of employee turnover increases. Replacing employees is not only expensive, but it also creates a rift in the relationship between your company and existing customers and sales leads.

BEST PRACTICES TO HALT THE HUSTLE

Now for the good news. Leadership can implement sustainable sales practices to repair any damage that has already been done and create a healthy workplace culture for sales staff going forward.

Prioritize Results Over Hours Worked

This principle is all about quality over quantity. If an employee can meet their sales goals in 40 hours per week, they should not feel pressured to work overtime. You could even go so far as to say that if they do not meet their weekly sales goals one or multiple weeks out of the month, they still should not feel pressured to work evenings or weekends.

The very nature of sales means that an employee could sell enough to meet 20% of their monthly sales goal over the course of three weeks, and in the fourth week, close enough sales to reach the remaining 80%. If you drive them relentlessly to meet weekly goals every single week, you may deprive them of the rest and relaxation they need to perform at their best.

Encourage Open Communication

Let salespeople know that leadership/managers are always happy to discuss challenges they may face and to help them find a solution. You are not there to judge them. Rather, you should act as a mentor to them. Instead of harshly telling an employee they need to find a creative solution on their own, encourage them to seek out your counsel for support and resources. After all, most successful people receive guidance and mentorship at some point in their career.

Taking an open-minded approach also entails listening to any positive or negative feedback you may get from your sales staff about how leadership is running the department or the organization at large. This feedback can prove enormously helpful, as it may reveal cracks in operations that could turn into craters if they are not caught in time.

PRO TIP: Distinguish actionable feedback from general suggestions or complaints.  Actionable feedback involves specific examples, quantifiable results (or potential impact), and proposed solutions or alternative approaches.

For example, instead of “marketing and sales aren’t aligned on lead qualification,” try: “The recent ‘AI-powered platform’ ad campaign generated many leads, but a low 5% close rate (versus the 15% coming from targeted webinars) suggests misalignment. Additionally, many prospects have been small businesses seeking basic automation, not enterprise AI.  To address this, we need joint marketing/sales collaboration to refine target personas and messaging and create more targeted campaigns by company size/industry to improve lead quality and sales efficiency. An offsite meeting with breakout sessions could facilitate this process effectively.”

This type of feedback provides concrete data, identifies the problem area, and offers potential solutions, making it much easier to address and implement positive change.  It also demonstrates that the salesperson has put thought into the issue and is invested in finding a resolution, rather than simply complaining.

Promote Collaboration Over Competition

Historically, a career in sales came with its fair share of fierce competition, whether that meant with business competitors or with teammates. This kind of unhealthy competition leads to burnout, resentment, and a lack of productive impact.

Modern sales organizations understand that a collaborative environment fosters greater success for everyone.  Instead of fostering internal rivalries, focus on a culture of healthy competition.  This means celebrating top performers not as isolated victors, but as leaders who set a new standard of excellence.  These high-achievers can then become mentors and resources, sharing their strategies and best practices to elevate the entire team.  When top performers are empowered to lift others up, they create a rising tide that benefits everyone.  This approach ensures that no one is left behind, and the collective improvement of the team ultimately leads to greater overall success than individualistic competition ever could.  By focusing on shared goals and mutual support, you create a dynamic and motivating atmosphere where everyone is inspired to achieve their best.

Set Realistic Sales Targets

Lofty sales goals might sound good in theory, but holding salespeople to them could work against your company, instead of in favor of it. Keep your salespeople’s goals high enough to yield meaningful revenue, but not so lofty that they are virtually unattainable.

SLOW DOWN TO ACCELERATE SUCCESS

Achieving sales success as a business does not require racing to the finish line and sacrificing employee productivity, performance and engagement in the process. By slowing down to prioritize quality over quantity, team collaboration and work/life balance, your company will win regardless of how much time it may take to get there.

 

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SOURCE(S):

1 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/leadership/employee-wellness-in-the-corporate-workplace.html

Jim Bozzelli
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