Grace and Gratitude

Act with grace under pressure

I’ve been doing a lot of sales calls and cold calling lately to drum up more business and have had a few good reminders on the importance of grace and gratitude.

When you are under pressure, it is sometimes hard to remain civil. If you find yourself getting cranky at people or picking fights with potential clients, then it is time to take a step back.

Here are a few rules to remember when you are starting to feel curmudgeonly or thin-skinned.

1. Always be grateful that potential clients give up their precious time to speak to you.
2. Let other people go through the lift doors first.
3. Take the time to talk to people and offer your appreciation for their efforts.
4. Let others with a greater need take precedent.
5. If they are having a busy and stressful time you should be calm and easy to deal with. That is often appreciated – you are like an oasis in the middle of the desert to them.
6. Don’t talk about all the things that are concerning you. There are probably a dozen things eating away at you that are on top of your mind, and you want to talk about them. Focus only on the positives when you are dealing with others.
7. Accept rejection with grace – that is, with a smile and no reflection of the hurt you feel to the person who is rejecting your business.
8. Accept muddleheaded thinking with grace – that is, a lot of people don’t know exactly what it is that they want and may express it in unusual or incomprehensible ways. Find ways to talk to them without being judgemental.
9. Allow others to save face – it is all too easy to stick the boot in on people who are acting above their level of competency. They don’t know what they don’t know. Some of them will remember later on.
10. Acknowledge that their hands may be tied by internal processes. They may want to make a difference but they can’t. Separate your frustrations with the system from your dealings with individuals and they may go out of their way to help you.

If you act like this – even if you have to remember to – then people will be glad to deal with you now and in the future.