Your job is hard enough without an annoying coworker distracting you from your work. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, we discuss how to handle an annoying coworker when you’re simply trying to find new prospects, close more deals, and build more value.
Every sales team, no matter what you sell, has dealt with someone like this.
Perhaps he isn’t trustworthy. He coasts instead of working hard. He gossips and distracts others while they are trying to work.
Seek to understand.
Steven Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, suggests that we first seek to understand other people before we seek to be understood ourselves.
So what does that look like with an annoying coworker?
Ask her to lunch or to coffee. Ask about her sales experience and what’s going on in her life. Try to understand who she is as a person.
She probably isn’t intentionally being annoying. She might not even realize she’s doing it.
Be a leader.
Establish a standard of working hard and staying focused, and that expectation will spread through your sales team.
More importantly, the annoying team member may discover that he’s in the wrong place. If everyone else is working and he doesn’t want to, he might decide to move on.
Ultimately, too, hiring managers may better understand how to choose future team members.
If you’re a sales leader, identify people on the team who aren’t thriving and figure out how you can coach them. How will you protect the team if your team members don’t improve after they’ve been given the opportunity?
Don’t be the annoying coworker.
If you aren’t thriving and you aren’t motivated to improve, look into your why.
Maybe you aren’t cut out for sales. Perhaps you’re in the wrong industry or you’re selling the wrong product.
Don’t stay stuck in the wrong place.
If you have a coworker like this, tell her about this podcast where we provide sales training to sellers of all levels. Tell her about The Sales Evangelist Hustlers League where she can learn from other sellers in an online group coaching format.
We want you to build stronger pipelines, close more deals and do big things.
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