You are not your job

August 25, 2019 Shelley Zavitz

It was a Tuesday at the radio station I was working at and I was caught up on all my writing assignments in the copy department. Being in my early 20s, the obvious and mature choice to kill time was to grab my nerf gun that sat amongst the million other toys and gadgets I had in the creative department and start “hunting” the company’s accountant on the other side of the office.

It was an intense and competitive battle that ended with my nerf gun being taken from me by the CEO. Actually, both the nerf gun AND a dodgeball were confiscated that year. “Clearly, he has an aversion to fun,” I thought.

While walking back to my desk, I strolled passed the sales manager’s office and ducked my head in to say hello. Written on his board was “You are not your job,” which I read to him out loud.

“I don’t get it,” I said.

He looked at the board and then at me and said, “Sales has a lot of rejection in it. Sometimes we overextend ourselves to be ‘liked.’ I wrote that up there to remind the sales team not to lose sight of who they are. Their authentic selves are what make them great at what they do. But being authentic means you don’t always click with every single person. Rejection is a part of sales, but it should not make you feel any less as a person when it happens.”

Exercise:

Can you think of a time when you felt rejection? When it happened, did you take it personally? If so, how did that manifest itself into a reaction?
If you were to apply the “you are not your job” philosophy, would you have handled the situation differently? If you had not taken things personally, would you have been able to serve your client’s interests better?
This week be aware. If you’re met with a moment of rejection, do a self-check and remember you are someone’s child, someone’s cherished friend, etc. You are adored by so many. Do not let the opinion of one negate the masses.

Obviously, to a just-barely-adult, that whole conversation was lost on me at the time. In truth, I had stopped by his office only to swipe some free candy.

I look back on it now though and think of how many times in my first year of real estate that I twisted and bent myself to try and fit the mold to be ‘liked’, only for someone to pass on using me as their realtor. I realize now — thanks to the help of that sales manager — that showing up just as you are is the best version of you that you can offer.

What I still take extremely personally though is being stripped of my nerf gun.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on separating yourself from rejection and the tricks you use to overcome a tough and recurring time as a salesperson. Leave me a comment below.

Until then, chin up, keep your feet moving … and burn the white flag.