PSYCHOLOGY
How to Manage the Feeling of Helplessness GERHARD GSCHWANDTNER
When a prospect says no, the salesperson’s re- sponse – both immediate and long range – fore- tells a future either of coping or quitting. If, after the immediate anger and frustration wear off, the salesperson is left with a residue of unresolved negative feelings about his or her ability to sell, then it’s time to examine coping mechanisms. Per- haps it’s also time to take a look at the salesper- son’s feelings of helplessness.
In this exclusive Selling Power (SP) interview with Dr. Martin Seligman, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, you will discover how to get off the mental path that leads to helplessness and get on the road to quick recovery from the
16 | AUGUST 2016 SELLING POWER © 2016 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
inevitable setbacks associated with selling.
SELLING POWER (SP): What made you decide to study the subject of helplessness? DR. SELIGMAN: Well, it was fairly
early on when I was 13. I had just been sent off to a military school when my father had a series of strokes at age 49. He was entirely helpless for the rest of his life. I think that may have set the interest and it was consolidated when I began my research at the University of Pennsylvania as a graduate student 25 years ago.
SP: How do you see the role of helplessness in our lives in general? DR. SELIGMAN: I believe that the basic facts of life are that we are helpless in the great issues like birth and death. However, there is a window of control that we can either choose to open wider or let slam shut.
SP: And you obviously found many new ways for opening that window. DR. SELIGMAN: I know the window can be opened much wider than people normally think.
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