Sales -- Talking to people on the street

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I just needed to get this out and vent.

I can be very performative socially in small doses. I can be with a few good friends who are all introverts and all is well in my world. I can do family get togethers for about an hour before I need to hide and decompress. I like to think that I'm a nice person, and I do like helping people.

BUT I work in sales.
For a company that seems to think "going out and talking to people and trying to convince them to give you their name and phone number so you can call them to come in and try to get them to buy a gym membership" is a good use of time.

I HATE it.
So much.
And that's like 50% of my job.
Usually at least an hour a day. And it's EXHAUSTING. I have no idea how to do it.

I mean if someone walks into the gym, I have a script to follow, a goal of figuring out what they want from a gym and why, and I know they already have an interest otherwise they wouldn't have shown up. I usually sit with a person for 20-30 minutes tops, and then I can retreat and either sulk that I didn't get the sale or do a little happy dance because I did.

I usually end up wandering up and down the street, and if I know I'm not being spied on (YES! managers will spy on you!) I'll go sit and get coffee somewhere.

I hate my job. And I don't know if I do have aspergers and if I do then I don't have a diagnosis... and... even if I did then oh well, you don't have the ability to do this job if you can't "drive traffic."

I freaked out and had a meltdown at my new manager and business director because they were instituting a bunch of changes on the first day. And it's only been a week and I'm so EXHAUSTED with the way things are right now. But I have no other job leads right now.

*sigh*

Having been a professional marketing manager, I can say that, in marketing, that kind of cold selling is intended only to remind those people who have already considered and (mostly) committed to buy the product or service to do so when asked. For those who already decided to try a gym membership, your reminder is all they need to sign up. If your employer(s) expect anything else as a result, they are delusional and risk offending potential future customers who might need a little more time to consider a membership. In other words, what you are doing simply won't work for most people, just the ones who have already committed to the idea.

Knowing this, you should be able to accept the fact that most people with whom you talk about a membership aren't committed, and you can simply thank them for their time, and move on to the next person. Eventually, you will find the few who will welcome your sales pitch. Focus on them.

But, if your employer(s) disagree, you might ask them if your job is to simply talk to as many people as you can before they walk away, or to find those who have already committed to the idea and just need to be asked. Your employer(s) should understand the difference.

Good luck.

The problem with sales jobs is they put you on metrics. If you don't sell X much 'its your fault' and thus will be eventually fired.

I was transferred from tech support to pc sales in a previous job and every week when they 'warned' me of low sales I kept reminding them THEY put me in sales and that it was the stupidest decision X manager ever made.

Get this...the reason I was put on sales was because I wasn't selling enough upgrades in tech support.

My company has this obsession with need analysis, and proving that people need our gym. They are big and corporate and obsessed with themselves. Being big and corporate doesn't make you a good gym. I was even told "we don't need cashiers, we need people to drive traffic and close sales." Sigh. I need out.