In 2005, researchers Nancy Berns and David Schweingruber conducted a valuable study called “ Shaping the Selves of Young Salespeople through Emotion Management.” They concluded that successful sales school operation is a vital and irreplaceable element in learning social dimensions that surround human development. They both studied in Enterprise Company that was involved in door-to-door sales. At that moment, Enterprise Company was involved in the sale of Bibles and other religious material especially during the Civil War. It was also to a large extent involved in the sale of educational books. This company has capitalized in providing some earnings to college students during summer. They used these students as the main distributors of their products as the students strived to obtain substantial earnings during the period. At the same time, the company trained these students in the ways to make sales.
This paper has looked into training descriptively. David Schweingruber and Nancy Berns, in their study, acknowledge that the curriculum followed in the college revolves around success stories. These success stories are told by the trainers or read in literature by the trainees on how other trainees had gone out to set sale records. These renowned salespeople are thn invited to make talks on how to make the best sales and overall success in the field. They discuss the strategies that people should employ to gain success. From these studies, it has been rediscovered that success in sales does not depend mainly on the technical ability but rather on the emotional labor and management.
The curriculum at Enterprise Company gives accounts of different salespeople who succeeded in their job and have stressed on focus and emotional commitment. It has given examples of people whose main motivation was paying their college fees as well as taking care of their siblings, themselves and even their families. This leads to their commitment and high level focus that sees them making sales history due to the challenges that they are faced with in their personal lives. Sympathy and encouragement only make them better, while failures and success give them the experience that they need for their job. In this regard, they emerged to become very critical, and their “ positive self-talk” such as “ This too shall pass” became a major motivation. They share their experiences with their families and gain support from those people that depend on them. The positive thoughts discipline their thoughts and help them keep their focus and avoid negative reactions to their difficulties. Theyy also use message posters and stickers where they can easily see them in order to affirm with their decisions every time they look at them. They rarely give up or quit and will struggle to ensure that there are as much self-motivation as possible. They dread becoming their own disappointments.
A significant feature with these successful people from Enterprise Company is that they are very committed to their service-mindedness. They refer to their work as service to the people to increase their education, improve their religious, and so on; thus they are never disappointed even if they fail to meet their targets. They keep on working hard with a notion that they are working for God who encourages His servants to help their neighbors. They dedicate their “ service” to God and believe that God will appreciate their work even if the neighbors will not.
Finally, the authors conclude that the social dynamics behind sales in school was based on the concept known as “ emotional socialization.” Experienced salespeople give the importance of positive social relationships. They become leaders and trainers who develop other competent trainees. The cycle continues to cultivate new leaders and better salespeople with the important capital of emotional labor in their job.