If you aren’t familiar with Generation Yers or any of their characteristics, I’m going to start with a quick explanation. According to the web, anyone born between the early 1980’s and early 1990’s is given the label “Generation Y”. Those born in the early 1990’s are also known as “Millennials”. As with any generation, Gen Yers have been identified as having certain characteristics that most people born in that generation possess. We’re known for being ambitious, team players, family oriented, impatient and attention seeking, but most of all, we’re known for being tech and web savvy.

Working with StaffStat doesn’t just mean that I call prospects and try to make sales. It also means that I take customer service calls when they come in from staff and users that don’t quite understand how the system works. Some people have forgotten their password and I need to do a simple reset, some aren’t sure how to respond to shift requests via the phone call, text, email or App when they come through, and some don’t understand how to use the system at all. Being a Gen Yer born in 1993, I grew up with technology and I understand it. I don’t like to admit it, but I’m constantly glued to my phone, I watch TV through my xBox, I own an iMac and a Macbook Pro, and I probably have 3-4 iPods laying around in different end-table drawers around my house. I don’t have to call tech support lines to understand how to use my technology and I don’t have to rely on someone else to troubleshoot problems or glitches when they happen.

Being a Gen Yer, I can honestly say that I’ve taken on two of the characteristics that I listed: I am both tech saavy and impatient. Being in the role that I’m in with StaffStat, it’s been quite the learning curve to learn to juggle the two, as I’m sure you can imagine.

Patience is something that I’ve always struggled with. I’m impatient when waiting for things to load, I get angry walking behind someone who walks slower than I do, and I have a tough time driving behind someone who’s “only” going the speed limit. Taking time to be patient and educate users on how to navigate their way through the system and understand how it all works has definitely been something that I’ve had to learn the art of along the way. I’ve never been in a position where I’ve had to really practice patience and understanding, and with this role I have no choice but to accept it, get used to it and be comfortable with it.

If you find yourself struggling with patience in sales or impatience in general, give the following tips a read to help you destress or overcome your impatience:

1. Take deep breaths. Although I don’t like that this makes me sound like I have major anger issues, it’s usually the thing that calms me down the most. It gives me a second to collect my thoughts and figure out what I’m going to say and/or do next without sounding annoyed or frustrated.

2. Go outside. Another thing I love to do if I’m feeling impatient or frustrated or stressed out is go outside and sit in the fresh air for a few minutes. Although it doesn’t alleviate the stress as it’s being built up (if you’re on a call for example), it helps release it afterward. 

3. I remind myself that they genuinely don’t know. When I’m on a call with someone who’s asking for clarification on something that seems simple to me, I have to remind myself that they genuinely don’t know the answer to the question that they’re asking or they wouldn’t be calling me. No one calls into the tech support line to simply give us a hard time (even though it sometimes feels like it).

4. I force myself to be patient. Rather than rushing into the fast lane or moving to the other side of the hallway in the mall or grocery store, I sometimes force myself to stay in the slow lane or walk behind those that move slower than I do to get used to it. When I do this it’s usually a good reminder that I’m often rushing for no reason!