Eagerness: How it Can Be Bad at Your Business

Being positive in business dealings is almost always a good thing. Having a good outlook on dealings can help you move forward with projects, and keeping an upbeat attitude can influence positive attitudes from your colleagues as well. But what about being too eager?

Many people think that being an aggressive salesperson or always jumping to be the first one to undertake a task are good practices, but in reality they can actually damage business dealings. Getting too excited over something can have negative implications for you, your officemates, your strategy, and your customers. It’s important to realize when you might be getting too eager about something so you can step back and give yourself time to cool off. Read on to learn about why eagerness is not always the best option and get some tips about how to maintain you’re cool.

Stay Calm and Focused
When you are on the receiving end of a deal, whether you are closing a contract or negotiating a sale, too much enthusiasm can damage your outcome. Consider this: when you are faced with a salesperson that is too eager, doesn’t it seem a little suspicious? Why is that person so excited? It can leave you feeling like you might be getting the short end of the stick, and extra eagerness can distract others from focusing on the issue at hand.

Being too eager can make it seem like you are only concerned about hitting numbers or making yourself look better to your boss, when in reality you should be concerned with professionalism and helping the other side. Too much enthusiasm does not convey this, and will make customers wary. That’s not to say that being enthusiastic is a bad thing. However, it’s a fine line that you’re walking, and it’s best to err on the side of caution. Be positive and calm, and your enthusiasm will be taken seriously.

Too much eagerness can also lead to a bad business strategy. When you’re focused on how excited you are for a deal, you’re less likely to be focused on the more important task, which is to make sure you have all your ducks in a row and are prepared to negotiate.

Being too concerned with your feelings about a deal takes the attention away from the most important thing—the deal—and puts emphasis on your personal outlook. This can lead to a faulty, unplanned strategy, which can result in a less-than-optimum outcome.

Too much goes a long way
Over-the-top enthusiasm can detract from your relationships with your colleagues too. People tend to get worked up when they’re around someone else who is, so your eagerness can influence coworkers. When everyone is in frenzy, they are less likely to be united and focus on the task at hand. Even if they don’t respond this way to your eagerness, they might instead feel pressure from your behavior and this can distract them.

Follow these Steps:
Now that you’re aware how being too eager can negatively impact negotiations and office relationships, what should you do about it? The first step is to recognize when you’re starting to feel a little too excited. Even acknowledging this can help you know when to scale back.

Once you’ve got that down, try to remove yourself from the situation to give yourself a little time to calm down. Go into your office, take a few deep breaths, and count to ten. This will help you reel in the excitement. Additionally, don’t engage in any transactions or serious conversations when you’re feeling a lot of enthusiasm.

Ask your colleague or customer if they’re able to let you get back to them about their issue, and give yourself time to gather your thoughts so you can present them in a way that doesn’t make you come across as too eager. Remember that a little enthusiasm is fine when it comes across as genuine.

Too much eagerness can definitely harm business transactions, office relationships, and your reputation. It’s natural to feel excited when you’re about to close a deal or undertake a new project, but try to keep those feelings internalized unless you can manage them properly.

It’s important to be aware of your reactions and how you come across to others so that you can maintain a great work environment. Gone are the days of the pushy, eager salesperson, so staying calm and focusing on what needs to get done is the best way to showcase your positive, helpful attitude.

Author Bio: The article is drawn by William Taylor who writes about businesses. He also specializes in writing about negotiation and recommends http://www.thegappartnership.com/ as a site which provides workshops for negotiation.