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Some sales pros are true entrepreneurs in that they own their companies.

But all sales pros have entrepreneurial traits. When your job is to approach strangers, build a relationship and convince them to spend money, you’re entrepreneurial. When you’re a person who manufactures new business out of thin air, you’re an entrepreneur.

You could argue that the best sales pros have “entrepreneurial” personalities. That’s a good thing because entrepreneurs are savvy, driven and hard-working people.

The business world puts a lot of emphasis on entrepreneurism. We place successful entrepreneurs on pedestals and look up to them. Much of humanity’s progress has been borne by risk-taking visionaries who were hoping to make a profit.

I have a lot of respect for entrepreneurs — I am an entrepreneur who owns a couple of businesses! But there is a downside to entrepreneurship in addition to financial risks: it can consume you, take over your life and own your soul.

I read a Wall Street Journal article recently by April Spivack: “Entrepreneurs Famously Work Hard. For Many, Dangerously So.” Research shows that some entrepreneurs are so devoted to success that they cross the line from workaholic to addict.

Using the six traits that commonly define addiction, Spivack and her colleague Alexander McKelvie found that two percent of entrepreneurs surveyed have all six addiction traits. Approximately 15 percent had three of the traits. Having just one trait can be damaging, according to Spivack, and 38 percent of entrepreneurs did.

Six Traits That Commonly Define Addiction

1. All they think about is business.
2. They have manic cycles.
3. Their self-worth is tied to the business.
4. They become one-dimensional.
5. They keep raising the stakes (addictions tend to escalate).
6. They do things in secret and suffer alone.

If successful sales pros share many of the same characteristics of entrepreneurs, it stands to reason that sales pros can also become addicted to their work.

It’s a fine line that separates high-achieving versus addictive sales personalities, and it’s not always easy to strike a balance. Most top producers are workaholics (or at least they were in their younger years). If you’re highly ambitious, it behooves you to assess the healthy and unhealthy aspects of your life. Be self-aware.

In the WSJ article, Spivack says it is easier to step over the line and become a work addict than it is to step back into healthy living.

One of the best ways to keep working hard while still being able to enjoy quality time for family, friends, hobbies, recreation, etc., is to employ good time management practices. Many of the entrepreneurs and sales pros I know who are unhealthily stressed out are poor time managers. If you make priorities, stick to a schedule, and lead a time-disciplined life, you can be that top producer who still enjoys a high-quality of living.

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