Recently I’ve been talking to a lot of people about their attitude toward sales and how attitude is one of the primary keys to individual and collective success. As with the stock market where market psychology drives the herd forward or backwards, so it is with sales psychology. It either drives you forward or backward if you allow it to control your behavior and attitude.
The italics are intentional. Because attitude is a matter of choice, ala the famous expression “I choose not to participate in the Recession,” you get to choose yours. In reality some industries and services are always suffering but that is a Condition; what are the Problems that stem from the condition and what are you doing to resolve them for yourself? If your industry or service is not suffering but you are, what responsibility do you take for your individual circumstance, and what are you willing to risk emotionally (for that is what holds us back) to change your circumstances? If your field is thriving are you coasting or working to be the best you can be?
In either case are you doing the high value, high priority things that move you forward or the busy things that allow you to say how hard you’re working? Are you committed to your own success? Are you self-motivated? Do you accept responsibility and accountability for your role in how you got to where you are today and where you’re going tomorrow?
The good news is that yesterday doesn’t matter. We can have a fresh start beginning right now, this very moment. Every great artist started scribbling lines on a piece of paper before creating masterpieces, every Pulitzer winning author first wrote gibberish before the best seller; champions are made on the practice field and in the gym, not on the playing field. What are you doing to raise yourself to a Sales Professional? For example, how is your verbal business card? Great? OK? Or, “what’s a verbal business card?” Have you prepared for today and tomorrows sales calls or are you planning on “winging it”? Do you track your time and activities? Have you created a habit of giving weekly or daily referrals? Are you chasing sales or working to collect Decisions through a sales process? Have you bought into the Guess Free Selling model or are you still fighting it? When was the last time you called your Sales Evolution sales coach or for that matter responded to the Monday Morning Drill?
At the end of our careers we all have to take The Mirror Test. What’s that you ask? It’s when you look in the mirror at the end of your career and to say one of two things to sum it all up. Either “I did my best and gave it my all” or “Well, it could have been worse”? Your choice. What are you going to say?
Before starting Sales Evolution, LLC, Scott Messer held various sales, sales management, and executive positions at Union Carbide, American Chemsol Corporation, Griff Machine Products Company, Ultimate Software Group, Data Flow Information Systems, Compuware Corporation and Growth Dynamics. This roster included two turn-arounds and two start-ups — Scott helped these firms launch new products and services, establish sales territories and raise capital.
Please join us on Wednesday, November 12th at 2:00 pm EST as Mr. Messer leads a free webinar through HRDQ-U. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Sign up today!
