Attitude is Everything???

It would be hard for anyone in sales to disagree that attitude is important. Without a positive attitude it’s difficult to accomplish all the things we need to accomplish each day, week and month as salespeople. But how does one develop a good attitude if you don’t already have one? One way is to get rid of “self-limiting” beliefs.

Self-limiting beliefs are thoughts we have about ourselves that get in the way of our success. It’s that little voice in your head that is talking to you on a fairly consistent basis, telling you all the reasons why you can’t, or shouldn’t, succeed. (If you’re wondering what little voice in your head I’m talking about, it’s the one that just asked you, “What little voice is Jeff talking about?”)

Salespeople need confidence. Confidence in their product, (or service) confidence in themselves and confidence in their ability to have a discussion with potential customers that ends with the customer choosing to do business with them. Unfortunately, we often sabotage ourselves without knowing it.

How many times have you left a sales meeting, after losing the sale, and had the “little voice” in your head say something like, “I blew it.” Or, “I’m such a loser,” “I’m such an idiot,” “I stink at selling,” or something like that? In and of themselves, those are just words but the problem is that your subconscious (or unconscious) mind is always listening to the things you say, whether out loud or only in your head. Say things enough times, either positive or negative, and your brain starts to believe them.

When you tell yourself, “I’m an idiot,” or “I stink,” enough times your subconscious mind begins to believe it and starts manifesting behaviors to match your internal language. If you tell yourself that you’re an idiot, eventually your actions will start to prove it consistently.

Luckily, the reverse is also true. Get inside the mind of an Olympic athlete and your likely to hear things like, “I’m a winner,” “I’m confident in my ability to finish the race first,” or “I’m the greatest.” Remember Mohammed Ali? While his ego certainly played a part in his constant declaration, “I’m the greatest,” it was also a brilliant way to constantly tell his mind what he wanted it to hear, and believe, so that his mind and body would act accordingly.

Would you like to change your success in sales? Change your internal self-talk. Each time you catch yourself speaking negatively to yourself, gently turn it into a positive statement. Turn, “I stink at sales,” into, “I am an expert salesperson who helps my clients achieve success.” If you’ve done something stupid (we all do occasionally) turn, “I’m an idiot,” into, “I’m brilliant and I made a mistake.” DO NOT get down on yourself…this technique takes time and effort but will pay off with big results.
Your beliefs and internal dialogue can make a huge difference in your overall attitude and your paycheck. Give it a try for two weeks and see if it makes a difference.