If someone constantly has a negative attitude, they’re going to have a difficult time selling even the best product. But when sales professionals commit to approaching every phone call and meeting with a positive attitude, they’re going to be able to reach very high levels of success.
While it’s easy to say “be positive,” we all know that actually keeping that attitude all the time can be a challenge. For example, if you get a call from your spouse right before a meeting and find out that a home repair is going to cost twice as much as you expected, it takes self-control to prevent those negative feelings from carrying over into the interaction you’re about to have with a prospect.
Since that’s just one example of the many types of obstacles that can challenge your ability to maintain a positive attitude, let’s take a look at three different strategies that can help:
Treat Every Customer Like Your Biggest One
As a sales professional, it’s natural to spend a lot of time thinking in terms of dollar amounts. While there are some good reasons for that approach, it’s important to not let that type of thinking have any negative effects. A great example is a customer who’s loyal but usually doesn’t buy very much. Although it can be tempting to brisk past them, you should actually treat them just as well as you do your larger customers. The reason is you never know when their business may expand and they may suddenly have significantly more purchasing power.
Take the Time to Truly Understand
One common obstacle that gets in the way of maintaining a positive attitude is feeling like you’re not making any progress with a prospect. While it’s easy to blame that person, as long as they’re in your target demographic, chances are the friction is simply coming from not truly understanding their thoughts and feelings. That’s why the best thing to do is redirect your energy towards asking enough questions to find out.
Visualize Successful Deals
If you haven’t ever tried this strategy, don’t knock it until you try it. It’s easy to underestimate the power of positive thinking. But when you take the time to really think through a call or meeting, all your positive thoughts will carry over into your actual interactions.
Your Attitude Can Make or Break Your Sales Success
As a bonus tip, one thing to keep in mind is at the end of the day, most people aren’t going to remember things like how much you sold. Instead, what they’re going to remember is your interactions with them. And if virtually all of those interactions were positive, you’re going to reap far more rewards than just hitting your monthly and quarterly sales targets!