Statistics are an amazing thing-they show you what you want them to.
The year ahead promises to be exactly the type of year you believe it will be. The operative word here is believe and your sales attitude is the filter that determines what you see. .
There will always be two kinds of salespeople.
The first group believes that the year ahead will be bigger and better in spite of the economy, product, customer objections, service, price, processes, the competition, or the weather. This group knows that perfect conditions do not exist and the green grass over the fence won’t seem as green when they cross over. They don’t just know this—they believe it.
Then there’s the second group. This lot believes they will struggle through the year ahead just as they did the last, and the one before that, and the one before that—because of exactly the same reasons their counterparts will thrive.
Read: Don’t Berate Yourself –It Takes Practise To Bake Your Pitch To Perfection
Sales attitude: The second kind
This second group believes their sales will improve when the price is lowered, when their product or service matches the competition, when deliveries and all other processes operate with clockwork precision, and when the year remains sunny.
And guess what? Both groups are right. And they have the figures to prove it. Statistics are amazing things—they show you what you want them to.
The latter can show you their declining numbers from years past, when they embraced this belief. “See,” they will explain, led by Shaka, “Every year the numbers have been going down because our prices have remained high and our product is inferior to the competition. You see this dip in Q4? It was because of the El Nino rains—they interrupted our movements. And back office always delays processing payments (or creating the website, or delivering the goods). These problems are the reasons for my declining numbers.“
What about Ondati, Ndemo, and Juma? How come their numbers are growing and you are in the same team? “Arrgh! They are given leads. Back office favours them. They have cars and do not rely on public transport.“
Same script, different cast
Meantime, Ndemo: how come your numbers are growing in spite of working in the same environment?
“Well, first I changed my company and enlarged my vision. I used to hang out with Shaka and his group until I realized their belief was rubbing off on me. When I asked to understudy Ondati, he was eager to help, and my world changed dramatically.
“I used to complain about customer objections as the reason for not selling. Until Ondati showed me that these are few and can be handled. He even taught me what to say when they arise. A whole new world opened up for me; just knowing how to handle this one thing saw the problems of product, price, and processes simply fall away. I couldn’t believe it! All this time I was holding on to excuses, not reasons.
“And as my sales started to increase, I grew more positive, energetic, and hopeful. I grew relationships with back office staff, and when I request favours, they grant them. Not all the time, but often enough—and always when they can. They even give me referrals, which I make sure to give them progress on.
“At one time I believed this job was impossible; now I believe it is the only job possible to experience this kind of personal growth. Look at these figures! I’ll soon be buying a car just as Juma and Ondati.”
Different sales attitude, different result.
Sales attitude: Where do you belong?
The tragedy is that some salespeople will merely survive while others will spectacularly thrive. One group will struggle because of, and another will succeed in spite of, the same circumstances.
Where do you want to be? There are only two things you can control to determine this: your belief (and therefore, your sales attitude) and your actions.
Take 100% responsibility for yourself. Every day, diligently work on these two things—and the year ahead will be exactly the type of year you believe it will be.
You may like: Is it the economy that needs fixing? Or is it you? Let’s find out.
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