Fuel Your Attitude with Optimism
In a previous article, I talked about the importance of a positive attitude. You cannot survive in a sales career without it. When it comes to attitude, the formula for success is OPERA, for Optimism, Persistence, Enthusiasm, Resilience, and Affability. In this article, I will focus on Optimism.
Optimism is essential when dealing with customers on a day-to-day basis, whether it is a longstanding client or a new prospect. Optimism enables you to make a sales call when there is no good reason to believe it will lead anywhere. Optimism drives the sales person to bid on a project even when the competitor is well entrenched. Optimism can rescue an apparently hopeless situation by injecting renewed energy. For the optimist, the word NO is an acronym for “Never Over.” Optimists will spend their last two dollars on a money clip.
For a sales team, optimism is the fuel that generates energy, commitment, and success. It is never the optimists that bring a team down, it’s the pessimists. A general atmosphere of negativity can poison a team or an entire company. Here is what you hear from pessimists around the coffee maker: “Have you heard the latest? The pressure is coming down from the top. Everyone has to be out of the office on sales calls from 10 till 4, and every day at 5 there will be a status meeting. What’s management’s problem? Just look at the economy. No one’s buying right now. They’re waiting until first quarter when new budgets come out. Do you think they’ll start laying off? What about another reorganization? We’ll probably get sold off! Why can’t the company get its act together?”
You won’t find optimists hanging around a group of pessimists. They’ll be out selling.
What stifles most people’s attitude is fear, extreme anxiety or distress caused by real or possible danger. I see the word FEAR as an acronym for “False Expectations Appearing Real.” Fear stifles a pessimist, but optimists push through whatever fear there might be. The words “fear not” are mentioned 366 times in the Bible. I think that’s pretty sound advice.
Optimism fuels endeavors, enables us to overcome fear, and keeps us going when things are tough. Optimism gives us the courage to confront realities and tackle problems. Optimism helps us drive forward when “the only way out is through.” Optimism is great stuff! Get some!
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