I woke up early over the holiday weekend and found myself immediately thinking about an annoying/stressful situation that took place the day before. At that point, I had to stop myself and wonder what the hell I was doing. I was on the Cape, enjoying what was otherwise a wonderfully sunny few days off with my family. Why did I have to wake up thinking of something that’s bringing me down to negative town? I’ve always been intrigued by people who seem to have life figured out. For some reason, they manage to navigate the same waters we are all floating on, but somehow they always seem to come out clean with little to no stress slowing them down along the way. From what I’ve seen, most of these people always take the necessary step back from a situation and look at the big picture. The existing task they are consumed with could potentially overwhelm them with stress, but they have the ability to recognize that what may seem like a big deal now is generally insignificant in the big scheme of things.
Don’t get me wrong: I believe in a “healthy level” of stress. It helps with added motivation to keep us pushing forward. Sure, we all have expectations placed on us every day, but we need to take that healthy level of stress and find a way to morph it into something positive.
One of the best examples of the person I’ve described above is our CEO, Paul Alves, whose picture is above. Here is just one example of an inspirational quote he came across recently at Personal Selling Power and shared with the AG team:
“When you wake up in the morning, what are your first thoughts? Are they positive thoughts, or do you start the day consumed by dread, fear, stress, or worry? Even if you’re not a morning person and have trouble formulating distinct thoughts before a shower and coffee, you’re already tapping into the feelings and emotions that can shape the rest of the day. Pay attention to what you’re thinking right at the very start of each morning, and take steps to make sure those thoughts are positive and free from negative influences.
In sales, attitude is king. If you don’t truly believe that there are sales out there waiting to be made, then making 100 phone calls, having the perfect script, and doing loads of research won’t help. You may, for example, find yourself prefacing your conversations with self-defeating statements. But don’t dwell on what won’t work or what’s not going right. Be confident that you can find the win-win in any situation, and you’ll learn what a positive impact attitude can have.”
It can be so easy to allow the negativity to creep in when you cold call. Let’s face it; no matter how skilled you are at cold calling you are going to hear “NO” more than “YES”. Our stats show a 3% average lead rate across every project we called on over the years. That means out of every 100 sales conversations we have in a day, 3 of those end up converting into marketing qualified leads. Not the most encouraging stats, but that’s the cold hard reality we live in when dialing for dollars.
However, it’s important to continue inspiring yourself to do better, and concentrate on the positives instead of the negatives of your day. Also, if you’re looking for some periodic sales inspiration, I recommend you check out Paul Castain’s website, Your Sales Playbook.
Paul C. is a perfect example of another guy who always manages to put a positive spin on the sales game, while always keeping the big picture in perspective. I’ll swing by his site for some daily inspiration….especially if I’m feeling a little beaten down.
There are many attributes that are required to be successful when you dial, but as the quote above points out, it all starts with your attitude.
