4 Signs You Have A Bad Attitude(And How To Fix It)
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Take this simple test to see if your attitude has gotten bad and you didn’t know it. Your attitude is one of the most important things determining your success in making a sale and your success in life in general.
The Power of a Positive Attitude in Sales
One example of this is that If you've been in sales long enough one thing you'll notice that new salespeople always sell. They don't really know what they're doing yet, they don't really know what they're selling yet but they have a good attitude. They haven't been beaten down by I wanna get 3 estimates, or customers that say your prices are too high or any of the other things that start to frustrate you and weaken your attitude. They don’t know yet that “these type of customers” never buy. The point is they go out expecting to make a sale and have a great attitude and that alone increases their sales among people who’ve been doing it for a long time.
Here are four warning signs that your attitude has gotten weak without you realizing it and suggestions on how to deal with it. Please read to bottom to see all four.
1. Are You Planning or Just Hoping to Make a Sale?
The first way to know if your attitude is down is to check whether you are you planning or hoping to make a sale.
The easiest way to know this is just to ask yourself a question before you run your next lead. What are your chances of making the sale in the home you are about to go in?
When I was a sales manager a test I used to do to the salespeople was I'd say “OK all of you on your next lead what would you say your chances are of making the sale.. and some people would say ohh it would be 25%, some of the people would say 50% and some people would say 90%. If your attitude is in the right place there's only one correct answer and that's 100%. For you realists out there of course the chances that you're gonna make a sale is not 100% but your attitude has to be that your chances of making the sale are 100%. Not that you hope that but you believe it in your heart.
Norman Vincent Peale used to have a statement that said “shoot for the moon so if you miss you'll hit the stars”. Or was that Jimminy Cricket …either way it's the same thing here. Your best shot at making a sale is always with that 100% positive expectation.
How to Improve Your Attitude
The solution to this could be a lot of things. One way to change your attitude or expectations is that maybe you have been beaten up too much and you need to raise your self esteem. Are you going in the home like the selling machine that you should be or are you going in the home like the maybe I'll make a sale or I hope I make a sale mentality of all weak salespeople. There's a lot of different ways to raise yourself esteem. One way may be to have some positive affirmations that you like.
It may sound corny but when I first started and even now when I say” I’m a fierce Bengal tiger and and the best in the west. I’m a selling machine.” Over and over with emotion it’s hard to stay weak. Also listening to tapes or reading books that motivate you.
By doing this you’re also practicing self improvement which means that you're getting better every day. A good definition of attitude is that it's your vision of the future. If you're not getting any better then your expectation of the future probably isn't that great and that it's going to be the same as it is right now. But if you know you're getting better even though you may not be doing it right now your expectation of the future should be good because you know you're moving in the right direction and you're better today than you were yesterday. That alone will give you a better attitude when you go in the home as far as your expectations of making the sale.
2. Listen to Your Self-Talk: Are You Complaining and Blaming?
The second way to check your attitude is to listen to your self talk. Are you complaining and blaming the leads and prices? Do your leads suck and are your prices too high to sell anything? Blaming anything is another sign that is your attitudes become bad. Sometimes it's obvious because you feel like you're whining all the time but peel back a layer and what it really is are you blaming something or somebody.
How to Take Responsibility
The simple solution to that is to start taking responsibility. If one person in your company can sell with your leads and prices that means that you can and if you're not you need to find out what the difference is between you and them. It's not that your price is too high you're not good enough yet to build the value so your customer will pay what you're charging. Remember all the leads suck equally.
The best way to handle this thought is with one simple phrase. “I am responsible”. Take back control of your life and situation and stop being such a baby. If you want to dive deeper check out blog post “Taking Responsibility”.
3. Are You Still Having Fun?
The third sign your attitude may be weak is a simple one. Are you not having fun anymore?
Are you finding yourself hating the customer within the first 15 minutes of meeting them. Remember when you were new and every time you met a customer it was totally fun because it was a brand new house was a brand new person that you got to meet and help with their problems. Have you lost that? Not only do you not like your customers but it's almost like all the customers seem like they’re part of one big family. You go in the home and a little voice starts to say ohh my gosh it's another one of these. They say I’m not buying anything today and instead of being nice internally you start to think …then why are you wasting my time like the last one.
Pro-tip…it’s also harder to sell your customers when they know you hate them…believe me they know 😊
Reignite the Fun in Sales
The solution is you have to separate the customers into the just the one you are seeing. Just now no past and no future. Its sort of like a mindfulness of sales. You can't be thinking about the ones you already saw or you can't be thinking ahead. If you start thinking behind you start to get negative thinking about your past failures. If you start thinking ahead like I have to sell 4 in a row now you can start pressing and in a way start to prequalify the customer with thought of “this is a waste of time” I need to get out of here so I can make my 4 sales. Each customer is fresh and each customer is different in their own way but if you get too many no sales you start to blend them all together and it affects your attitude.
The other thing that can cause you to stop having fun is that you're trying too hard to make the sale. The best way to stop that is to go in the home with the attitude that you don't care if you make this sale or not and you're just there to give them an education and have some fun. Stop focusing on making the sale start focusing on having some fun and helping the customer and the sales will follow.
4. Are You Operating at Full Speed?
The fourth sign of a bad attitude is that you are not going full speed. Are you doing things like staying longer in your two o'clock even though you know it's a no sale so you won't have to go to your 5:00 appointment? Are you doing the disciplines you used to do like tracking numbers, giving 100% on every appointment and not taking any short cuts? Do you find yourself almost dreading going to the lead and are you glad when you get a now show and instead of waiting around you leave quickly in case they show up?
One reason that causes this is that it's almost like you start to get burnt out in a way. I remember playing mental tricks on myself when I was just running and running for what seemed like for days or years at a time. When I felt that way before I went into the next lead I made believe it was the last lead I was ever gonna have to do. I made sure that I did everything 100% and I had fun. Sales is full speed or no speed. Just like your commission 100% or nothing. When this happens refocus on your goals and get back into the fun of meeting someone new and helping them.
Work harder, shoulder down and it will be okay.
How to Regain Momentum
If you can’t change or fix your attitude. then maybe it’s time to take a break. The worst feeling I had running leads is when I knew my attitude was bad and I still worked and didn’t make any sales. Then in retrospect I realized that I would have been better taking week or day off because then at least I would have been rested instead of wasting my time running leads with a bad attitude.
By addressing these four areas, you can ensure that your attitude stays positive, which is essential for long-term success in sales. If you ever feel your attitude slipping, revisit these tips and get back on track!
