Attitude - The key to successful selling

Why do people fail in sales?

The biggest reason is the fear of rejection or fear of the word "NO"

Why is this? A study showed that the average salesperson only works for about 20% of their time 1 or 2 hours a day. If their income is dependent on speaking to as many people as possible this means they are not doing enough to earn the money they need and want.

In reality 4 out of 5 people will say ‘no’. Successful sales people recognise this and learn how to deal with ‘no’ by using positive thinking techniques. One technique is to know the number of calls you have to make to create a sale or get an appointment. If you need to contact 100 people per sale (your sales analysis will show you the true figures) and every sale is worth £10 then each ‘no’ you get is worth 10p. On this basis you should actively be looking for the ‘no’ customers as much as the ‘yes’ customers.

Another study showed that 50% of calls end up with no close.

Courage and boldness are the critical elements in sales success. The higher your self esteem the higher your confidence the more you like yourself. As a salesperson this means the more calls you will want to make the more people you will see the more closes you will make and the more successes you will have.

In sales - attitude is your key to success

‘Attitude is your mental position on facts - or more simply, the way you view things.’

There are five important items about attitude that you should always remember.

1. Your attitude toward customers influences your behaviour. you cannot always camouflage how you feel.

2. Your attitude determines the level of your job satisfaction.

3. Your attitude affects everyone who comes in contact with you, either in person or on the telephone.

4. Your attitude is not only reflected by your tone of voice but also by the way you stand or sit, your facial expression and in other non-verbal ways.

5. Your attitude is not fixed. the attitude you choose to display is up to you.

Whenever you talk on the telephone you have a choice. You can reflect a positive, upbeat attitude, or you can make another, less desirable, choice.

It is not always easy to be positive. There are work situations that can have negative influences on your attitude. Someone you work with may depress your attitude, your workload may be heavy and produce stress, or certain customers can be demanding and even unpleasant to work with. All of these factors affect your attitude.

You have probably had days that begin with you feeling great. As the day progresses, however, your feeling of well-being starts to slip away. By day's end, you are glad it is over.

If you have had this experience, you are normal. However, even on down days, you have some control. Your control begins when you decide that YOU are responsible for the attitude you display. When you decide to be positive and customer-oriented, you have taken the first step. Your challenge is to maintain this positive attitude despite situations that take place throughout the day.

For example, suppose your first telephone contact of the day is with a very unpleasant customer. This provides you with a choice. You can allow this unpleasant situation to affect your attitude negatively for the rest of the day, or you can put the incident behind you and consciously regain a positive attitude. Every daily activity provides another "attitude opportunity."

It sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, as you know, it is not always that easy. However, you also probably know that the benefits of a positive customer-oriented attitude outweigh the alternatives. For one thing, with a positive attitude your job satisfaction remains high, and you will continue to provide good customer service.

Following are some thoughts to help you establish and maintain a positive and customer-oriented attitude.

1. Start each day with thoughts about the positive aspects of your job.

2. When negative events occur, take a deep breath and re-establish a positive attitude by focusing on activities that allow you to regain your perspective.

3. Whenever possible, avoid people and situations that are predictably negative.

4. Share your attitude when things are going well. Attitudes are caught, not taught.

The following pages give more information and insights into Telesales and Telemarketing

The power of attitude in selling

Opening the call effectively

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