Being positive makes a big impact
Sales professionals are passionate, emotional people. This trait can make you your own best friend or your own worst enemy. We are highly motivated by our business, whether it’s the compensation we make, the commissionable dollars, the growth of a territory, the advancement of a career. When business is going well and we’re hitting on all cylinders, it is easy to be excited, passionate and positive. When times are good, our passionate personalities are an asset. The problem lies when that’s not the case.
Powerful thoughts
When there is adversity, our desire, passion and drive work in the opposite direction. That same desire, passion and drive that we use for positive growth and making money can also cause us to lose commissions, be in a bad mood and have a negative impact on our overall quality of life. We allow those negative thoughts to become our reality. There are a million things that are going wrong in today’s world. The obvious one is COVID. But five years ago, there were a million things going wrong. Ten years ago, twenty years ago same thing. And guess what? Five years from now, a million things will be going wrong. There is always going to be adversity in the world around you. The extent to which it will affect your business may vary, but there’s always going to be adversity that can impact your life and your well-being.
Prepare for adversity
So the solution here is simple on its face. If negative thoughts can become your reality, so can positive thoughts. It’s not a question of if; it’s a question of when. Don’t give up on a positive outlook. It won’t be easy because you will experience adversity. Embrace it. Plan for it. Anticipate it. Pick up a copy of Catapulting Commissions where I dedicate a whole chapter talking about how to anticipate and prepare for adversity. Adversity is inevitable. But if you don’t believe you can overcome adversity, you’re right. Your negativity will become your reality, and you won’t overcome challenges. As sales professionals, we cannot let negativity bring us down. We have to be on our A game very single day. Every day we have to show up and deliver. We need to be better than we were the day before. If you don’t take that approach, you will fail. This is not the type of job where you can punch a clock and stare at a computer screen all day watching the hours tick down. If that’s what you’re doing, just quit now.
Look, I know this isn’t easy. People will tell me ‘hey I still have challenges in my day and in my business. Thinking positive isn’t going to make adversity disappear.’ And to that I say you’re absolutely correct. In fact, I’d argue that when you decide to focus on growth abundance and to make that significant mental shift toward a positive mindset, the universe is going to throw at you all the adversity in the world. When you can look at adversity and find a positive mindset, that is when you know you have arrived. That is when you know you’ve crossed over a certain barrier of success. If you want to be successful in your business, you have to think positive all the time, not some of the time. Not when it’s appropriate. Not when it’s easy. It’s a skill set you need to develop.
Find support
If you struggle with finding that positive place, you can get help. Find a mentor, a coach or a mastermind group that is committed to positivity. I’ve had multiple coaches and mentors over the years and when I can’t see the positive, they help me. I ask for help and I want to be held accountable. Doing this has been the biggest difference in my career and in my business. If you’re a sales leader or a people manager, I recommend you do the same. It’s even more important for you to have that outlook on life because the people you manage are will come to you with negative thoughts. And if they don’t, I have bad news for you. It means they don’t trust you and they aren’t going to be with you much longer.
If you need help with this, reach out directly to me. I can hook you up with somebody or my team or myself if it works out.
https://youtu.be/t0rX_r2e19A
