by Anneli Thomson, Managing Director, Sandler Training
In his book, “The Power of Intention”, Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about people who have a never-give-up attitude who have an internal picture that propels them toward fulfilling their dreams. He goes on to note that intention is something greater than a determined ego or individual will. He suggests the power of intention must also be accompanied by the person being inspired and that all inspiration comes from a field of energy that flows within us and around us.
At Sandler, we know that if you want to start your year strong, you need to look intrinsically at your attitude and it’s (one of the three points in the Sandler Success Triangle)… it may be the most important aspect of all success.
Most sales and sales management training is technique driven and without question it is important but technique training without attitude training as well may serve to educate the person and make them knowledgeable about what to do but will they do it? At Sandler when we interview people for sales positions we often find people who can sell but we want to know if they will sell. They have the intention to sell but they may not be inspired to sell.
Developing our attitudes is as important as developing our selling skills. Ever met someone who had a fear of cold calling and prospecting, asking for the money, asking for referrals, or asking the tough qualifying questions? These may be technique issues but they are definitely attitude issues that manifest themselves as fear of failure, lack of confidence and call reluctance. The result is procrastination, longer selling cycles and being busy rather than being productive.
Sales is a high-rejection business. It takes a strong gut system fuelled by a positive attitude to actually do what you intend to do. It’s not unusual to have these feelings, in fact it’s totally normal to find yourself in a rut.
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