I just spoke at a seminar for sales managers and the topic of recruiting came up. In todays economy, finding the right type of person for sales is no simple task. Hiring managers have to become truly effective at identifying key components in the psyche of an applicant. The simple truth is that not just anyone can do sales but concurrently anyone can learn to sell. Does this make sense?
Well here’s the deal. I can sell anything and I can teach anyone to sell anything. It’s quite simple actually, all you have to do is watch me and you’ll learn exactly how. The question is not can you learn to sell its “can you sell?” Here’s what I mean… no matter how much theory I teach you or how many scripts you memorize there is one basic component that you just can’t learn. That is a great attitude.
Some might argue that they can teach someone the mindset of a sales person but my experience tells me to firmly disagree. You see selling is simple but it’s not easy. The hardest part about selling is by far, coping with the negative people. This is a fact of sales you will get 10″No’s” for every “Yes” if not more. If you can’t handle rejection you can’t handle sales and thats the end of it.
That being said, for the right individual, there are many tactics and exercises I can teach to help maintain a positive attitude throughout adversity. But notice I said maintain. In order to maintain you first must have. A sales person must have a positive attitude before they sit at the coaching table. They have to be self confident, friendly and outgoing and they have to look at ALL things in a positive light. Negative sales professionals can only relate to negative people and Negative people don’t buy. Every effort and I mean EVERY EFFORT must be made to maintain all sales conversations positive and this simply can not be done by someone that is inherently negative.
Beware, sometimes a positive person can give of a negative vibe. They might be letting outside influences affect their sales pitch. They may be physically ill or just sad. The easiest cure for this is a medication that is not prescribed often enough. This medication is called SMILING 🙂 It’s free and everyone can do it. Genuinely smile. Even if your on the phone… SMILE. Smiling causes your brain to produce endorphins that alter your mood and the moods of others around you. Smiling is contagious. When you smile at someone they tend to smile back. When you frown at someone they posture up and close you out. Just smile. Practice your pitch in the mirror and always remember to smile, your attitude will be positive and you will get what you want more often. In sales and in life Attitude is everything. There are only two types available and it is up to you to choose the one you display.
To your success,
Omar
