I’m all about the positive attitude. Having the proper mindset is so important to your success in sales. But there is one very important thing to keep in mind.
I heard someone say one time that the eleventh commandment is, “Thou shalt not fake thyself out.” I have always remembered that. It may sound simple but like all great advice, it is much easier to say then to actually follow it!
I’ll be the first to admit that I have “faked myself out” before, but I have learned the importance of trying to be real with myself. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up. We should have an optimistic view of what we can create and do in the future. However, in order to solve a problem, you have to first identify there is a problem to be solved!
In sales, it can be very easy to create a story that justifies our lack of results. We can come up with all the reasons that we aren’t hitting our goals and then tell that story to ourselves over and over until we really start to believe it. And then of course, we go tell (and sell) that story to others as well. But this is really not being honest with yourself.
Rather than “fake ourselves out” to try and make us feel better, why don’t we try to be as honest with ourselves as we can? Did I really do EVERYTHING that I could have done last month? Did I practice and prepare my presentation? Did I ask a coach for help to see where I could improve and get better? Did I go the extra mile… or did I just do what everyone else did?
Being real with yourself is taking responsibility. When we fake ourselves out with some creative story, what we are really doing is shifting the responsibility. We never improve at selling or anything until we take responsibility.
So stop selling yourself and others on why you aren’t succeeding. Be honest with yourself and take action! Make small improvements to get better.
To your success!
Rich
Rich Florence 