When you’re green you grow, When you’re ripe you’re rotten.
It’s something I often say to the companies I work with.
Many of the companies I worked with last year pivoted and grew during the pandemic. Some others went out of business. It’s about survival of the fittest.
The success triangle is a three-legged stool of Attitude, Behavior and Techniques.
Attitude
Attitude is a belief in yourself, a love of life and in a higher power. It’s another three-legged stool of mind, body and spirit. You hire for attitude. You can teach the product or service later. Some people just have a bad attitude. Ask why.
You can’t manufacture attitude. It’s got to be there. It’s about our upbringing, personal experiences and our own stick-to-itiveness. If you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up. That’s life! Attitude trickles down to influence, your commitment to your behavior, commitment and willingness to use whatever strategies, policies, and implementations your company might have. When you’re hiring people or working with people, these are things we want to look for.
I’ve had some of the best gains with my sales teams in depressed markets because we didn’t buy the hype that “nobody was going to buy.” We knew we had the best products and nothing was going to stop us. In short, we had a great attitude.
In 2020, this was all tested with COVID. I had so many people who had just given up, they were afraid to walk out their door. The spirit is the most important part of our attitude. It gets us up in the morning.
A simple saying I use: If it’s to be, it’s up to me. When I hit a roadblock, I think about that.
You’ve always got to be stimulating your mind to get that synergy going. I do a couple of workshops on “Sales Reluctance,” about sales people who are sometimes reluctant to make prospecting calls. We don’t call them “cold” calls, we call them “new” calls. It’s all a frame of mind. Prior to making these tougher calls I have them call an existing client, somebody who loves you. You get your confidence up. THEN you make the tough calls.
Also, make sure you’re exercising and getting enough sleep. It’s not about getting to the gym and pumping a bunch of iron, it can be a 10 minute walk.
The average person spends 80 percent of their time thinking negative thoughts! Why can’t it be 50 percent or less? We’re all going to have negative thoughts about our ability, we’re only human! In your spare time, write down a few things that might limit your success. Once you identify those things, maybe you can put some goals together to overcome the negativity.
Behavior
Everyone has an aura around them.
I’ve had people who have looked great on paper but they didn’t present themselves well enough and I didn’t hire them. It’s not how you feel that determines how you act, it’s how you act that determines how you feel.
When we run a business, it’s important to know how behavior relates to our goals. Our subconscious mind is the most powerful tool we have. In our conscious mind, we don’t think about our goals because we’re too occupied with running our business. Write down those goals to train your subconscious mind to put those triggers into place and direct those goals in your conscious mind.
When you’re goal setting, also set professional goals that are in sync with your personal goals. If you’re not happy in business, it affects your family life. If you’re not happy in your personal life, it affects your business. Find a balance.
When I’m hiring I always ask people about particular challenges they’ve had at a particular job.
Techniques
Techniques could be sales driven, about new service initiatives, or new prospects in your outreach programs.
I “time block”, I write everything down on my calendar. If you have anyone on your team struggling with time management, have them time block. It’s an incredibly powerful tool. I note meetings, calls, workshops and even lunch.
In summary, you need to have a plan to execute these “BAT” strategies. You have to think about the strategies, the pros and cons of those strategies and how to make it happen. Maybe making sure you have the right crew working at the right site, for example. To paraphrase Bill Belichick: just do your job! If everyone at companies just did their job, it would be amazing what they could do!
Andrew Botieri of Plymouth leads Sales, Management and Leadership Training at Greg Nanigian & Associates of the Sandler Sales Institute. He can be reached at andrewbotieri@gnatraining.com
