This part of the B.A.T. success strategy really is the one category that leads the rest, but A.B.T. doesn't spell anything or stand for anything I could think of using. So for the purposes of this column I’m listing it second.
Attitude
Appropriate attitude is the driving force behind successful people. Think about it. You can have the best plans for a scientific, sure fire behavior system, but if your attitude sucks, it’s just not going to happen long term. Your professional attitude is made up of three primary categories.
1. Your feelings about the company you work for. If those feelings are not positive you must find a way to change it. It will rot away at you and destroy all that great charm you wake up with in the morning. If that person you work with or next to just seems to be the proverbial jerk – move. If that can’t happen – change. Not them, you. You will live up to your expectations and expectations can be changed relatively easy. My Father picked up a thought that he has passed on to me and it may make a lot of sense in your situation. If someone is treating you unfairly or incorrectly, “kill ‘em with kindness”. Expect them to treat you respectfully and show them your most gracious and complimentary side and the relationships around you will change.
2. Also as important is the way you feel about your marketplace. Are you selling iceboxes to Eskimos? That won’t be a long lasting career. Redefine your marketplace or change your approach on who you sell what to. If you can’t resolve problems in these 2 areas maybe you need to find another job.
3. The most important piece of attitude is of course how you feel about You. Three critical components that must be kept in balance and constantly worked on are: Body, Mind and Spirit. Exercising, eating the proper foods, filling your mind with positive intellectual information, resting properly, are all requirements of a healthy You. In addition last but certainly not least, You must be in touch with your spiritual side. This is going to appear on the outside, differently for each individual, but on the inside it’s the same. What drives you, guides the right from wrong and makes you want to help others? We all have God. We just call this spiritual side by different names. All truly successful people that I have known or read about have this very important component, nurture it and grow it.
Next week will be the final installment of this three part series. We’ll deal with the all important “Technique” side of a successful selling career.
