Do you know anyone who is constantly whining, complaining, and making excuses for their performance?

Stay clear of them, because they will try to suck you into their pity parties.

Oh sure, there’s no denying that the current economic environment could be better. But, when the weather is bad, do you say, "Oh, the weather’s bad. I can’t go outside today, or do my job." I doubt it.

The successes in life adapt to their environment. They make changes. They act. I bet that is you.

And just like we need to regularly work on our physical health to stay in shape, we need to do the same with our mental and "sales health" to perform at peak levels.

At my regular meeting of Master Speakers International, I sat down with one of the top experts in the world on peak performance and motivation, my friend Dr. Alan Zimmerman. I asked Alan what salespeople need to do, right now, to keep their attitudes high and outsell the competition.

Here are his common-sense, on-target answers. First, on attitude:

1. Refuse to blame anyone or anything for sales problems.
Blaming anything outside of yourself doesn’t change anything. All blame can do is keep you stuck or make you spiteful, neither of which will turn you into a winner. Ever wonder why one salesperson prospers while another suffers in the same situation? The answer is simple:

The suffering salesperson wastes his time on blame, while the prospering salesperson is investing her time, learning how to get better at what she does.

What are you doing, right now, to get better?
 

2. Refuse to use a loser’s language.
The most successful, and I might add, the happiest salespeople, refuse to use a loser’s language. They know that words precede results.

They know if they talk like a loser, they’ll end up losing. George Schultz, the former U.S. Secretary of State said, "The minute you start talking about what you’re going to do if you lose, you have lost."

The salesperson who will not acknowledge defeat cannot be defeated That person is guaranteed to win in the long run. It’s a given.

It’s like the little boy who walked onto the baseball practice field saying, "I’m the greatest hitter in the world." He threw up the ball, swung, missed, and said, "Strike one." He threw up the ball again, and once more he swung and missed, and said, "Strike two." He did that for three strikes in a row.

At that point he picked up his bat and ball. With a smile on his face, he walked off the field and said, "I’m the greatest pitcher in the world."

He refused to use the language of a loser. He only talked about winning, and so should you.

The research is quite clear. The more you talk about failing to meet your sales goals, the more negative your attitude will become. And the more negative your attitude becomes, the poorer results will be.

It’s a vicious downward cycle that you must refuse to enter.

What language do you use when you talk to yourself and others about your performance, effort, and outlook on life?

3. Choose to believe in yourself.
Even though you may have some doubts about your sales abilities, even though the balance sheet of your life may show more liabilities than assets, you’ve got to believe in yourself. Sugar Ray Robinson, the boxing champ, said, "To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

If that sounds easier said than done, all you have to do is start affirming it. Tell yourself twenty times a day, a hundred times a day, "I like myself. I believe in myself. And I am a great salesperson."

Eventually your subconscious mind will start to accept your affirmation, and you will believe in yourself. (By the way, the cynics laugh and make fun of this. Just ask them what their sales results are, though.)

By the way, if your attitude could use a boost, I suggest getting instant access to the audio seminar I did with Dr. Zimmerman, "Getting and Keeping A Successful Telesales Attitude,"

In addition to working on your attitude, according to Dr. Zimmerman, there are a few things we need to do to keep selling during tough times:

1. Work hard. If someone were to follow you around for a week and painstakingly recorded everything you did to advance your sales career, would that person walk away with a long list of all the things you’re doing to get ahead? Or would that person have a long list of the excuses you gave and the times you wasted?

Sometimes people fool themselves into thinking they’re putting out 100% effort, when in reality, they’re not.

For example, many salespeople aren’t doing too well these days, and Alan often hears  them say, "I sent out 100 flyers announcing our new product line, and I didn’t get any response. I did everything I could."

Oh really? How about picking up the phone more?

One hundred percent effort means that you’ve exhausted every possible opportunity for reaching your goal. If you’re looking for a sale, 100% effort would include researching individual companies
that are a great fit for your product or service, sending these companies personalized letters, and calling to follow up with intelligent, company-specific questions, not to mention networking,
referrals, and a host of other selling strategies.
 

2. Practice endurance. To many salespeople, "endurance" is a nasty word. They would like to come by success the "easy" way. They want it to fall into their laps.

But that’s an extremely rare occurrence. 99.99% of the time, success comes AFTER you "endure" awhile. And all the greats in every field of endeavor have learned how to "endure."

As professional tennis player Bjorn Borg noted, "My greatest point is my persistence. I never give up in a match. However down I am ? I fight until the last ball. My list of matches shows that I have turned a great many so-called irretrievable defeats into victories."

Could the same be said of you? That you never give up? That you endure?

Or do people, secretly behind your back, say you bail out when things get a little tough? Do they say you give up way too easily or throw in the towel too quickly? Do they point out the fact that you seldom finish what you start?

If you answer "yes" to any of these latter questions, remember the words of John Quincy Adams. He noted, "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."

In other words, there’s power in perseverance.

3. Stay committed. Everything else being equal, commitment wins every time. So fight back any feelings of discouragement that might get in your way. Don’t allow yourself to hang it up when
things get rough.

If you’re going to be successful, you’ve got to remember the letters M.I.H., just like that one high school wrestler. During his Junior year he won the second place trophy in the state championships.

Now he could have thought that was good enough.

But the day after the state finals, he was back in the same old gym working out in the same old sweats with one small change. He had placed white tape on each of his three middle fingers, and on each piece of tape was a letter: M.I.H.

He kept the letters on his fingers all year, and he trained harder than ever, until he again found himself at the state tournament. This time he was crowned state champion.

Of course people wanted to know how he did it. He created a tool that helped him focus, stay the course, and keep up his commitment. He knew that if he really wanted to be the best, it was up to him. He was determined to Make It Happen.

As you pursue your goals, as you strive towards greater sales success, follow these four points, and you will not only survive, but thrive. After all, most salespeople don’t fail. They just give up.

Alan has so much great self-development material to share that I asked him what else he would suggest for my readers.

He suggested his "12 Little-Known Keys To Extraordinary Success  On And Off The Job."  Awesome stuff. To see them, click here  then on the left side menu bar and choose "2-Day Journey."