The optimistic salesperson
Jerry L. Kennedy | TLT Selling Points April 2010
Generating positive energy means your customers and prospects want to be around you.
Optimistic salespeople tend to be more attuned to what’s going on around them and expect good things to happen.
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So far in our series about HERO selling, we’ve discussed the importance of being humble, ethical and responsible. Now let’s move on to the last characteristic on the list of HERO traits: optimism.
There’s some confusion about what exactly it means to be an optimist. Some associate the quality with a Pollyanna-like belief that the sun is always shining and nothing bad ever happens. That’s not optimism, though, not really. That’s more like childish innocence. As adults, we know that sometimes it does rain and sometimes bad things do happen.
True optimism is simply the expectation that, even if things are bad now, they can and will get better. It’s a confidence that, in the end, everything will work out for the best. Without that kind of faith, sales would be an impossible career. You’d burn out long before you were able to achieve any kind of success. You’d never push through the difficult times and, as a result, you’d never have the chance to be a HERO.
There are two important reasons for the would-be HERO to choose optimism. First, it’s attractive. If you’re an optimist, people want to be around you. They want to be a part of your positive energy. Think about it for a moment: Imagine the most pessimistic person you know and ask yourself how much you enjoy his or her company. How long do you want to be in a conversation with that person?
The answer is we don’t want to be around pessimistic people. It drains us emotionally, sapping us of our energy. Pessimists bring us down. Optimistic people, on the other hand, make us feel good. Their positivity is infectious, and we can’t help but catch that little buzz of excitement from them. Wouldn’t you like for your customers and prospects to feel that way about you?
Second, being an optimist opens your eyes to greater opportunity. Studies have shown that optimistic people tend to be “luckier” because they are more attuned to what’s going on around them. They perceive opportunities that the pessimist would have overlooked. Why? Because they expect good things to happen, so their mind is always looking for those good things that will support that belief, resulting in a greater likelihood of finding them. It’s an interesting feedback loop, but it boils down to this: Believe that good things are headed your way and you’ll be sure to be paying attention when they show up.
But what about the person who was born pessimistic or was raised by pessimists? Are they doomed to a life of missed opportunity? Not at all; they just have to choose optimism instead.
We tend to think that being an optimist or pessimist is part of our genetic code, while nothing could be further from the truth. An individual might have a genetic predisposition one way or the other, but when it comes right down to it optimism is a choice. That’s a tough pill for some of us to swallow, but it’s the truth. No matter how long you’ve been a cynic and a pessimist, you can make a different choice starting right now. How you ask?
Instead of automatically responding to things around you the same way you always have, choose a different reaction. If, for example, getting caught in traffic would usually cause you to say something like, “Oh great! This always happens! Now I’m going to be late,” choose instead to say, “Well, looks like I’ll have a little more time now to listen to the radio and enjoy my comfortable car!” It may sound silly, but simple choices like that can, over time, make the difference between success and failure.
Optimism is the HERO’s helmet, protecting his mind from the forces of negativity in the world around him. Make sure you never leave home without it!
Jerry Kennedy, CLS, is owner of Inside Out Business Solutions, a sales and customer service training organization. You can reach him at jkennedy@inside-out-solutions.com.