by Kelly Kramer
I’ll be the first to tell you that I go through big highs and lows in my attitude. One month my numbers are big and the next I’m lucky to be writing $40,000. Over the years I’ve tried to figure out why this happens and what can I do to keep myself at a more consistent pace.
I understand that success breeds more success, just how failure can breed further failure. It is kind of like when your team is on a winning streak. Everyone on the team is in a good mood and one good thing seems to happen after another. The breaks all go your way.
Then, the next thing you know, nothing seems to go in your favor. So you start to over emphasize the negative and it starts to perpetuate itself.
“Eureka” moment
The other day I was watching a baseball game with my local Colorado Rockies. The announcers had some very sharp observations about some highs and lows that a few of the Rockies players were going through. In short, the guys doing well this year were all smiles and had great attitudes. As you might guess, the players with a slow start had bad attitudes.
One announcer mentioned how the coaches had been making a few subtle changes in the players’ swings and pitching motions. For one pitcher, they showed that his foot placement was getting a little to far to the left, while one batter was falling off the pitch and lifting his head. In both cases, the players made the changes, which fixed the problems and changed their attitudes.
So, the trick was to understand the problem and make a few small changes. Changing your own attitude at work can be as simple as that.
Observations
I have times when I’m like gold and simply can’t lose, and there are times when I simply can’t close the door. About a month back I was in one of those bad places when I could not sell hot cocoa to an Eskimo. So I asked a fellow peer if he could see a difference in how I was working with customers. He laughed and said, “You know the answer to this Kelly. When you are on, you are teaching and lately you are rushing and not explaining things.”
I also laughed because I know that is my strongest trait. I’m a teacher /sales advisor. I’m at my best when I educate my buyers on how to make a wise purchase. We all have our strongest selling traits, but every so often, like the batter, we fall off the pitch. I’m lucky because I know my strengths and weaknesses pretty well. So when I get off track I normally make those small changes that get me back to a good mood.
Relax and have fun
This is often easier said than done. Trying too hard to get back to that good mood is what most often happens. What I do when I’m there is slow down and try to have more fun with my customers. What I do is simply stop selling. I ask my customers more about what interests them and tell a few of my more interesting stories.
Long story short, I get more interested in them and they become more interested in me as a person, as well. Surprise; I’m now in a better mood.
I guess sometimes we have to trick ourselves to create a better attitude. Like baseball players, we have the tools. We just have to make a few changes to improve our performance and ultimately our attitude.
Thanks for reading.