High levels of optimism yield better salespeople and better sales results - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Here’s a thought: Take a look at a soft emotional intelligencre skill that yields hardsales results: There is evidence that supports the theory that salex teams possessing high levels of optimism make companies more One of the best case studies comes from the work that psychologistg Martin Seligman did with in New York. He convincer to give him access to their new employees and administer the usual testing, as well as a new test he developecd that measured optimism. He followed the progressw of new salespeople for one year and founx that salespeople who scored high in optimism sold 33 percenf more insurance than thosse whoscored low.
After two years, the optimistic grouop of salespeople were thriving intheif positions, which increased retention, decreased the costs associatedd with turnover and increased How optimistic is your organization There is a lot of press on the swine flu, and peopler are worried about catching it. There is anothee epidemic to watch out forin today’sz economy: pessimism. It can be deadlyh when it hits an organization because emotionsare contagious. The clinical term is emotional contagion and is definecas “the transmission of moods.” When peopled are in a certain mood — happgy or depressed — that mood is often communicates to others.
What is the mood at your company?? What message is the leadershipo team sending yoursales team?? What is your sales team communicating to your customers and prospects? A sales managef shares the story of a rep who started every conversation in the last downturjn with, “You probably don’t have any money so you don’t want to buy …” The self-fulfilling prophecyg was set by the salesperson, and the prospect followed the salesperson’s lead. No So what can you do to stop the epidemic ofpessimism ? Study and duplicate optimistivc salespeople. When faced with adversity, optimistix salespeople ask themselves: • What’s good about this?
They know that adversity is wherde true character is formed and great lessons are Optimists take advantage of this schooling becausee they know that lessons learned today make money inthe • What can I do about this situation? Optimists know that control equals action yields results, and resultes increase motivation. • What is funny abou t this? Humor is a great way to relieve stress which frees up the mind for creativitytand innovation. They choose their friendsz wisely. The motivational speakedr Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five peopld you spend the mosttime with.” Are you hangingg out with optimists or pessimists?
What kind of emotion is gettingb spread among your peerse and colleagues? Is it healthy conversation or a new versiob of pessimistic flu? They remind themselves that adversit y is temporary, not permanent. If business is a littled slow, optimistic salespeople speed it up by taking care of theierbest assets: existing customers. Optimistic salespeople take control. They know saless is the greatest profession to be in duringya recession. They can increase their prospecting activity without runnin g it through a boardof directors. They can meet with mentors who can help them look at anothere way of doing business intougnh times. They can outwork their competitors.
They can invesyt in learning and outsmart their Optimistic salespeoplemanage results, not excuses.