How to Be A Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing it

Chapter 6. It's All About the Attitude

How to Gain the Attitude of a Sales Superstar

Everyone has probably heard the line, "90 percent of selling is about attitude." That's partly correct, but it's probably more like 99 percent of selling is about attitude. I would even go so far as to claim that 99 percent of life is about attitude. It never fails that salespeople with good attitudes outperform salespeople with bad attitudes. Every method discussed in this book is possible to learn and implement with a good attitude. However, this book is not about being good, it's about being great. This book is all about you being a sales superstar. And to become a sales superstar, you must learn to have the superstar's attitude.

In my management classes I tell attendees to "hire for talent and attitude, and then train for skills." Given the choice between talent and attitude, I choose attitude every time. Top salespeople are not always the most talented ones in their company; in fact, those who have been labeled as "talented" are the ones who are used to getting by on their natural attributes like looks, personality, or sense of humor. Because of this, these salespeople often do not put as much—or any—effort into improving their skills. They become convinced and enamored with the notion that they are natural-born salespeople who do not need to improve. A "naturally" talented salesperson can learn all of the sales skills and techniques that they want—but unless they use them in conjunction with ...