By: Gerald Sherman

A Positive Mental Attitude (PMA), being optimistic and enthusiastic, can mean the difference between success and failure, especially for the salesperson. Possessing a positive approach is a very important plus for the salesperson. Your mental attitude is your inner mindset and has an effect on your approach to your client. Clients don’t want gloom and doom; they are looking for reassurance and positive, honest and reliable relationships. Being positive is one of the most important characteristics a salesperson can possess.

Before meeting with your client, “reset” your mental attitude. Park any negativity on the shelf and assume a focused and positive mental attitude. PMA is contagious. Your passion and excitement about your product/service can instill enthusiasm in your client.  If there is a need for the product/service and it offers a benefit, the client’s enthusiasm will mirror yours and get you that much further to closing the sale.

To simplify determining the mental attitude of the salesperson, my co-author, Sar S. Perlman and I devised the Plus or Minus Factor Graph to create a picture in your mind’s eye so that you can see the degree of positive or negative attitudes you are exuding towards your client, your product and your sales presentation.

It’s short and simple and based on a scale of Plus 10 to Minus 10. At the top of the graph we have the enthusiastic, optimistic, fun-to-be-around salesperson, and at the bottom we find the cranky, cynical grump. In essence it asks you to answer the question, “To what degree are you showing these traits?”  The higher the Plus or Minus factor, the more likely it is that a sale will take place. As the illustration shows, the salesperson with the most positive attitude has the potential to make the most sales.

If you asked a salesperson with a low Plus or Minus Factor about his/her business, chances are you’d hear something along the lines of: “It’s rough doing business today with this poor economy and world problems. Client’s demand too much. There’s a lot of competition out there, its tough going. With expenses rising; it’s getting too expensive to do business. My boss doesn’t support my efforts and refuses to understand the problems. His idea of a joke is when he asks his client, “How are you doing?” and the client replies, “Fine thank you,” he answers, “At least one of is!”

On the other hand, a salesperson with a high Plus or Minus factor is likely to answer the same question much differently: “Business is what you make it! The opportunities are always there.  We have a great product and we are making great inroads. We are really on target by providing the best value and excellent service.” If the day did not go well, the positive salespeople will say, “Tomorrow is another day with new opportunities!”

There is one caveat to all of the above, being positive is not to be confused with living in never-never land where all is right with the world. Things can and do go wrong, issues will arrive that need to be addressed, negative situations can happen and people can be just downright rude. All of this can adversely affect the relationship with the client. Be positive but be realistic and understand that you can’t fix everything with a smile, but you can try.