Nothing is more important to your daily success than your attitude.
This article originally appeared in the July 2016 edition of INSTORE.
What’s the most important thing you bring to work every day?
Your attitude. It affects you and everyone around you, from owner to manager to sales team. Your attitude is self-proclaimed, good or bad. It’s a choice, and unfortunately, too many people every day choose to have a not-so-good attitude, creating a negative work environment. Clients hate team members with a bad attitude.
They will leave and choose to give their money to someone else. Always remember: the experience you deliver is more important than the product purchased.
You want to know one major reason why so many people shop for jewelry on the Internet? They are sick and tired of how employees of nice, prestigious stores treat them. Snooty doesn’t sell. Not only that, but clients don’t have time to deal with an untrained staff or subpar service.
If you think you can’t do something, you’ve already failed. People say, “Oh that won’t work” before they’ve even tried, which sets the whole team up for failure. If you say you can’t, you’re also saying you don’t want to — that you’re stuck in your old bad habit. In my opinion, you just became unnecessary to your store. Saying “I tried it once” isn’t good enough; you have to try it over and over until you get it.
On the other hand, those who lead by the proper example have a quiet strength. They motivate and encourage others by their actions. More sales teams are motivated by recognition, pats on the back, and saying “job well done, I’m proud of you,” than they are by money. People want to work in an environment where they are encouraged to succeed and trained to do so.
How can you become this kind of employee and this kind of leader? It starts with believing in yourself and sticking with a task even if you fail the first time. Perseverance works. When you learn a new skill, you make yourself more valuable to your team, your clients and your owner.
Be positive. Every time you approach a client, think to yourself: “She’s wealthy.” Think: “I’m going to close this sale.” Think: “I’m going to get an add-on.” Think: “We’re going to have fun.”
I guarantee that when you go in with this kind of attitude, clients will remember how awesome their experience was. They’ll forget what you say or what you do, but they’ll never forget how they were treated.
Owners: You need to arrive each day in a great mood, saying hello to everyone front and back, letting them know you’re glad they’re here. Good or bad, you set the tone for the rest of the day for your entire team. If you’re in a bad mood, just stay home.
Sales associates: Become the best team member you can by being a leader, a motivator, a teacher, and an encourager, because this sets your team up for success. It improves the workplace, makes us all feel important and greatly improves your closing ratio. Always look for the good, not the bad. Don’t be a whiner, be a motivator. Make your workplace positive. Be the one everyone wants to work with.
Shane Decker has provided sales training for more than 3,000 stores worldwide. Contact him at ( 719) 488-4077 or at ex-sell-ence.com.