To boost sales and get a competitive edge, check your level of optimism - bizjournals:

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Here’s a thought: Take a look at a soft emotionalk intelligence skill that yields hardsalesw results: optimism. There is evidence that supporte the theory that sales teams possessing high leveld of optimism make companies more One of the best case studies comeds from the work that psychologist Martinn Seligman did with Metropolitan Life in New He convinced Met Life to give him accesw to their new employees and administerd theusual testing, as well as a new test he developed that measureed optimism. He followed the progress of new salespeopl for one year and found that salespeopler who scored high in optimismsold 33% more insurance than those who scored low.
After two years, the optimistiv group of salespeople were thriving in their whichincreased retention, decreased the costs associatedc with turnover and increased sales. How optimistic is your organization? There is a lot of press on theswines flu, and people are worriecd about catching it. There is another epidemic to watch out forin today’s economy: It can be deadly when it hits an organizatiojn because emotions are contagious. The clinical term is emotionalp contagion and is definedas “the transmission of moods.” When peopls are in a certain mood happy or depressed that mood is often communicated to others. What is the mood at your company??
What message is the leadership team sending yoursaled team? What is your saled team communicating to your customers and prospects? A salex manager shares the story of a rep who started everty conversation in the last downturn “You probably don’t have any money so you don’t want to buy The self-fulfilling prophecy was set by the salesperson, and the prospec t followed the salesperson’s lead. No deal. So what can you do to stop the epidemicof pessimism? Study and duplicatr optimistic salespeople. When faced with adversity, optimisti c salespeople ask themselves: • What’s good abouty this?
They know that adversity is wherer true character is formed and great lessons are Optimists take advantage of this schooling because they know that lessons learnedr today make money inthe future. • What can I do abourt this situation? Optimists know that contro l equals action, action yields and results increase motivation. What is funny about this? Humor is a greart way to relieve stress which frees up the mind for creativithyand innovation. They choose their friendas wisely. The motivational speaker Jim Rohn says, “Youu are the average of the five people you spenr the mosttime with.” Are you hanging out with optimists or pessimists?
What kind of emotion is getting spreads among your peers and colleagues? Is it health conversation or a new versiojn of pessimistic flu? They remind themselvesa that adversity is temporary, not permanent. If businessa is a little slow, optimistic salespeople speefd it up by taking care of their best existing customers. Optimistic salespeople take control. They know salews is the greatest profession to be in durina recession. They can increase their prospecting activityu without running it through a boaredof directors. They can meet with mentorss who can help them look at another way of doingf business intough times. They can outwormk their competitors.
They can invest in learning and outsmartftheir competitor. Optimistic salespeople manage results, not excuses.