Excellence is not a skill. It’s an attitude. – Ralph Marston
Excellence. It’s a pretty interesting word, isn’t it?
It’s a word we use a lot. But do we really take the time to think about what excellence is?
Here’s how the dictionary defines it:
“The fact or state of excelling; superiority; eminence.”
As entrepreneurs, excellence is something we all want. We all desire to be excellent. It’s natural. We are starting businesses because we desire to create something bigger than ourselves.
It’s especially true when it comes to sales. After all, in order to grow an excellent business, we need to be excellent at sales.
But how do we attain excellence? How do we excel at selling?
I believe it starts in our minds. It’s about your attitude. If you want to become an excellent influencer, you should start with your attitude.
Here are three ways to have an attitude of excellence.
Cultivate Grit
You can’t be excellent if you can’t persevere. That’s why it’s important to have grit. You need to adopt a mindset that doesn’t allow you to give up no matter how many challenges you face.
Can you think of a single person who has achieved excellence without overcoming obstacles? I didn’t think so.
People who become excellent keep moving forward no matter how hard things get. You need to have this same quality. I’d argue that grit is the most important trait an entrepreneur can have. Without it, you can’t succeed.
So how do you cultivate grit?
The answer is confidence. Perseverance requires you to be confident in yourself and your abilities. If you build your self confidence, you will cultivate grit.
There are many ways to build your confidence. For me, there are two ways that stand out the most: improve your self talk, and celebrate short-term victories.
Self Talk
The way you talk to yourself impacts your level confidence. If you’re like most other people, you probably send yourself negative messages quite often.
You might be kicking yourself for blowing that last sales call. Maybe you’re dwelling on the fact that you need more customers. You may even be thinking about the fight you just had with your significant other!
Don’t feel bad…we all do it!
When your thoughts are focused on what’s going wrong or the mistakes you have made, it chips away at your confidence until you start doubting yourself. You can’t afford to have this happen when you’re trying to influence prospects.
The best way to deal with negative self talk is by countering it with positive self talk. Note that I didn’t say to eliminate negative self talk.
Why? Because you may be able to lessen your negative self talk, but you will never be able to eliminate it completely.
Instead of trying to stop thinking negative thoughts, try to start thinking positive thoughts. Focus on what you’ve done right. Make it a point to think about the times when you did well. Do it every day.
If you want some help, I’ve developed a simple checklist that will make this easier. Take some time each day to focus on what you’ve done right, and you will be able to increase your confidence.
Short-Term Goals
Many entrepreneurs are “big picture” types. Our ultimate goal is to build a thriving enterprise that creates wealth for our families and allows us to make our mark on the world. Having a strong vision is a great motivator.
But sometimes it can suck.
This is because the fulfillment of this vision can seem very far off. If we wait until we achieve our ultimate business goals to feel confident, we could be waiting quite a long time.
When dreaming about the future, you should also focus on the short-term milestones you must take to get there. Think about your short-term goals.
When you accomplish these smaller objectives, you have the satisfaction of knowing you’re moving closer and closer to realizing your dream. It’s these small victories that will keep you going when things get difficult.
Develop Yourself
Attaining excellence in sales means working on yourself consistently. You have to develop a mindset that craves knowledge. You must continually push yourself to become better at what you do.
When you’re trying to build a business, self-development is crucial. You need to constantly be improving yourself. Trying to grow a business without developing yourself is like a boxer trying to beat Floyd Mayweather without training for the fight. Sounds pretty painful, doesn’t it?
As an entrepreneur, you must focus on gaining new knowledge on a daily basis. The things you learn will make you a more knowledgeable entrepreneur. One of the most popular mottos that salespeople hold to is “always be closing.”
However, when you’re trying to earn more business, you must “always be learning.” Fortunately, this isn’t hard. There are so many ways to gain more knowledge on a daily basis.
Here’s some suggestions:
There are many great blogs on sales and other skills that entrepreneurs need. Reading great content is a very effective way to become a better entrepreneur.
Podcasts are also great. I enjoy podcasts because I can get smarter while going about my everyday life! Podcasts can be consumed while cleaning, driving, or working. It’s an easy way to learn.
Of course, other entrepreneurs are great resources for self improvement. They already understand what you are going through and can offer support. This is especially true of entrepreneurs who have already built viable businesses. The knowledge they possess can help you avoid making unnecessary mistakes.
Conquer Fear
This one is tough. Fear is one of the biggest obstacles anyone can face when they’re trying to do something excellent. Entrepreneurship is no different.
Let’s face it. Starting a business can be scary.
But in order to succeed, you need to overcome your fears. I wrote about this recently because it’s something I’m working on myself.
There are many fears an entrepreneur can face. When it comes to sales, the fear of rejection is huge. Nobody likes to hear the word “no.” But when you’re selling you hear it a lot, even if you’re a master persuader.
Jon Acuff said:
“Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s action despite the presence of fear.”
Many times, we think that the way to deal with fear is to eliminate it. That’s impossible. Everyone is afraid of something.
Instead, you must learn to manage your fear. You have to be able to take action even when you’re terrified. That is the challenge.
Adopt an attitude that forces you to keep moving forward no matter how afraid you are. Often times the best way to deal with fear is to do what you’re afraid of.
When you do what you’re afraid of, you realize that it wasn’t so scary after all. The thing is, one of the main reasons we tend to be afraid is because we have built up the object of our fear in our minds.
Take rejection, for instance. It’s a common fear. People treat rejection as something so horrible that they dare not risk it. It’s like they believe that being rejected will somehow cause their entire world to come crashing down.
I’ve got good news for you. I’ve been rejected plenty of times and I’m still alive! Not only that, I’ve become a much better influencer because of it. The rejection ended up being a good thing. If I get rejected now, I don’t even bat an eye.
It’s the same way with most of our other fears.
When you confront them, you see how little they really are. It’s like Toto opening the curtain only to reveal that the Great and Powerful Oz was some harmless old man, not a great wizard.
By the way, if you’re dealing with rejection and countering objections, I have a great tool that can help you out.
Conclusion
Want to be excellent? Develop an excellent attitude.
To sum everything up, in order to have an attitude of excellence, you have to have grit, continually improve yourself, and overcome your fears. When you have a mindset that is focused on becoming more excellent, you will do excellent things.
Keep moving forward.
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