In the demanding, fast-pasted, stressful, and emotional world of sales the slightest inconvenience or bump in the road can turn your attitude toxic:

Your alarm clock didn’t work, it’s raining, you forgot your umbrella, the line at the drive through was slow, the clients you drove around for three days looking at houses couldn’t get financing, you drove three hours to an appointment and your prospect didn’t show, your operations team screwed up the first delivery to your new customer, you had to fight to get your commissions paid correctly - again!

Suddenly you are engulfed in the sea of doom, your cup is half empty, and there is no silver lining to your dark cloud. Your outlook is negative, your patience short, you are on the brink of hostility, and you cannot focus on selling. You just want to go home and crawl back into bed. For a Sales Professional, this bad attitude zone is dangerous and, if unchecked, can be fatal to your career.

In sales, attitude is the "X Factor". Attitude plays a powerful role in your success. It is often the winning edge in hard fought battles for new accounts. Your attitude is sacred and must be protected at all times. No matter what happens to you or what outside influences are at play, your attitude is your choice. You are absolutely and completely in control of it. My favorite saying of motivational speaker, Keith Harold is, "Attitude determines your Altitude!" Make the choice today to use your attitude to go straight to the top.

Three Power Principles for Attitude Altitude

1. Invest in Yourself: It is easy to burn out in the sales profession. When you are tired and run down in is difficult to maintain a positive attitude. Train like an athlete. Exercise your mind, body, and spirit. Then, when you do get knocked down, you’ll get up faster and you will win.

2. Tune In: Learn to listen to your inner voice. It is there, talking to you all of the time. Most days we only listen when it says negative things. That’s when our attitude goes south. When you tune in to your inner thoughts you can get ahead of the curve and make repairs to your attitude before it begins to sink your sales career.

3. Filter the Noise: Stay away from negative inputs, negative people, and negative environments. Each morning say the words, "Today, I choose Joy." This one act will condition your mind, body, and spirit to work together to protect your attitude.