It is my belief that you need to develop and maintain a positive mental attitude in order to reach your full potential in the car business. With a great attitude great things are possible. Like Zig Ziglar always use to say, 

"Your Attitude, not your Aptitude, will determine your Ultimate Altitude!"

But how do you develop and maintain a positive attitude, especially if you're in car sales? Well over the past 16 years working in sales and management, I have learned successful techniques and skills to succeed mentally. We all go through tests in our life, and I try to remember what Pastor Rick Warren preaches,

"Before success comes a test!"

I have found that one of the greatest traits of all the best salespeople to ever sell is a positive attitude. I experience it first hand in my own life, and that is why I believe these positive mental attitude tips I'm giving you here can help you tremendously.

TIP #1  Create A Gratitude List

Every now and then I will sit down and make a Gratitude List to remind me of all the things I already have to be grateful for in my life. I sit down with a pen and pad, some time to think without getting distracted, and I write down all the things I'm grateful for in my life. I try to think of as many things as I can and create a list.

I can then use my gratitude list to remind myself as often as I need of all the positive and good things in my life as I work towards the next big goal/s in my life. If you implement this into your routine, be sure to update it from time to time as necessary to keep it motivating.

TIP #2  Use Positive Language

I am very, very careful of the kind of language I use during the day. I really work hard to make positive language a part of who I am, I try to see the positive in all things. I believe that people who use positive language are more successful.

Is it really a shock to you when that person who is always negative about everything ends up in another negative situation in their life? Um... NO!

The words I choose to use paint a clear picture of the thoughts dominating my mind. We are surrounded by negativity everywhere we turn, so we need to take full responsibility for our language and how we talk to ourselves especially. 

Choose your words wisely because they truly do have a tremendous impact on the quality of your life! 

TIP #3  Feed Your Mind Positive Content  

I read positive books that inspire me and teach me things. The average American reads less than one book a year! However, your most successful salespeople, CEO's, and entrepreneurs read 60 books or more a year. Everyone has the same amount of hours in a day, it's whether you make it a priority I have found.

I listen to positive speakers like Paster Rick Warren, Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone or Zig Ziglar. I watch videos on YouTube. I've been to seminars and conferences. I am a constant student looking to learn and grow in my profession and in life!

What goes into your mind manifest into reality. You create in your life what you put your focus on, so I suggest that you make your environment as positive as possible and focus on great things!

TIP #4  Have A Morning Routine 

This works great for me to help me maintain a positive mental attitude over long periods of time. So for me, it all starts with a solid morning routine to set up success for my day. When I have a plan and know what I want to accomplish it makes prioritizing and getting the most from my day that much easier.

I'm not a morning person so for me a morning routine is a solid way to set myself up for success. To see the full morning routine that helped me earn a six figure income click below!

 A Morning Routine Will Set Up Success In Your Sales Career

TIP #5  Maintain Good Physical Health

Let's face it, when you are in good physical health you feel better, you have more confidence, and you'll likely have a more positive mental attitude because of it. I know that's how it is for me! I strive to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

I feel better, look better, and the boost in self confidence helps increase my sales performance which has a big effect on my attitude. Exercise is also a great way to relieve stress, it releases hormones that make you happier, and you gain energy! So, I highly recommend you find time in your day to exercise.

TIP #6  Get Your Inner Circle On Board

The people in my life are on the same page as me, most all the time. I believe there is no sense to commit yourself to a positive mental attitude, and then go and surround yourself with negative people. It doesn't work for me, and studies show it doesn't work for anyone really. Remember...

"You become part of what you're around."

This has been e a hard one for me over the years because sometimes the people that contribute the most negativity in our lives are the ones we love the most and want to spend time with. But I am committed to surrounding myself with good, positive people and situations in my life.

TIP #7  Be A Giver

There is something amazing for me about giving others your time, your attention, or your resources to help them. This is especially true if the person you are giving to cannot repay you in any way. I cannot help but feel positive and good when I'm genuinely helping someone else.

I try to make this a regular part of my life. I look for ways to give back and do the world some good. Of all my positive mental attitude tips this one will makes me feel the best and always seems to work. Giving of yourself is a sure way to be successful with people, have a positive attitude, live a fulfilled life!

The Choice Is Yours!

Is a positive mental attitude important? I say Absolutely it is, and I hope you agree with me! I understand more than anyone the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude being a professional car salesman. Sometimes I just need a good check up from the neck up, know what I mean?! 

I have also seen other salespeople's career's and live's changed simply by changing their attitude. I am one of those people myself! It's amazing how life gets better when you start thinking positive, and seeing the good in things.

Overall a positive mental attitude has contributed to my success in sales, and in my life as a whole. I hope these 7 easy tips will be helpful to you when you may need them. Please feel free to email me at Scott@NewtoSales.org for other tips for attitude help or anything sales related!

Please leave a comment below!

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty

• The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone.
• The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something.
• The opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization.

We are doing business in a highly connected and competitive world, and we all know it. Margins are tighter as companies become more and more competitive with one another. Manufacturers are offering incentives like crazy, free money to finance, and everyone is fighting for your customers business. So how do you come out ahead and help ensure your success in the auto business?

Take Responsibility for everything you do, EVERY SINGLE DAY!

As the definition above points out, responsibility is taking control, assuming accountability, and having the guts to make a decision without worrying about passing the buck to someone else. So, are you succeeding at levels equal to your potential? 

If you're not, I would suggest taking a close look at whether you are holding yourself accountable and taking responsibility for your results. Even people who set goals can find themselves making excuses and passing responsibility for their results onto something else like customer traffic, the economy, the competition, price, or a litany of other things.  

You must realize you have the ability to control your actions, take responsibility! 

If you want to see great results in your sales career, your dealerships, your marketing campaign, your BDC, or anything in your life or career you MUST make a commitment to your goal/s and then take 100% responsibility to seeing them through to the end! 

Don't wait for someone else or some outside influence to make the things you want to accomplish happen, take action, MASSIVE ACTION, and hold yourself accountable each day. Here's a few ways I suggest you can do this:

1. Write down your goals for the day, week, and month
2. Create a plan of action to achieve your goals
3. Take Action on your Plan and track your results daily
4. Don't lower targets EVER, instead Increase Action!! 
5. Take responsibility for the results regardless of what they are

Too many salespeople wander through each day, week, and month selling whatever comes their way hoping for traffic, buying customers, and a "Good" month. When they have a good month they pat themselves on the back, when they have a bad one they lay blame to outside influences.

This thinking isn't going to cut it in today's world of sales, especially if you want to stand out and be great at what you do in this business. 

You must take charge of your results, you must TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! 

As Grant Cardone says: "Be Great, Nothing Else Pays!"

One of the things I do every so often to keep myself motivated in sales is to read through my customer reviews. I have been in sales for 16 years now and the best feeling for me as a professional salesperson is to receive a genuine, positive customer review. Of course the relationship you build with your clients is rewarding, as is closing the sale and knowing they now own your product, and that they were willing to put their trust in you. However, when someone takes the time out of their busy lives to write a review for you, to me that's really special!

Recently my wife and I purchased a home and I had the opportunity to be on the other side of the sales process for once. As a salesperson I am usually the one following up with my customers to make sure they are happy with their decision and asking for a review. I learned a number of things while in the shoes of the customer that will really help me increase my personal reviews, and I now have an even greater appreciation for customer reviews.

Our Customers are busy but they want to write Us a Review!

I was very happy with how our Agent and Mortgage Planner handled everything during the entire process. The individual and personalized service they offered along the way, and the attentiveness and availability they offered was excellent. For me writing a positive review for both of them was a no brainah!

But I just moved into a new home and I was BUSY!

Of course I got around to leaving both of these professionals a Positive, Genuine, Thoughtful Review on the platform of their choice, Zillow. But it took me about a week or more to find the time to really sit down and give each review some thought, and then compose it in a way that reflected our feelings to someone else who would eventually be reading it.

Here's a couple points I took away from this process...

1. I was a week or so out from the purchase day, but still close enough where things were still exciting and fun so the timing for a positive review was still very good!
2. I received an email asking for a review, which made it easy for me to click a link and go right to a review page... no hunting around on my own.
3. Because I received what I believed was great service and my wife and I were happy with our new home, I felt Obligated to write a review and it stayed on my mind until completed.

So salespeople, be sure to send out an email reminder to your customer post sale, or if you have their permission text them a link to your review page and make it easy for them to do this for you. Customers do want to leave reviews about their positive experience with you, they just get busy with life like we do and procrastinate! Be sure to follow up, it's estimated that 92% of consumers now read online reviews and 68% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more!

Source: Article by Khusbu Shrestha on Vendetta.com

Let your customers know where you want the Review left, and make it Easy!

As I mentioned above it was easy for me to leave a review because I received an email with a link taking me right to a review page on Zillow. This was clearly where my Agent and Mortgage Planner wanted their reviews left so I didn't have to ask them. Remember, most customers aren't even going to think about asking and probably will leave you a great review but on a platform that gets little exposure or has much less impact.

I'm assuming a Facebook post tagging them or a Google + review wouldn't have been as beneficial to these ladies as a review on Zillow was. It's no different for you or me, for instance being in the car business myself there are certain review sites that are more helpful to receive reviews on than others.

BUT don't get me wrong, I love ALL reviews no matter where they come from!

So make sure you take the responsibility for this and not leave it up to your customer, they have enough to worry about. Make it easy not only for your customer to write a review, but ensure it's written on the platform that benefits you the most for what you sell!

When customers have a great experience they write Raving Reviews!

The last point I want to make and probably what I took away most from the whole customer experience was very simply that if you create a great experience for people they will write raving reviews about you. You can always tell whether someone is just writing a review because they were asked, or because they are genuinely happy to express their appreciation for the experience and service they received.

Focus on bringing more value to the table than expected, this is something that both our Agent and Mortgage Planner did. Whether it was giving us more information than we asked for to ensure we were comfortable, or making unusual hours or days for showings possible to accommodate our schedules, they created an awesome experience by bringing massive value to the table in the form of service.

As Grant Cardone say, "Give, Give, Give!"

So be sure to focus on the experience you create for your customers and the level of service you offer them. Look to bring a ton of value, more than expected. Over promise and Over deliver! Ask for reviews with every single customer and remember that people are busy just like you and I, so make it easy and follow up.

Keep these points in mind and you'll have Raving Fans writing you some awesome reviews!

Every sales person needs some motivation to stay hungry from time to time, and what better way to get inspired than reading through an awesome list of some of the most inspirational quotes ever spoken. From many different walks of life, the greatest of all time have given us wisdom and inspiration to help guide us in our own lives and sales careers.

This is my personal top ten most inspirational quotes I put together for sales people to get their mindset right, and to find some motivation to give their best every day. I hope reading through these quotes will inspire great thoughts and motivate you to do great things with your life, and your sales career.

Here are my personal top ten most inspirational quotes for salespeople, in no particular order...

One of the very first motivational speakers and sales trainers I listened to and learned from was the great Zig Ziglar. One day I decided to buy some sales training CD's to listen to while I commuted to work. I had a solid one hour drive to and from work each day, 5-6 days a week.

So, I started my days with a cup of coffee and and hour of Zig preaching to me through the speakers in my car. He was a great salesman, and he was a great man.

Ziglar has some of my all time favorite quotes, but this one is perfect to kick us off...

"Failure is an event, not a person."

- Zig Ziglar

How about this reminder from Jim Rohn to be more than we currently are...

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better."

- Jim Rohn

It's absolutely true in sales, and in life that the person who is willing to persist towards their goal even after multiple failures, is the person who becomes successful. No-one knows this better than someone who's found success in the car business. 

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

- Winston Churchill

This can be something that really takes your career to the next level when you get it. Make sure you put your focus where you want it, so you accomplish the things you want. Also, make sure you are focusing on the big things you want and going for them, don't get caught up in all the tiny details!

"Most people fail in life because they major in minor things."

- Tony Robbins

In the car business you want to create your own brand, get attention and get out of obscurity. With everyone selling a good product, you need to find a way to make yourself, or your dealership stand out above all the noise. Don't follow the path of least resistance, go for big things even when others tell you it's not possible!

"Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it."

- Pastor Rick Warren

Les Brown is one of the best motivational speakers of the last 30 years, and he has many quotes that inspire you, and motive you to want to take action. This one here for me gets right to the point, and sometimes all you need is a reminder!

"Life has no limitations except the ones you make."

- Les Brown

I mean, c'mon it wouldn't be a great list without a quote from master motivator himself Rocky Balboa. I love this one, many people have used it it many motivational videos etc. This is all the motivation you need for a sales meeting, all in 28 words!

"It ain't how hard you hit... It's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It's about how much you can take and keep moving forward."

- Rocky Balboa

Not only was Lincoln brilliantly book smart, but he also had an unmatched level of simple common sense. This seems like good advice and common sense to me, and it serves as a reminder that sometimes in life and car sales, you just have to hold on for a new season.

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie an knot and hang on."

- Abraham Lincoln

Michael Jordan expected great things from himself his entire life, and he became the greatest basketball player of all time in his career. He is a successful businessman, motivator, and no-one is harder on themselves than Michael Jordan. He has many great quotes, but this one reminds me that I have to be my biggest fan, and if I don't believe in myself, I will never reach my full potential in life or sales.

"You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them."

- Michael Jordan

If you're in the car business you've heard of Grant Cardone, either that or you've been living under a rock. Cardone is a man who walks his talk, and this one reminds me to do the same every single day out on the lot!

"Let the rest do whatever while you do whatever it takes!"

- Grant Cardone

There you go, my top ten most inspirational quotes for car sales people. I refer back to this list whenever I am looking for some motivation, or a jump start to my day. We all need to plug into a source of motivation each and every day in order to succeed at high levels in such a highly competitive world like the Car Business.

My wife and I just enjoyed our second vacation cruising the Caribbean together. We are fans of cruising for many reasons, but one of the things I personally enjoy the most is being able to see different parts of the world and how people live and SELL! It always intrigues me as a salesman how the locals make their living selling their goods. On this recent cruise we stopped in Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico and I was reminded of 3 sales lessons from the locals during these stops that serve as great sales lessons for us all.

• Treat Everyone Like A Buyer

One thing is for sure when you get off the ship and visit these beautiful places and tour the local shops, the locals will treat you like a buyer. It doesn't matter what you look like, what you're wearing, or whether or not you show any interest in their little piece of the marketplace, they treat you as though you can and will buy.

This is a great lesson for sales people everywhere to remember when selling, treat your customer as if they can buy and they are more likely to. I believe too many sales people get caught up in whether or not their customer can or will buy and they miss opportunities. Take a lesson from the locals in Ocho Rios and treat all your customers like they can and will buy, and more of them will.

• No's Lead You Closer To A YES!

One of the hardest things for salespeople, especially new salespeople is the rejection that comes along with the job. You cannot take this personally but many salespeople do and it becomes their demise. You are going to hear "No" often in sales, but this is not a personal rejection but rather a business refusal. The point to remember here is that every no gets you closer to a YES!

The locals in Grand Cayman know this well, they greet everyone with the intention of presenting and selling their merchandise. You will see them get no after no and the smile never leaves their face, as they know the next person is likely to say yes, and that's exactly what happens.

You won't sell everyone you talk to, but you won't sell anyone if you give up after hearing a few no's. These locals show the determination and understanding required to succeed selling their goods. They hear hundreds of no's every single day, but it's the yes's that they are hunting for!

• Make Yourself Stand Out

If you have ever been to one of these islands and marketplaces you know that you can see the same merchandise over and over. Hand made items, hats, trinkets, t-shirts, jewelry, and many more items can be found from shop to shop. The locals in Cozumel know this, so to stand out some offer a unique experience to you so you want to buy their stuff.

You can make yourself stand out by how you dress, talk, or the uniqueness of the product/s you sell and how you present them. However, the best I have encountered make themselves stand out by the service and attention they offer. One shop owner in Cozumel stood out to my wife and I this trip simply because he offered us individual attention, care, and understanding. My wife was interested in some of his jewelry and he gave her the service she deserved, and created a great experience.

This shop owner answered questions, presented his handmade jewels with real passion, and he made us both feel very comfortable that we were not only making a great choice but getting a great value. He treated us like buyers, he wasn't afraid to invest the time needed to make the sale even though we could have said no, and he stood out above the others who simply just wanted to sell us something.

In the end, he made the sale and you will too!

Remember these 3 lessons from the locals I encountered this trip and I am positive you will see great results in your own sales career. Treat your customers like they can buy and they are more likely to do just that. Don't allow the No's to stop you, remember that a Yes is right around the corner. And finally, make yourself stand out, people can buy from anyone so be sure to give them reasons to want to buy from you!

Can you believe what you hear out there? As a professional I tend to pay close attention to what sales people say to me, and to their customers. It's truly amazing how many things you will hear some sales people say that make you go hmmmm. But when you've heard the same complaint a million times some sales people just get goofy.

Since we are in the car business and we can always use a good laugh, enjoy this foolish video!

Happy Easter, and Happy Selling!

In the car business it always amazes me how much enthusiasm there is on the last day off the month. I remember when I first started selling automobiles a little over 5 years ago, one of the first pieces of advice the guy training me gave was, "Always work the last day of the month."

Umm... OK?

I didn't really understand what he meant until I started actually selling, and spent a month on the floor. There is something electric about the last day of the month in the car business. Everyone comes in motivated to sell, appointments are lined up, managers are making deals and pulling out all the stops, everyone looking for a car goes home in a car that day!

If you're in sales, regardless if you're in the car business or not, you probably have monthly goals and quotas to hit. Every month you're trying to be better than the last, and better than the year before. You want to be more profitable, and make more sales. The last day of the month is your last chance to make those quotas, get to the next level in your commission plan, or nail a personal goal you set at the month's start.

Once your month is over and the day has ended, hopefully everything fell into place the way you had planned. Hopefully you ended the month strong! If not, then you are probably happy to see the calendar turn and a new month begin.

Regardless, a new month will begin and you're back to zero, now what?

Whether you had a good, or even great month, don't allow yourself to let off the pedal going into the new month. Too many sales people get comfortable knowing they have a great commission check coming, or "Big Check Syndrome" as I like to call it, and they waste too much time with the previous month's success.

If you had a bad month, the turn of the calendar can be a very good thing. Sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered, but not if you carry the previous month's failures along with you for the ride. You have to be able to start a new month with a clean slate mentally, or the new month is no different than the old one.

Here are 3 effective sales tips to help you have a successful month, every month!

Tip #1 - Start With Urgency

Start your month the same way you should end it, take massive action! At the end of the month, definitely the final week, I bet you are calling all your current customers, following up unsold customers again, sending out emails, blasting social media, and closing appointments, right?

You have urgency because you can see the finish line and you know what kind of month you have shaping up. If it's a really good one, possibly a record month, you are motivated to close strong! If you are't having a good month, you look to do whatever it takes (Ethically) to get to the target. Either way you have a high sense of urgency these finals days of each month.

However, shouldn't this be how it is all month long, including the start of a new month? Sales people talk about how "sales is a numbers game" and "you have your ups and downs" but I'm convinced it's all baloney. I use to think that way when I didn't want to take responsibility for my poor performances. The day I decided to take 100% responsibility for everything that happens in my sales career I became more professional, and was able to maintain a higher sense of urgency to be successful every day!

Start off your month with urgency, in fact go into each day with urgency because you never know when it may just be your last!

Tip #2 - Take Massive Focused Action

You really should have a game plan in place each month to reach your sales goals. Don't blindly go into the month hoping you have a good one, make sure that you do. You should set a goal, have a plan to get there, and then you need to take massive action towards it.

Send more emails, make more calls, hit social media hard, but make sure you have a plan so your action is focused on achieving your desired goal. Don't just be busy, while action is better than no action it's best to take focused action.

For example, if you are going to blast social media you need to make sure you are always sharing quality content, not just posting to post. This takes time, planning, and some thought in advance, but the results are worth it. Research into the subject has shown that 78% of sales people who use social media will outsell their peers that don't. Fun fact in case you didn't know!

Regardless of what it is, phone calls, cold calls, visits, ups, emails, texts, posts, blogs, letters, cards, or anything else I might have missed take massive FOCUSED action!

Tip #3 - Keep A Positive Attitude

Easier said than done though, right? A positive attitude is one of those things that eludes many people, too often. Some have a hard time finding one at all. I don't care how long it's been since you've made a sale, or heard a yes. A positive attitude is required if you're going to hear one again anytime soon. If you want to hear yes more often than not, then give yourself a check up from the neck up and get your attitude right 100%!

Attitude is critical to your success in sales, especially if you want to be successful consistently month after month. Many times your attitude is the difference between your success and failure. Keep your head up regardless of where your month is at and you'll be more consistent each month.

Great sales people have great attitudes, you never know if they are up or down. They are always professional, and they take massive focused action towards their target with a genuine sense of responsibility and urgency.

Make sure you follow these successful sales tips for more success each month in your sales career. I believe if you use these tips they will have a tremendous positive impact on your performance, attitude, and your paycheck!

Please Share this post, it will give you positive vibes!

For more great tips and sales advice visit my site New to Sales!