PPB February 2018

Maintain An Optimistic Attitude. Attitude is everything in sales and in life. Top salespeople recognize that and make feeding their positivity a priority. Every day, Bosworth purposely keeps a sign in her office that affects her attitude—it’s a framed photo of a landscape and in bold letters it says, Practice Reckless Optimism. “It’s my reminder that every day I have a choice in how I react, and I choose not to react negatively most of the time,” she says. “Keeping a positive attitude in this industry is paramount,” agrees Julie Haar, co-owner of Proforma Strategic Promotions in Westerville, Ohio, and another member of Proforma’s Million Dollar Club. “The nature of our distribution channel leaves little control over the production and delivery of the product outside of our written instructions through purchase orders. When a tough call or situation happens, I have to shift all my energy to solving the problem with my partners, team and client. Any negativity in those situations will be counterproductive and squash the creativity needed to make things right or whole again.” Joel Kaufmann, field sales manager at supplier PCNA and the company’s 2016 U.S. Hard Goods Sales Person of the Year, says attitude is integral to the job and what he brings into every meeting. “No one in attendance can know that you have personal issues or business issues that don’t affect them as they are the most important people at that time.” Kaufmann looks at it this way: “I truly love what I do, who I do it for and who I am privileged to work with, so when things get as bad as I think they can possibly get, I always know my worst day at the office is still better than the best day at work for many people.” SAGE Senior Lead Account Executive Terri Sparkman, who was recently recognized for having the highest customer retention and for winning SAGE’s Spartan Spirit Award, says attitude is everything. “The best part about it is that you can choose your attitude—every day with every situation. I truly believe that if you surround yourself with positive people and be the positive person others want to be around, it will get you much further in all aspects of life, both personally and professionally,” she says. In the inevitable tough situation or when a difficult call needs to be made, she recommends taking a minute to shake off the negative energy. “But again, it’s your choice. You can choose to dwell on it and let it bring you down, or choose to move on by learning from it, and use it as encouragement to tackle the next call.” Adopt A Routine. Having a plan to get things done is what often distinguishes the overachievers from those who just toe the line. Whether it’s setting up daily schedules, working through a detailed to-do list or scheduling blocks of time to accomplish specific tasks, those who opt for routines over happenstance simply get more done that matters to their bottom line. AndyMealor, owner of Proforma Ascension Marketing Group inMacon, Georgia, and a member of Proforma's Million Dollar Club, prepares for the week ahead every weekend. “When it’s quiet and I can think, I lay out my days, put themonmy calendar and then run 1 2 Kimble Bosworth President and COO Proforma Printelligence Bosworth purposely keeps a sign in her office that affects her attitude— it’s a framed photo of a landscape and in bold letters it says, Practice Reckless Optimism. FEATURE | Tips and Techniques of Top Sellers 42 | FEBRUARY 2018 |