Many years ago, I was on an airplane watching the movie, “Office Space.” This low-budget sleeper has become a cult classic. Jennifer Aniston has a part in it as does a guy from one of the crime TV shows that I’m too lazy to look up for you.
The lead character works at the kind of nondescript 80s-style tech company that inspired Scott Adams to create Dilbert. He is bullied by his boss and his girlfriend and is living a generally miserable life.
There was one scene that caused me to stop the movie because I was laughing so hard (it was bothering the people around me), where the guy gets hypnotized and is put in the state of extreme relaxation. When the hypnotherapist has a heart attack in the middle of the session, the man is left under hypnosis and simply stopped caring about anything. As a result, everything around him changes. The girlfriend breaks up with him, making room for Jennifer Aniston. But it’s what happens to him at work that makes the movie special: He can no longer be bullied by his boss. Because he changed, all of the circumstances of his life improve.
How much different would your sales life be if you sold with this kind of “relaxed” approach? Picture the difference between these two sales situations:
- You are following up on a bid for a job. Money is so tight that if you don’t get this order, you will be evicted from your home;
- You are following up on a bid for a job. While the order is substantial, you are paid a straight salary that more than meets your financial obligations.
Can you see yourself in each one of these situations? Can you hear the anxiety of the first call? Can you hear the confidence of the second?
Every emotion that you are feeling is in your voice. Panic, fear, and nervousness — though likely justifiable and warranted — work against you. Confidence, on the other hand is your friend. Success breeds success.
The difference might come down to a thought that you put in your head before you pick up the phone to follow up on that bid: “I already have this order won” or “I want this job but I don’t need this job.”
Attitude is everything. Even in sales.
Oh, and "Office Space" also has a running gag about a red stapler that took on a life of its own to the point where Swingline actually came out with that color! But, I digress...
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Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.