With all the chaos and bad news that the media disseminate daily, it’s refreshing to meet a solution-oriented, positive person. You know the kind of person I’m talking about. The kind of person who’s always smiling as he says, “Yes, sir, I’ll get it done for you. I’d be happy to do that!” I want to be taken care of by positive people. I don’t want to just be sold. I want people around me who are positive, helpful, smiling, and motivated. That’s what all people want.
I have a personal assistant named Jen. When I hired her, she had no experience with the type of businesses I own and had never worked in the kind of environment we have. I didn’t hire Jen because of her abilities and experience, but because of her positive attitude. Jen is an upbeat “can-do,” get-it-done-with-a-smile-on-her-face kind of a person. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t make mistakes; she does. But because of her attitude, the mistakes are acceptable. I never get mad at her no matter what she does because she’s so service-oriented, so positive, so “Yes, sir, I’d be happy to do that for you.” Is Jen selling? Absolutely! Every day, whether she knows it or not.
Never let anyone convince you that people won’t pay more for a great attitude and great service. The ability to be positive at all times, whether you’re winning or losing, is the one thing that will ensure you’re a winner in the end. Attitude is senior to it all! I love positive people and find them irresistible. When you are positive, people will find you irresistible.
TREAT ’EM LIKE MILLIONAIRES
My wife and I often go to a place called The Grove for dinner and a movie. We valet-park the car there, and this bleached-blond, spiky-haired guy always greets us, opens the car door, and smiles like he’s glad to see us. “Good to see you again, boss,” he says. “Leave it with me. I’ll see you in a couple of hours and your car will be right up front.” He gets a $20 tip from me every time, even though I could have parked the car myself for $2. The other valet guy who works there greets us like we’re a nuisance, doesn’t smile, appears to hate his job, and parks the car in the same spot that the spiky-haired guy does. Due to his poor attitude, I give him $5, and that’s only because he parked my car for me. I’m sure he then goes home and tells his girlfriend how cheap all the people are who valet their big cars and that his spiky-haired partner is just luckier than he is.
It ain’t the luck of the spiky-haired guy, I assure you, and it is definitely not that I’m a poor tipper. It’s the attitude that makes the difference. The reality is, people with good attitudes are luckier than people with bad attitudes. There is no treasure greater than a great attitude and no way to get real treasures without having a great attitude!
A customer wanted to buy a truck from me one time, and like many car buyers, he didn’t want the dealership to make any money off the deal. He thought it was fair that he pay only invoice for the truck. None of this makes any sense, of course, because if the company sells its products for invoice then it won’t be able to stay in business to service the customer.
But because I know that attitude is more important than the product or the price and because I trusted that the customer would pay for my positive, can-do attitude, I told him, “No problem, whatever you want, it’s yours, my friend. I just appreciate having the opportunity to do business with you.” He was shocked at my response and the smile I had on my face because I hadn’t let him get under my skin. I spent the next hour or so with him, showing him the truck, getting to know him, laughing with him, and being a positive influence on him. I treated that customer as if he were about to give me $1 million. I put aside the fact that he didn’t want to pay above invoice for the product and pushed everything in the direction of a great attitude.
At the close, I showed him the documented invoice price on the truck, with state taxes of $4,000, and added another $2,000 for me to take care of him for the next four years. He looked at me and said, “I know I can buy this down the street without paying the extra $2,000.” With a smile, I responded, “You’re probably right, but you won’t get me down the street.” He laughed and said, “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but let’s do it,” and he wrote the check.
Remember that a product can be shopped, but a great attitude cannot. A price can be beat, but a great attitude is priceless. There’s nothing more valuable to anyone than a positive person.
People will always act according to your attitude. If it’s negative, expect a negative response. When it’s positive, you can expect a positive response. If I scream and threaten another person, you can expect him to flee or fight. Neither response is good for a salesperson. But if I’m positive and agreeable, I can expect the buyer’s response to be the same if I’m contagious enough! When you have the ability to change people’s attitudes in a positive way and make them feel better than they did before meeting you, you’ll no longer need to rely on your product being superior!