The Heart of the Matter.

Like many of you, I spend an appreciable amount of time and money on resources intended to improve my work performance. If you are reading this blog, you are probably the type of person that takes your work seriously and you desire to improve the service you provide to your company and your customers. You also read books and listen to programs that train you to be a better sales person, customer service rep, business owner, etc. These programs may give great tips on how to care for customers or how to be a better teammate. These are valuable resources indeed. However, I find that many of us already know much of that information by our nature alone. Once you are at a certain professional level, you have established yourself as a "brand" of individual that "has what it takes" to succeed. That is not to say that we all might not have something to learn from the previously mentioned materials. It's just that the information often falls short of what today's high performers really need. Top professionals might consider spending more time on training of the heart.

I am not talking about physical fitness. I am talking about techniques that help a person control thoughts and emotions as well as perceptions and actions. Now, these are not sales strategies that might focus on manipulating a conversation or closing techniques. These are techniques that help in controlling the flow on emotion surrounding the work environment itself.

These techniques include removing negative thoughts surrounding a particular situation, removing incorrect perceptions about a customer, removing your personal reservations about performance, and believing in your ability and right to enjoy success (whatever that means to you).

Works to consider are Dr. Vitale's "The Key" or "Expect Miracles". Much of this work focuses on spiritual aspects of work and everyday life. However, it is packed with gems on how to cope with negativity and how to eliminate it's impact on your professional and personal life. I don't know a sales person in the world that would not be more productive if they approached every account with an open ended positive outlook.
Take time to work some of this type of your literature into your professional reading. It' pays huge dividends in the form of less stress, more enthusiasm, and better customer interactions.
Thanks again for tuning in and remember to "Take Back Mondays"