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Attitudes are important in selling because performance in a job depends on a person’s attitudes and attributes (see the definition of attributes further on in this section). Performance in selling is like performance in sports; it is a synchronization of mind, body, and action. Many of the characteristics of successful athletes and successful salespeople are similar – as is the jargon of selling and sports – both use the terms, “superstars,” “heavy hitters,” and “rookies.”

Performance in any endeavor starts with a dream of successful accomplishment. Scientist/philosopher Buckminster Fuller said that people can accomplish anything they can imagine; but first they must have the courage and confidence to believe in their imaginations and to dream. Walt Disney put it another way: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”¹¹ We translate our dreams into objectives and goals, and these objectives and goals are born in our minds as the result of the interaction of our mental attitudes.

You might think that performance comes about as the result of attitudes; but to the contrary, we tend to form attitudes because of how well we do things, because of our actions. Research has indicated that performance, which is a series of successful behaviors, often precedes attitudes. In other words, if we do something well, we tend to have a favorable attitude toward it. For example, if you are successful at a job, you are likely to have a favorable attitude about the company for which you work. In contrast, having a positive attitude about your company does not necessarily mean you will perform any better, because what determines job performance is mostly your internal drive or motivation to perform well, not external factors such as a pleasant work environment or company picnics.

Attitudes represent the mind portion of job performance and, more importantly, performance in selling. Attitudes can be useful in helping salespeople perform better because they can be changed, controlled, and directed from counterproductive attitudes to productive, objective‐oriented ones to help improve performance. Thus, your actions can lead to a feeling of success, which, in turn, leads to a positive attitude.

I include attributes in this section about attitudes. Attributes are somewhat like attitudes in that attributes also have a significant impact on job performance. Attributes are inherent talents, characteristics, or qualities of a person. You are born with attributes, but you develop attitudes as you experience life. You can change attitudes, but you can only improve or enhance your attributes, you cannot change them. For the purpose of this book, we are combining the concepts of attitudes and attributes into one broad concept – attitude – to avoid confusion and so that the AESKOPP mnemonic is no longer than seven letters.

Attitude control and enhancement in sports is an obvious example of the importance of mental attitude. Experts estimate that sports performance is determined by about 75 percent inherent ability and about 25 percent attitude, with ability consisting of such inherent elements as size, speed, coordination, quickness, and endurance. Attitude is the head (or mind) portion of sports performance. Sales performance is also determined by ability and attitude, but, unlike sports, is split equally between the two.

While skills and knowledge are vital in selling, the following attitudes from the core competencies listed in Exhibit 4.1 are even more important. Successful media selling requires you to be the following: