POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE

(10 steps to success)

Having attended the events industry conference I detected an air of uncertainty amongst us. Is the economic climate improving (albeit based on one quarter that included December trading) or are we in for a bumpy ride? If economists are to be believed, we have six to nine months of positive trading before we dip back again momentarily  before a slow recovery. Will budgets be released or will caution remain the key phrase? Well at the risk of sounding all ‘trans-Atlantic’ I am advocating ten things you can do to ride high.

Firstly do be positive – see that glass half full rather than half empty – we are still here and in some cases doing well actually. How many colleagues can say the same? We still have orders and the mortgage is somehow still being paid.  Decide to be outstanding rather than good. How can you over deliver and delight your clients? Often small inexpensive gestures can make a big difference to the overall relationship.  Build your contacts and take advantage of networking opportunities. A chat with a friend or colleague costs little but the information gathered and passed on may be quite valuable to someone else. Cultivate the habit of going above and beyond. Make one extra call or send one more proposal. Think what a failure would do and do the opposite! Sounds simple yet makes a big difference to how you view problems and address them. Stand there and ask yourself “What can I do to really balls this up?” Then diametrically oppose that action. Don’t rationalise failure away as an inevitable consequence of the recession. People were and are still buying and doing business – how can you tempt them more to do business with you? Don’t ever quit. As the adage goes; if at first you don’t succeed try and try again. Eventually you will succeed and the effort will have been worth it.  Be a progressive thinker – look at your event through your customers’ eyes. What would they want to see, what would make your visitors smile more? Just because we have always done something that way in the past doesn’t mean we should carry on blindly. Think how other services and products have evolved over the last few years and scare yourself!  Consider the telephone’s metamorphosis from car-phone, trans portable, mobile and touch screen offerings to date. It’s still a phone but so different to the original. Can you say the same with your event?

Perhaps the best tip is really to remember that people buy from you not from your company. It’s a people thing! So be human, smile, laugh and be genuine. If you build a reputation for being sincere, honest and professional that will permeate all your transactions. Finally be a winner and not a loser. You are much more in control of your results and your life than it sometimes might feel. No one is going to do it for you and no one owes you a living. Make one for yourself and if you can enjoy the process you will certainly be onto a winner.