In the last few weeks I have spent time in London, Minneapolis, Mexico City, North Carolina and Basel, Switzerland. I continue to be amazed at the commonalities that exist between salespeople around the globe. I know there are many cultural and societal differences but with salespeople there seem to be more similarities. All of the companies I've worked with believe they bring value above and beyond their products and services, and that they have to get credit for the value they bring.

Just believing this is so important. Having the right mindset can have a big impact on our success or failure. If we believe strongly in our value and work hard to sell it, we are less likely to give in to the many people who want to turn us into a commodity. As Vince Lombardi said, "the harder you practice, the harder it is to surrender". In our case, "the more you believe in your value, the harder it is to give in to commoditization".

When the prospect asks, "What do you sell?", there is a big difference between:

"My company sells sales training courses"

and

"My organization works with value leading organizations to assist them in strengthening the way they sell and manage customer relationships to drive business results".

This difference starts with having the right mindset!