I’d be the first to admit that selling, or being in sales, isn’t for everybody. You have to like people, and not necessarily people with your same likes and opinions. You have to like a wide variety of people. Sometimes you have to find a way to build at least a working relationship with people who you otherwise might not even associate with.

If you’re going to be in sales you must be mostly self-motivated. The most motivated sales manager in the world will not be able to motivate someone that just doesn’t want to be motivated.

Professional salespeople can have a lot of freedom and they can make a lot of money. I heard a speaker say one time that sales “is the easiest low paying job in the world” or “the hardest, best paying job in the world.” It’s a salesperson’s choice!

The best thing about being in sales is that professional salespeople control their own destiny. There are many factors which can have an impact on the environment that you sell in; the economy, the fluctuating price of commodities, or some surprise activity of your competition.

It would be naive to suggest that those factors don’t matter but none of them, or even all of them combined, have as much impact as a professional salesperson’s attitude. That’s the reason I believe that salespeople control their own destiny, because they also have complete, 100% control over their attitude.

Now I know some stuff about controlling an attitude, or more accurately and honestly, about NOT controlling an attitude. It’s simply easier to be negative and staying positive is a battle we should fight often and continually. There’s really no secret to winning that battle, it’s just a matter of being aware that the battle exists.

Salespeople often face a frequent stream of negative information, feedback and issues. It can make some days such a challenge that the battle is more like a war. But how you react is still your choice, no one else’s!

As you move into the final quarter of 2012 and begin to look forward to a great New Year you may hear some rumblings, noise I like to call it, about the challenges you’ll possibly face in our 2013 marketplace. If I’ve learned anything in my years in business it’s that the future is pretty hard to predict. There are at least as many positive indicators as there are negative indicators for 2013. The people who focus on the negative ones will lose the attitude battle and that will prove costly to them in the coming year.

Losing that battle could lead to a self-fulfilling prophesy that no one wants and that no one can afford. Your success in controlling your attitude could be the single greatest contributor to your overall success, and not just next year, but every year.

So, as you plan your 2013, plan for a great year, commit to working the fundamentals of sales that work regardless of outside influences. Commit to doing all the little things that you know will make a big difference. Plan for big wins and maybe even a few small loses, and most of all, plan to avoid the “noise” and stay positive.

In 2013, plan to be the absolute master of your destiny, after all, it’s the best thing about being in sales.