The Trait that Causes Salespeople to Fail—An Interview with Harvey Mackay

RainToday.com's Podcast: Marketing & Selling Professional Services

When it comes to sales success, attitude is everything. As author and business speaker Harvey Mackay says, "Your attitude determines your altitude." But as you achieve success, you have to be careful not to let arrogance creep in.

"I've studied companies and why they go under. I've studied individuals and why they go down, why they're not successful. It's because arrogance sets in," says Mackay, author of The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World. "People get successful, and they get chapped lips from kissing the mirror too much. Hubris sets in."

And arrogance isn't something you can mask, he says.

"Purchasing managers … can see right through a salesperson that isn't passionate and trustworthy. Without trust, you have nothing," Mackay says.

Further, you have to be willing to do things for people and not expect them to do something for you in return, he says.

"One of the key sentences in the whole book is 'Reciprocity without keeping score.' What I mean by that is if I meet you, the second I'm shaking hands with you—right to my brain bank—I want to say, 'What can I do [for you],'" Mackay says. "And here's the key: expect nothing in return. Don't keep score."

Listen as Mackay talks with RainToday Publisher Mike Schultz about the "seismic shift" that's taking place in sales today, the need to humanize the sales process, and how social media has become the new mega center for sales.