Most sales and marketing pros are news junkies. But lately, it may be better to tune the news out.

Most of it focuses on forces over which you have no control. The news also has become a bit of an echo chamber — once someone utters the latest doom-and-gloom headline, it’s repeated so often on radio, television and in the newspapers that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The reality is, many companies are as fundamentally sound today as they were six or nine months ago — still producing high quality products or services and still staffed by highly productive and committed men and women.

Sure, the financial markets are a mess, and credit is tight. And most customers are engaged in some form of belt-tightening. No one can deny that it has become more and more challenging to sell in this tough economy. But who we are and the value we provide to the marketplace remains unchanged.

There is a huge psychological element in all of this. If you focus on the grim headlines and on the factors over which you have no control, you may be in for a long recession. Negative attitudes – “customers aren’t buying right now” — and negative actions — “why make any extra calls” – will only prolong the pain.

But if you turn your attention to those things that you can control — your products/services that provide value and to customers, then you have a better chance of emerging from this downturn sooner and in better shape.

Source: Ed Boswell, CEO of Forum, a leading consulting and management training firm.

Tags: attitudes, credit, downturn, marketplace, news