Don't forget the Athenians! Three times a day Persian King Darius would have a servant whisper those words to him. He was in control of a huge empire, there were many conflicts going on but he wanted to guarantee that that when the timing was right he remembered to take vengeance on the Greeks. Of course he tried to later and failed. Darius was a little crazy but none of that matters - what matters here is the lesson in affirmations.

Eventually we will do what we have been listening to, positive or negative, stupid or wise.

So right now your sales people are hearing things over and over again, what is that affirming for them? As a sales person what are you doing to counteract that? As a manager what are you offering as a positive affirmation to your people? More importantly what does your example show?

For example if your sales people are consistently hearing that the economy is soft and the timing is bad to spend money that is one thing - but if your actions re-enforce that by you also cutting back and not spending money. especially on tools to strengthen your sales team....well you have just validated the negative affirmation!

So be careful and make sure the affirmations and actions are leading you to success not failure.