What do you do in Mexico when a smiling man approaches you on the street with a silver chain? Ignore him and walk in the other direction, right?

But that's not what I did. I pulled out my money and paid him.

Why?

About twenty minutes before, my wife and I had been browsing the stores in the "Golden Zone" when she spotted a silver merchant with a table display in an alley. She made a bee-line to the silver while I wandered off in another direction.

A few minutes later she caught up to me, worried that she'd lost me in the crowd. We turned down the next street on the way to a restaurant, chatting as we walked.

I asked her if she had found any nice jewelry. She said that she had been looking at a particular silver chain when she thought she had lost me, and so she didn't buy it.

That's when the merchant showed up with the chain in his hand and friendly smile on his face. He had walked over a block and found us in the busy Easter crowds. And he simply resumed bargaining where they had left off.

"One-forty pesos," he said. My wife countered with one-twenty. "Well, I give it to you for one-twenty-five, it's a nice chain," he said as he held it up to the light. (It had been priced at two hundred.)

"OK, fine," my wife said as I pulled out my cash and helped her with the clasp in the back. She now had a big smile on her face, and it really was a nice chain. "This would have cost me forty or more dollars in the states (400 pesos)," she said with the satisfaction of someone who's gotten a great deal.

But I wasn't thinking about the chain or the deal. I was wondering at the friendly persistence of the merchant who had walked over a block and found us in the crowd to consummate the sale. I had to admire him.

Friendly Persistence.

Those are magic words in business. It's really what separates people who do just OK from people who do well. It's an attitude or mindset that embodies the following:

1. I have something of value to offer. I'm proud of that. I'm not ashamed to promote myself.

2. I will build the communication skills to convey this value to others. They may not see this value unless I show them.

3. If someone shows interest, I'll engage with them and find out about their needs and see if what I have fits for them.

4. If they are uncertain, I'll educate them, tell them stories, show them proof that the value is there.

5. If they are not ready now, I'll follow up with them later. I'll have more information to communicate the value.

6. I'll find a way to do business that is win-win. I'm willing to negotiate and find a solution that works for all.

7. If someone doesn't do business with me, I'll remember that you can't sell to everyone and I'll move on.

This mindset of friendly persistence may be the most important thing you can cultivate in your business. Not only will you be more successful, you'll be happier. Just like our silver merchant.